Fred LoBianco looks at Southern California’s winding mountain roads, glamorous neighborhoods and beachside highways and sees a driver’s paradise.
And after 30 years in the automotive accessories business, LoBianco wants to position his Agoura Hills-based automotive accessories store, World Class Motoring, as the go-to destination for high-end accessories for exotic and luxury cars and rare memorabilia that auto aficionados can’t find at a Pep Boys or Auto Zone.
In addition to standard and upscale parts and accessories, the store sells car-themed leather briefcases, rare books about race cars and luxury vehicles, and auto-related fashion specialty items, such as Wicked Quick automotive T-shirts and leather racing jackets. It also hosts car-themed clubs and events at the store; other auto accessory distributors operate online only.
For anything World Class doesn’t carry, employees send customers to nearby businesses, such as Woodland Hills shop Car Couture, which specializes in wheels and rims.
“We knew we had a niche if we could make it like a boutique that even the casual car enthusiasts and their families could enjoy visiting,” LoBianco said.
David Winter, president of Luxury Marketing Councils of Southern California, an association that represents high-end retailers, said LoBianco might be offering the perfect environment for clients who view their cars not just as hobbies, but investments that must be maintained.
“The niche high net-worth customer is always going to fill their needs, and the kinds of products and services that a business like World Class Motoring offers caters to that,” Winter said. “If your core clientele has 40 automobiles that they have collected, they are still going to need the accessories whether they are hurting for cash or not.”
LoBianco and his two partners, Eddie Kosakoski and Doug Schnetlage, had met at their former employer, California Car Cover Co. They pooled $275,000 to start World Class Motoring as a mail-order service in November 2004 in a Westlake Village office and opened the store in Agoura Hills three years later.
Kosakoski said that leaving the comfort of an employer and becoming entrepreneurs required some fortitude.
“The end goal is worth the risk, knowing that you’ll be at the top of the ladder when you reach it,” Kosakoski said. “But it’s scary at first jumping out on your own.”
Their first test came quickly, as a fourth partner dropped out in the first year. He was the major investor, and his departure sent them scrambling for funds.
LoBianco sold his house and Schnetlage refinanced his to take money out. Kosakoski’s parents sent money to help. The three raided their retirement savings. They also had family support.
“We have been able to do this thanks to our wives and significant others having stable jobs that can support the household while we got started,” Kosakoski said. “We wouldn’t have survived without them.”
Although LoBianco has hired two part-time staffers for weekends, the three work together at the shop every day for all of the business day. They even cut costs by cleaning the bathrooms themselves instead of hiring a cleaning service.
The store’s walls are covered with murals showing racing scenes. Famous drag races and racing films play on high-definition, flatscreen TVs. A refreshment bar borders a sit-down area with a small library featuring books on all kinds of cars. Visitors can also play on vintage racing-related arcade machines. Every Wednesday, three dozen or so car enthusiasts stop at the parking lot and chow down on barbecue from nearby Willy’s Smokehouse.
“It’s not all about the products here, it’s about an experience where people that like cars can come and hang out,” Kosakoski said.
LoBianco said he’s benefited from word-of-mouth recommendations and Internet comments. “The Tonight Show” host Jay Leno is among the celebrities who have visited the shop.
Although World Class Motoring’s most popular items are custom car covers, which range from $150 to $1,000, the shop’s marquee product is the CXC Motion Pro II simulator.
The store’s demonstration simulator, about the size of an office cubicle, is the centerpiece of the sales floor. It looks like a souped-up version of an arcade racing game, equipped with a seat that realistically moves along with the images as shown on three flatscreen TVs that provide a panoramic view of the race track.
“With hundreds of tracks around the world and a variety of race and street cars, you can live out your fantasy of being a race car driver with this machine,” said Kosakoski. “And, it’s the only time you can crash an expensive race car and it’s not a big deal.”
The simulators have a baseline price of $25,000, which can more than double depending upon customization. The store also rents them out for up to $3,500 for corporate events.
LoBianco said that online and catalog sales generate 80 percent of revenue, with store sales 20 percent. In its first, the business brought in about $500,000, LoBianco said, who hopes to grow sales by 5 percent to 10 percent in 2009.
Steve Strope, owner of PureVision, a high-end car builder in Simi Valley, stops in every few weeks, dropping $50 to $100 each time on car-themed accessories from wallets to DVDs of races in the 1960s and 1970s.
“I take my own customers there, people who I’m building cars for,” Strope said. “It’s like a coffeehouse vibe, but instead of caffeine driving you, it’s the cars.”
World Class Motoring
Headquarters: Agoura Hills
Chief Executive: Fred LoBianco
Year Founded: 2004
Core Business: Luxury automotive accessories
Employees in 2009: 5 (Same as 2008)
Goal: Increase sales; host more special events for automobile aficionados
Driving Force: Car buffs who are seeking specialty accessories for luxury vehicles and a clubhouse environment to shop for them
