SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE JUNE 2016
Gateway Classic Cars
If you love classic and exotic cars, you are going to love Sal Akbani. If you love celebrities, you are going to love Sal Akbani. If you love people who give back to their community, you are going to love Sal Akbani. He is the President and CEO of Gateway Classic Cars. He is a “Gear Head” and a businessman and he does both very well. In 2010, Gateway Classic Cars did $4.5 million is gross sales; in 2015, $38 million. That is a five-year growth spurt of 800 percent and Akbani says they are not done. In the first quarter, they saw numbers that topped last year’s figures by as much as 51 percent and expect to see $58 million in gross sales in 2016.
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By David MacDonald I n the 17 years since its inception, Gateway Classic Cars has come a long way. The original garage and showroom in St. Louis no longer stands alone. It is joined by 10 locations in Chicago, Louisville, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando, Indianapolis, Dallas, Houston, and Nashville. Akbani’s nationwide team works in 500,000 square feet of space dedicated to the display of classic and exotic cars. On any given day, Gateway Classic Cars has on exhibition 1,600 cars for sale in a market that extends far beyond State Lines. In fact, over 11 percent of Akbani’s business is export. “There are cars that bring in the worldwide clientele every time,” Akbani explains. “From time to time, a 1967 Shelby GT500 Eleanor willroll in and people as far away as Japan are buying those from us.” Akbani is undoubtedly a man who sees a story in each and every car that comes into his care. “The historical cars we’ve had come in and out of our showrooms are the most memorable for me,” he explains. “There is one I remember taking in several years back. It was a Rickenbacker. Eddie Rick- enbacker was a flying ace during the First World War. He was an American of German decent. When he came home after the war, his best friend, Jimmy Durant – who started General Motors in 1908 – gave him a $5,000 loan and Eddie started building cars that he self-titled Rickenbacker. Like so many manufacturers in the 1920s he went out of business. Well, we ended up with a genuine Rickenbacker added to our collection which we eventually sold to a museum in Japan.”
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“More recently – just last year, actually – we bought and sold a 1932 Marmon,” Akbani recalls. “The Marmon Motor Car Company built the car that won the first Indy 500 in 1911.And the gentleman we sold it to is on the Forbes’ Top 40.” “We took the idea of selling classic cars, which was traditionally done through local connectionsand small sales circles, and we made it into a worldwide phenomenon”
for Gateway Classic Cars. “Our following on the worldwide market means we’re always attracting new sellers as well,” Akbani says. “Buyers and sellers know we’re the best. The United States is still the leader even though we’re not producing the most exotic cars. It’s our atmosphere. We’re the heart of the industry and the culture.” Scandinavia and Germany are bastions of American hot rod culture and account for nearly two-thirds of Gateway Classic Cars’ European exports. Currently, Akbani is establishing on-the-ground connections in both Hamburg and Munich. Akbani also believes that American popular culture has played a major role in the rolling success of Gateway Classic Cars. “The movies and music videos that we export to the world really expand our market. There’s a Taylor Swift music video with over a billion views on You Tube and it features a 1965 Mustang. This kind of cachet is encouraging us to set up a showroom later this summer in Atlanta where the music, tele- vision, and movie industries are strong.” (The 1967 Shelby GT500 Elea- normodel that Akbani mentioned earlier was used in the 2000 re-make of Gone in 60 Seconds starring Nicholas Cage.) As a nationwide team, the folks at Gateway Classic Cars are not strang- ers to requests from those in the spotlight.Among the A-list who calls themselves Gateway Classic Cars customers is two-time Cy Young
Akbani believes that it is no coincidence that with the “dawn of the internet age came the golden age of the classic car industry.”
“We started this business on February 8, 1999.Products and services were just beginning to come to market on the internet. We took the idea of selling classic cars, which was traditionally done through local connectionsand small sales circles, and we made it into a worldwide phenomenon. If it wasn’t for the internet I don’t know that we’d be this successful.”
Growing an international reputation for sales has reaped many benefits
Award winner, MLB pitcher, Johan Santana, singer-songwriter, Jimmy Buffett, and now- retired NBA shooting guard and legend, Kobe Bryant.
While these celebrities certainly bring-in business for Gateway Classic Cars that exceeds the spending limits of their average clientele’s bankroll – $150,000-$400,000–Akbani sees in their patronage more than meets the eye. Akbani also believes that American popular culture has played a major role in the rolling success of Gateway Classic Cars. Gateway Classic Cars’ involvement in charitable endeavours is no secret to classic and exotic car aficionados. Akbani sees his “fun business” as the perfect starting line for worthy causes including the Red Cross, Children’s Miracle Network, The American Lung Associa- tion, and Shriners. Retired NFLer Demetrious Johnson, formerly of the Detroit Lions (1983- 1986) and the Miami Dolphins (1987), is a friend of Gateway Classic Cars and now the founder and face of the Demetrious Johnson Founda- tion in St. Louis. “We just recently signed up to help his foundation,” Akbani explains. “His foundation helps inner-city kids graduate from high school while gettingthem involved with music and arts programs. We’re sponsoring his organization and we’ve got a few events with them this year and in the coming years. We’re really excited.” The future of Akbani’s dream is directly tied to the dreams of his cus- tomers. “There is a culture of friendship and trust here – on both sides actually,” he explains. “Forty percent of our business is from repeat
sellers so you know they get the quality they are expecting time and time again.” Akbani’s commitment to customers sees its culmination right at home. The original St. Louis location, his stomping grounds, now includes an events space which features 80,000 square feet of classic and collectible vehicles, 6,000 square feet of formal meeting space, 6,000 square feet of informal lounge seating in a contemporary setting, 45,000 square feet of trade show and convention space, and a state-of-the-art theatre room with a 120” rear-projection screen. Gateway Classic Cars’ involvement in charitable endeavours is no secret to classic and exotic car aficionados With all this forward momentum it is not a surprise to hear that Akbani and his team have found a few more garages for their cars. “We’re expanding to Philadelphia and Milwaukee on-top of the Atlanta move. Our total goal is to lay down 38 showrooms and locations in the United States and up to ten overseas.”
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Gateway Classic Cars
866-430-2345
www.gatewayclassiccars.com
as spotlighted in the JUNE 2016 issue of SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
www.spotlightonbusinessmagazine.com
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