32 • APRIL 8, 2013

site. The new Lamborghini showroomopened in January and is the largest Lambostore in North America, said Michael Lock,CEO of Automobili Lamborghini America inHerndon, Va.

Dominic, 51, is anything but retired, butit’s not a problem.

“I’m like a kid in a candy store,” he said.Dominic operates the three stores as Be-

spoke Motor Group. Each has its own show-room and entrance, and there are accessoryboutiques and configurators for customersto personalize their cars. The showroomsshare a lounge area, eight-seat theater andthe service area in the rear.

“We want customers to use our facilities asa meeting and networking point,” Dominicsaid. “We do functions and networking forour customers,” he said.

Bespoke Motor Group is expected to sellabout 300 new cars this year, up from 175 in2012. The cheapest is the 2013 Bentley Con-tinental GT, with a base price of $176,725.The most expensive is the LamborghiniAventador LP 700-4 Roadster at $445,300.The prices include shipping.

Culture shockDominic knew his way around such hard-

ware before becoming a dealer. His person-al stable includes a Maserati MC12, aPorsche Carrera GT and “a few Lamborghi-nis,” as well as his daily drivers — severalBentleys and Rolls-Royces. He used to ownFerraris — including an Enzo, an F50 and anF40 — but sold them when he became aLamborghini dealer “out of loyalty.”

But moving from collector to retailer was aculture shock.

“I came from high-tech, and I worked withPh.D.s developing products,” he said. “If

you don’t have the next best thing, you willbe left out. Here it is a different type of pres-sure. I do not design the product, but wehave to sell it.”

Dominic came to the United States tostudy at Radford University in Radford, Va.,where he earned a degree in accounting andlater an MBA. He’s also a certified public ac-countant.

After school, Dominic joined CompuDyneCorp., a maker of security systems in An-napolis, Md. He rose through the ranks tobecome CFO.

In 1995, he moved to Excel TechnologyInc., a struggling laser and laser systemscompany in East Setauket, N.Y., as CFO. Hebecame the company’s CEO in 2000, engi-neered a recovery and sold it in 2008.

“Of course I had shares in the company,”he said. “I was contemplating windingdown, going into semi-retirement.”

Dominic thought he could remain semi-retired, even after buying the Bentleystore, but he soon discovered otherwise.His new employees, many hired from thedefunct Champion stores, all had experi-ence in auto retailing. But Dominic saidthe dealership needed a dose of financialdiscipline.

He also had to persuade manufacturers toappoint him as a dealer for their high-endfranchises. In particular, Rolls-Royce’sNorth American management in New Jerseywas skeptical, until Dominic began pointingout similarities between the company hehad run and car dealerships.

“I was used to working with small mar-gins,” he said, “and a lot what we did was In-ternet-based.”

Dominic’s application for a Lamborghinifranchise was under review for a year. Locksaid he visited the Bentley store and evencame to the grand opening last year of theRolls-Royce dealership, where he saw Do-minic’s car collection.

“He had a competent team, and we wereimpressed with their skills,” Lock said. “Heis very knowledgeable about exotic sportscars and he successfully ran a multimillion-dollar business.”

As a dealer, Dominic halted print advertis-ing, which he calls old-fashioned, and shift-ed all marketing to digital. Sales and financepeople got iPads loaded with vehicle and fi-nancial information.

“When you come from high-tech, you areused to having information at your finger-tips,” he said.

On the finance side, “we have real-time ac-counting so the company knows where itstands. We can close the books in a day for themonth. That was one of the key things I did.”

Major purchaseDominic was thrust into the limelight

last month when he was identified as abuyer of one of three $3.9 million Lam-borghini Venenos that will be built thisyear in celebration of the company’s 50thanniversary. He ordered the car sight un-seen from a sketch. He said the sale of hisFerrari collection helped pay for the Ve-neno.

Lamborghini told dealers about the Ve-neno last year.

“Antoine was the first guy who called,”Lock said. “He said: ‘That car is mine.’”

Dominic traveled to the Geneva auto showlast month to see the car for the first time onthe Lamborghini stand before the press re-veal. Lock said the other U.S. buyer is KrisSingh, an entrepreneur from the Philadel-phia area. The third buyer is a Middle East-erner who doesn’t want to be identified,Lock said.

Dominic admits he was nervous aboutspending so much money for a car — untilhe saw the 750-hp, V-12-powered supercarin person.

“My god, I had goose bumps,” he said. “Iam a guy who has bought a lot of cars, butthis one is exceptional.”

Cost of luxury ownershipDominic figures to sell 45 Lamborghinis

this year, which would make him the sixthlargest of Lambo’s 29 U.S. dealerships, Locksaid.

Dominic also expects to sell 180 Bentleysand 75 Rolls-Royces, with the addition thisyear of the restyled Bentley Flying Spursedan and the all-new Rolls-Royce Wraithfastback.

Dominic said he is eagerly awaitingcrossovers from Bentley and Lamborghini.Both have yet to be approved by parentVolkswagen AG, but customers are alreadyasking.

“The sad part is they think the car is outand that we are not taking orders,” he said.“Several customers said they want to orderone and why won’t we take orders.”

Dominic said selling ultraluxury cars isabout projecting an image and a lifestyle.“People want to portray themselves as suc-cessful and reward themselves say if theydid a nice business deal.”

But even with the well-heeled, he said “atthe end of the day, the cost of ownership iswhat we focus on.”

Dominic likes to point out to customersthat it’s not a big jump from a high-endMercedes-Benz S600, priced at $161,205, toa $176,725 Bentley, “and you get the prestigeand better resale value.”c

Antoine DominicAge: 51Born: Sri LankaOwner: Bespoke Motor Group, Jericho, N.Y.Dealerships:

� Lamborghini Long Island, openedJanuary 2013

� Rolls-Royce Long Island, openedFebruary 2012

� Bentley Long Island, purchased March 2010

Last position in previous career: CEO,Excel Technology Inc. in East Setauket,N.Y., from 2000 to 2008

continued from Page 4

DOMINICLambo franchise wasunder review for a year

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