NEEDLES - A year ago Colorado River Ford was celebrating moving from a small lot in Bullhead City to a big new building with state of the art facilities.
Last week, with little fanfare, the company closed its Bullhead City operation and moved its staff and inventory to its original location in Needles. Colorado River Ford now has three locations, Needles, Lake Havasu City and Kingman.
“The way the market is we don’t need four Ford stores in Mohave County,” Mike Gonzalez, Colorado River Ford general sales manager in Needles, said. “The market doesn’t need three or four stores within a 30-mile radius.”
Despite still having to pay for the land and building in Bullhead City, the move cuts costs for the company, Gonzalez said.
“The cost of overhead is lower here,” Gonzalez said. “We had a 25 percent reduction in employees.”
He assures his customers they will get the same service and selection they’ve always had at the store.
“We have pretty much the same inventory as we had over there,” Gonzalez said. “The Bullhead City customers are following us down here.”
He also added there are other benefits to buying in Needles for rural Arizona residents.
“They save 2 percent on sales tax,” Gonzalez said. “If you live in the county you don’t pay city sales tax here.”
The company hopes to reopen the Bullhead location in about a year, Gonzalez said.
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