World Economic

Like many of his competitors, Hummer dealer Jim Lynch is fighting for survival.

Unlike the rest of them, Lynch reached for a gun. Lots of them, actually.

Faced with declining sales and an uncertain future, his Chesterfield dealership has expanded in a direction that’s drawing national attention. It’s what happens when you replace some of those pricey Hummers with dozens of Glocks, Sig Sauers, Colts, Berettas and Brownings.

For Lynch, those guns are the solution to a problem that’s been hounding him for months.

"We’ve got a beautiful building with a big mortgage," Lynch said. "The Hummers weren’t going to cover it."

In the good old days — way back in 2005 — Lynch’s dealership could sell 70 Hummers during a strong month. But high gas prices, a sour economy and the auto industry’s ongoing struggles have wreaked havoc. These days, he’s happy to watch 10 of the gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles leave the lot. But the money he pockets selling guns makes up for the profit on about 15 Hummers.

But why guns? Why not flowers? Or lawn mowers? Or jewelry?

That’s easy. The people who like Hummers also tend to like guns. They’re like Matt Massa of St. Louis, who dropped by the dealership Tuesday to have a look around.

"I work outdoors. I shoot outdoors. I hunt outdoors," said Massa, who, by the way, also drives a Hummer.

Lynch’s dealership, which made the change in mid-July, isn’t the first to link guns to automobiles. A dealer in Kansas City, for example, grabbed headlines recently with his offer to include an AK-47 rifle with every pickup sold this month.

But Lynch may very well be the first dealer in the U.S. to turn part of his business over to the gun trade.

A spokesman for the National Auto Dealers Association said he hadn’t heard of anything similar. More common are dealerships that offer things likes restaurants, spa facilities and driving ranges.

For Lynch, this may be just the beginning of the transformation.

Four of his sales offices have been cleaned out and turned into shotgun and rifle displays. Floor space once set aside for a massive Hummer now provides counter space to show off the shop’s handguns. He hired a Glock sales representative to help run the operation.

Later, they may expand the outdoor offerings to include things like kayaks, canoes and archery supplies. And he’s pushing to build a shooting range on the 60-acre off-road course behind the dealership.

It’s almost as if Lynch is planning for a day when he’s no longer a Hummer dealer. It’s hardly far-fetched, considering what’s happened to dealers here and across the nation who have lost their franchise agreements. Hummer’s own fate is unclear, with General Motors attempting to sell the brand to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. in a deal that could close next month.

Diversification just makes sense, said Michael Lowenbaum, a St. Louis attorney who represents dozens of auto dealers in the region.

Dealers who have lost their franchises this year are scrambling to stay in business. Many are turning to the used car business or focusing on service and repairs. Some are looking into new products, including scooters and battery-powered cars.

For now, though, few have ventured outside of their automobile comfort zone. "But give it a couple months," Lowenbaum said. "It’s all still so new."

Not everyone, however, is thrilled with Lynch’s sudden change of direction.

Hummer spokesman Nick Richards said the dealership never asked to make the change — a violation of its sales and service agreement, which requires the automaker’s approval of any new line of business on the property. Richards would not say where the automaker stands on the gun sales. But he said they would try to find a solution that works both for Lynch and Hummer.

"You let one go off and do whatever — regardless of how it fits with the brand — and you potentially open the floodgates," Richards said. "Who knows what the next dealer will want to do?"

If Hummer and GM do balk at Lynch’s diversification, that won’t be a huge surprise to Scott Testa, a marketing professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

It would be in line, he said, with the unimaginative way the U.S. auto industry operates.

"That’s how these car companies got themselves into this mess," Testa said. "You’d think they would be very open-minded. But that’s not always the case."

It’s an issue that’s certain to be watched by locals like Eric Schnellmann of Wildwood.

He’s not the typical Lynch customer. He doesn’t own a Hummer. And he doesn’t buy guns.

Yet there he was late Tuesday morning, strolling through the dealership marveling at the assortment of handguns, rifles and shotguns. He was just happy, he said, to see the dealership try something different.

He said it might actually give people a reason to drive to the western edge of St. Louis County, especially if the dealership succeeds in its efforts to open the shooting range.

"The area needs another thing to do," Schnellmann said. "What else are we going to do? Open up another Putt-Putt golf course?"

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