Longtime Parker GM now his own boss
Photos by LOREN BENOIT/Press Mike White and his daughter, Chelsea, pose for a portrait Monday in the newly remodeled show room of Mike White Ford of Coeur d’Alene, 315 W. Clayton Ave. That’s a 2018 Shelby GT 350 between them.
Salesman Jan Wingren, right, and customer Matt Melton look at the inside of a Ford Ecosport SES Monday afternoon at Mike White Ford in Coeur d’Alene.
It was something of an informal family reunion last week when previous owners of the Ford dealership dropped in on the new owner of Mike White Ford of Coeur d’Alene. From left: Madge Myklebust, customer relations; Lynn and Tom Addis, former owners; Mike White, owner, and daughter Chelsea, assistant service manager; and Kirk Lauer, fleet manager. (Courtesy Photo)
COEUR d’ALENE — His first few cars were Fords, so it’s only natural that Mike White will go out a Ford man.
But it’s a new beginning, not an end at all for White, who has purchased the Ford dealership in Coeur d’Alene from the Parker family. It is now Mike White Ford of Coeur d’Alene.
“We made a decision that was best for the brands and best for the families,” White said Monday of the deal consummated with Jim Parker, owner of Parker Toyota and Parker Subaru.
With White as a partner, Parker had purchased the Ford dealership two years ago from Lynn and Tom Addis, who owned the franchise for 30 years. Addis had become a community icon for his business acumen, his philanthropy and for his trademark khaki shorts and Hawaiian shirts, even in the dead of winter.
The roles now shift into a different but amicable gear, White said. After working his way up for the Parker family from rookie salesman in 1991 to general manager and trusted right-hand man 10 years later, White concedes there will be some competition — but not much.
“These brands kind of stand alone with their customer bases,” White said. “We’ll co-exist nicely.”
Parker agreed. He said White “wanted to do his own thing and be his own man” after demonstrating that “he can run a business.”
“He’s done it for a long time and he’ll make the best of it, for sure,” Parker said.
Since the Parker purchase of Addis Ford in August 2016, White has spent most of his time at that property. However, instead of managing three stores within a block or so of each other — Toyota, Subaru and Ford — White can now concentrate on making his Ford dealership the best it can be.
That hasn’t been easy dating back to June 2017, when the dealership began a long but critically needed upgrade, White said. The showroom and front offices are all new, and the service department is undergoing a complete overhaul “down to the struts,” he said. Work on the building’s exterior is just ahead, with new signage to follow.
Pulling that off while selling and servicing cars and trucks has kept White & Co. plenty busy.
“It’s kind of like living in your house while it’s being remodeled,” he said. “It’s been a long, slow process, but the customers have been great.”
The renovation should be completed in September, he added.
Over the past two years, White and Parker increased the dealership’s staff size from about 70 when Addis sold it to more than 85 now, “trending toward 90,” White said. Some of that growth has come in the customer-facing area of the service department, where one of White’s daughters, 31-year-old Chelsea, serves as assistant manager.
“I was super-enthusiastic about (the purchase),” said Chelsea, whose customer service experience includes working at Volkswagen and Toyota dealerships. “We have tremendous relationships with customers in the community, and I think that will keep us strong. I see nothing but great things ahead.”
In the not-so-distant future, Ford is bringing back Ranger trucks and Broncos. White says they should be available next year, and he can hardly wait.
“Both of those products are right in our wheelhouse,” he said.
White said he was pleased last week when Tom and Lynn Addis dropped in to wish him well. It was hot out, White said, so he was uncharacteristically wearing shorts that day.
“Tom said, ‘You’re a Hawaiian shirt away from being the real deal,’” White said.
Don’t miss the in-depth story of Mike White’s purchase of Coeur d’Alene’s Ford dealership in the August issue of North Idaho Business Journal. NIBJ will be inserted in The Press and available at various community locations July 31.