With a centennial anniversary in the not-too-distant horizon, George L. Haddad, the third generation in his family to lead the Pittsfield-based automotive group, is celebrating a milestone in 2023. And that commemoration is long overdue, especially after enduring a sink-or-swim turning point for the company in the late 1980s and, more recently, overcoming a depleted car lot during the COVID crisis.
Still going strong with four dealerships, including St. Albans, and a thriving collision center, Haddad looked back with The Berkshire Edge at his grandfather’s humble beginnings. “He came over from Lebanon with an eighth-grade education,” Haddad said of the company’s founder, George A. Haddad. After finding his way from Ellis Island with his brother and sickly mother, the family began their U.S. journey in North Adams and then Pittsfield, with the elder Haddad working at a grocery store, ultimately buying and selling his own market. He then turned to selling Chevrolets, followed by owning a used car lot in 1933, giving meaning to this year’s 90th anniversary.
A local Pontiac franchise became available in the late 1930s or early 1940s, and George Haddad’s grandfather “took a chance” on the dealership, renaming it “Haddad.” It sat on the property of what is now the Holiday Inn, One West Street, in Pittsfield.
The elder Haddad remained as a Pontiac dealer until 1967, when he relocated the store to the site of the current Haddad Toyota, at 130 Pittsfield-Lenox Road, Pittsfield. Three years later, he was prompted by his son, Louis Haddad, to sell for an “up and coming” car company from Japan, adding a Toyota dealership across the street.
When George A. Haddad died, Louis Haddad took over the business, merging the Toyota dealership into the Pontiac building.
Then, it was George L. Haddad’s turn. “I used to sit in the back seat and take people for rides because I couldn’t drive,” George L. Haddad said of his early start in the car business. He sold his first car at 15.
However, George L. Haddad saw himself as a physician, a career that, due to a foiled organic chemistry class, would not materialize. He found that there was a place for him in the dealerships, working for his father, who, before Louis Haddad’s death in 2017, came into the store every day until the very end.
In 1987, Haddad Automotive bought Pittsfield’s Slattery Buick-Opal-Jeep dealership, and George L. Haddad, as its president, increased the size of his group’s building to accommodate the new entity. As the building was finished and George L. Haddad was burdened with a big mortgage, General Electric Company closed its local operations, causing a setback for the community and Haddad. “I was almost broke,” he said.
A Toyota executive who assisted dealers in trouble met with George L. Haddad and asked him if he “knew what the problem was.” Facing a mirror, the visitor told him the problem was himself. “He said, ‘take it for what it’s worth, but you can make the changes as a good leader,’” George L. Haddad said of his conversation with the company advisor. The two sat together for the week, reviewing the dealership’s statistics and numbers that resulted in 10 employees being laid off, but the business ultimately survived, and George L. Haddad said he has “never looked back.”
George L. Haddad went on, “Did we have hiccups along the way? Sure. Did COVID scare everybody? Yeah. But we’ve done well.” Of COVID’s low inventory, he said, “we worked our way through it.”
According to George L. Haddad, because there was such a shortage during the pandemic, his group at first sold vehicles for over the sticker price but stopped the practice because he didn’t like the negative feedback he received. He switched to selling his cars at the listed price and said that, even though many dealers are still selling cars for above the sticker price, he won’t do it—he doesn’t believe in it. “In the beginning, I did [price vehicles over sticker] for a little bit, but I found that it was aggravating the people,” George L. Haddad said. “I found I had my own little market here, and I found that if I took a cut in my own profits and treated people better, maybe 80 or 90 percent of those people would become loyal customers versus ‘he stuck it to me before, I’m not going to do business with him if I don’t have to.’ So, we decided to turn away from that philosophy.”
As with so many Berkshire businesses today, George L. Haddad said he is dealing, to some extent, with personnel shortages within his 250-employee company. However, his employee turnover rate is “much lower than the entire vehicle dealership industry,” he said. “I work at that,” he explained, adding that his company has earned the Toyota President’s Award for 16 years in a row. For every year the Haddad group has won the elite accolade that is awarded to only 15 percent of the more than 1,200 Toyota dealerships in the country, he said Haddad explained that he has provided his management and mid-level management staff with an excursion.
George L. Haddad said his employees include workers who have been with the company for 30-plus years. While other dealerships haven’t weathered business storms well, he said that it is his belief that finding and training quality employees as well as treating them “fairly” has factored into his company’s longevity, producing profits and allowing the Haddad enterprise to grow. “Do I make every single person happy? Absolutely not,” he said. “Absolutely not. But if I can take care of the majority—the 95, the 98, the 99 percent of the customers that I can make happy—then, I win.” George L. Haddad said his goal is “to become the dealership for the community.”
Soon, the Pittsfield Haddad enterprise will have neighbors. This summer, permitting was approved for the McGee Automotive Family to build BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen brand dealerships at the corner of New Lenox Road and Pittsfield Road, with Berkshire Mazda planning a relocation to the site of the former Knights Inn Motel.
“I think it’s great,” George L. Haddad said of the new car businesses coming to the area. However, he said he couldn’t envision the route becoming a Motor Mile. He complimented the Mazda store owners and explained that BMW is a higher automotive line and not competitive with his dealerships.
“If you give customers a reason to stay local, they’re going to stay local,” George L. Haddad said. “If I was the only car dealership in town, forget everybody else, people who want to shop are going to go out of town. So, if there’s more choices that stay in town, more quality choices, it’s going to keep more people in town.”
Regarding the current United Auto Workers strike, George L. Haddad explained that he doesn’t sell vehicles from the companies involved in the controversy and has “no dog in the fight either way.” But, the upshot of the strike could mean more buyers for the Haddad group. “I would rather have everything harmonious,” he said. “I’d rather have both parties resolve it and everybody move on. Creat[ing] an extra desire for foreign cars because they’re fighting is not good for the American cars.”
For George L. Haddad, philanthropy is part of his personal and work culture, focusing on local associations and children’s causes after having been involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters of America mentoring organization while in college. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Club and has been instrumental in the evolution of Taconic High School’s vocational program that certifies graduating teens as automotive technicians while offering them a career following graduation. “I believe that I should share if I have the ability,” George L. Haddad said, adding that local theater groups and The Mount have benefited from his generosity.
Through his years in the business, George L. Haddad said he has seen the growth of online vehicle sales as a new medium; however, buyers ultimately want to close the deal in person. “People will do the research, people will interact online but, when it gets right down to it, they really want to see and touch the car,” he said. “It’s a little more of a complex deal than buying clothes online. And, there’s been a lot of people who have tried to make it work online and it has been tougher.”
George L. Haddad and his wife, Shari, who works part-time in the business, share a 21-year-old daughter, a senior at Bryant University majoring in marketing/communications, and a 19-year-old son, a sophomore at Boston College majoring in business. While Julia Haddad “hints” at taking over the business, Benjamin Haddad talks about running the dealership and being competitive with his father’s successes, George L. Haddad said. No worries, as there is no pressure from the third generation to the fourth generation to head up the automotive conglomerate, with George L. Haddad wanting his children to just be “happy, productive people in their communities.” He explained, “If they want to sell popcorn on the street, then be the best at it.”
As for future expansion of the Haddad enterprise? Well, that remains to be seen. “I wouldn’t turn away from an opportunity,” George L. Haddad said, with a twinkle in his eye. “Am I looking? Sure, I always look.”
