Dealer group to add 15th location with retail outlet
Windy City Motorcycle Company (WCMC) is set to develop and operate a brand new location in MB Park in Rosemont, Illinois. This location is number 15 for the company that owns and operates other Harley-Davidson dealerships and motorcycle retail outlets in Illinois and Wisconsin. The company is a multiple recipient of the Harley-Davidson coveted Bar & Shield Awards, awarded to only the highest performing dealerships in the nation.
Windy City Harley-Davidson, Rosemont will be in the retail business and will include the sales of Harley-Davidson merchandise and products. The Rosemont location will also house and operate WCMC’s centralized National and International Rental and Tours operations for the greater Chicagoland area for Harley-Davidson Motorcycles. Each year, motorcycle enthusiasts from literally all over the world travel to Chicago to rent motorcycles for extended trips across the country … they travel scenic routes throughout the United States, including following Historic RT 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica Pier in California, visit the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, and travel other routes. Somewhere between 8,000 to 10,000 visitors are expected to travel to Rosemont annually to pick up their motorcycles, enjoy the local area for a day or two and then embark on their journeys throughout the United States.
When asked why Rosemont for this growth location and use, Ozzie Giglio, WCMC CEO, said “Rosemont is an exceptional location for our continued expansion. It is perfect. The Village is extremely supportive and has great vision and foresight. Rosemont is the central point of the greater Chicagoland area, is an entertainment and dining capital in the Region, continues to be a tourist (local, national and international) mecca, remains unequaled in a concentration of quality and affordable hotel accommodations, and of course is extremely proximate to O’Hare for easy access.” Giglio continued, “We will have a Windy City Harley shuttles to take people back/forth to the airport and surrounding hotels while in town.”
Giglio suggests that economies of scale allow the group to control operating costs, hold or reduce margins on sales while maintaining acceptable profitability, all of which benefits their valued customers in the end. “I think Harley-Davidson understands that a sophisticated, multi-store dealer/operator has the ability to provide far more superior customer service by being able to invest more heavily in infrastructure, operations, employee training and customer support mechanisms,” said VP/COO Justin Johnson. “And while the single store operator has certain benefits, it is very tough to remain viable in the modern economy and to provide the level of customer service and experience that our dedicated and loyal customers have grown to demand and deserve. Rosemont is another example of WCMC’s ability to deliver exceptional customer experiences to the riding public.”
On the building, WCMC took great care to make this building iconic. The 20,000-square-foot structure will have the modernized look and feel of the H-D factory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The building is an exceptional design. It brings into play the cultural history of the brand as well as a modern flair.
In addition to retail operations, WCMC expects to move its corporate headquarters from St. Charles, Illinois, to this new Rosemont location. Since Rosemont is so central to this Region, Giglio commented, “Our expectation is to centralize the Windy City Motorcycle Company Corporate offices to Rosemont, where we also feel that we can maximize recruiting for human talent, so precious an asset for a growing company like ours.”
Windy City Motorcycle Company is actively pursuing other acquisitions and growth opportunities. But Giglio noted, “We will not grow just for the sake of growth; We will add to our family of dealerships only when there is a clear synergy, and Rosemont makes all the sense in the world to us. Our priority is providing world-class customer experiences.”
The Windy City Motorcycle Company, currently headquartered in St. Charles, Illinois, employs over 400 people and was founded in 2001 by Jill and Ozzie Giglio, natives of the western suburbs of Chicago and avid Harley-Davidson riders. Ozzie, Jill and the entire company are excited to add Windy City Rosemont to the company, from which they already serve hundreds of thousands of riders in the Chicagoland and southern Wisconsin areas. “We are riders and customers of the H-D brand also, and frankly that is what led us to purchase our first dealership in 2001 — to offer fair and honest pricing to consumers like ourselves and provide a super fun and friendly place for riders to call home,” said Giglio’s wife Jill. We are excited to embark on this new venture in Rosemont that will enable us to reach the national and international family of riders.”
Windy City Motorcycle Company has become one of the largest dealership organizations in the U.S. WCMC’s lineup includes Wild Fire Harley-Davidson (Villa Park); City Limits Harley-Davidson (Palatine); Illinois Harley-Davidson (Countryside); Fox River Harley-Davidson (St. Charles); Windy City Harley-Davidson, Chicago (O’Hare Airport); Windy City Triumph (St. Charles); Starved Rock Harley-Davidson (Ottawa); Barbed Wire Harley-Davidson (DeKalb); Woodstock Harley-Davidson (Woodstock); McHenry Harley-Davidson (McHenry); Woodstock Triumph (Woodstock); Wild One Harley-Davidson (Bloomingdale); Milwaukee Harley-Davidson (Milwaukee) and Lake Geneva Harley-Davidson (Lake Geneva, WI).
