September 20, 2020
Two dynamic automotive families will preside at the grand opening of Calgary’s newest luxury automotive dealership on Monday. Jaguar Land Rover Royal Oak is a partnership between Calgary’s Valentine Group and the Wyant Group based in Saskatoon.
Partner and general manager Paul Valentine is the son of Ted, who recently passed away; Ted’s father, Bert, opened his first dealership in the Beltline along 17 th Avenue S.E., where he began selling imported British Leyland cars and then Studebakers before taking on Volvo models. Ted took over from Bert in the late 1960s and handed the reins to Paul in 2020. By then, the dealership specialized in quality Volvo models and the company’s commitment to safety, innovation and customer service.
Vaughan Wyant began his automotive career on the sales floor and opened his first dealership in Carstairs, but soon added another in Beiseker. Today, he enjoys a superior automotive reputation and his group of companies boasts 16 operations, including dealerships in Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Meadow Lake in Saskatchewan, and Kelowna and Vernon in B.C., representing a variety of manufacturers. Volvo is one of them — plus Jaguar/Land Rover — and when Wyant and Valentine met several years ago at a Volvo corporate reward event in the south of France, they became friends and shared business ideals.
While looking for a location to expand his group, Valentine purchased six acres of land in 2007 in the Northwest Auto Mall in Royal Oak, on 110 th Avenue N.W. He had an ideal piece of property but no franchise. Wyant wanted to expand into Calgary; he had the franchise connections but no land. He suggested a Jaguar/Land Rover dealership and, with his record and the strong reputation of Valentine Volvo, the global manufacturer awarded the new partnership with an approval to build.
Jaguar Land Rover Royal Oak is Canada’s newest and most innovative luxury automotive dealership with more than 85,000 square feet of space over two levels. Valentine and Wyant invested close to $30 million in the facility, equipment and fixtures. It was designed by KSA Group Architecture of Saskatoon, responsible for a number of Wyant Group dealerships, and built by Calgary’s Barjac construction, best known for its many automotive industry projects.
Customers are welcomed into spacious main level showrooms featuring pre-owned vehicles. Valentine says that is for the convenience of people wishing to test drive them, whereas new models are parked out front of the dealership. The ground floor has a generous eight-bay climate-controlled drive-thru for drop-off, and a 25-bay service department plus parts department, car wash and detailing centre. Valentine is also proud of his customer lounge, with barista stations and comfortable seating where people waiting for service to be completed can take advantage of being able to work remotely with a strong WiFi connection.
The fleet of new models is divided by brands across the spacious second-floor showrooms.
Customer service has been paramount for the partners, but they have also made sure their staff is well looked after. As well as administrative offices, the second floor has a large, well-equipped lunch room that expands onto a rooftop patio, fitness centre and locker-rooms.
One of the problems for Calgary car dealerships is the threat of hail damage. A covered rooftop area can accommodate 80 vehicles, and another 50 can be sheltered on the paved parking lot of the dealership.
Jaguar Land Rover Royal Oak shows great confidence in Calgary’s economy and good taste, and is an outstanding addition to the Alberta market.
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