Genesis’ big retail step: Its first standalone U.S. store

After six years of selling autos in America, the Korean luxury brand Genesis has opened its first U.S. standalone retail store.

The new store, in Lafayette, La., represents the next step for Genesis as it continues to grow its U.S. presence and distance itself from the mass-market brand that launched it, Hyundai.

“Creating a space to showcase the Genesis lineup will help us to not only elevate the brand in our immediate area, but also across the region,” said Arthur LeBlanc Jr., dealer principal of the new store, Genesis of Lafayette.

Like his fellow Genesis retailers, LeBlanc has taken his time to open a dedicated store. LeBlanc was awarded a Genesis franchise in January 2018 but didn’t start preliminary planning until August 2020.

He said he began building in March 2021.

“Genesis has earned a position as a stand-alone brand,” he said. “As a luxury vehicle manufacturer, a stand-alone facility is not only needed but also expected from our consumers.”

Dealers now have five other standalone Genesis stores under construction around the country. They include one in Cherry Hill, N.J., owned by Peter Lanzavecchia, the head of Genesis’ retail advisory board, and another in Greer, S.C., not far from BMW’s big U.S. manufacturing complex.

The other three are in the greater Los Angeles area, in the Cerritos, Corona and Santa Monica markets.

The Santa Monica location — operated by Mike Sullivan, who owns the LA Car Guy dealership group — is already selling Genesis vehicles, but in an interim facility while his permanent structure is being built. Sullivan is the only non-Hyundai dealer currently in the process of opening a stand-alone Genesis store.