Murray Group brothers reflect on 90 years of growth

In 1926, in the bustling, rural farming town of Souris, Man., Andy Murray saw potential in the still-young automotive sector, putting Hudson, Essex and Star automobiles alongside the tractors, threshers and cultivators in his new farm-implement store.

Little did he know that one decision would grow 90 years later into a large, coast-to-coast dealership group run by his grandsons that still bears his name.

For Dan Murray, whose Dan Murray Chevrolet in Winnipeg is among GM of Canada’s most awarded dealerships, the anniversary is especially rewarding considering the company is thriving after three generations.

“There aren’t that many family businesses that make it this far,” he said. Murray and his three brothers — Paul, Doug and Chris — are each general managers of their own stores, and all four run the group collaboratively.

“The thing is, we all get along so well, and our wives all get along, that when we’re together, people think we all married sisters,” he said, not mentioning that he and Paul actually did marry sisters.

Ask Dan Murray when he started in the business, and he doesn’t have a straight answer.

“You know, I don’t really have a memory of ‘starting’ in the business, because it was always a part of my life.”

From the outset, Andy Murray wanted to be a GM dealer, a goal he would achieve in 1934. Expansion began in 1960 with the purchase of Brandon Automobiles in Brandon, Man., 50 kilometres northeast of Souris. Murray’s Garage was on the move.

It’s Andy’s son Clair whom the brothers look to as starting the company down the road to expansion.

“There was no big plan,” Paul Murray said from his Chrysler dealership in Strathmore, Alta. “It was just Dad looking for opportunities.”

Slowly, the group grew, to Portage la Prairie, Man., to Winnipeg, Moose Jaw, Sask., Medicine Hat., Alta., and beyond. Today, there are 30 stores. (“It might be 31,” Dan says.) While early on, the business was exclusively GM, today the group also comprises Hyundai, Honda, Chrysler and Kia dealers. It stretches from Yarmouth, N.S., to White Rock, B.C.

Not all the stores fly the Murray name. In Dauphin, Man., Dean Cooley’s name is on the sign. In Portage la Prairie, it’s Craig Dunn’s. Dan Murray said it’s an important distinction, not just to provide local flavour, but also to reinforce the autonomy each general manager is expected to exercise.

“I think the size isn’t just about economics,” said Cooley, the second Murray employee after Dunn to partner as a general manager. “It’s about sharing knowledge.

“If you do go to one of the meetings and someone points out a problem, it’s never to criticize, but just to make sure you’re aware of it,” he said. “If you are struggling, it’s always about putting an arm around your shoulders and saying ‘Here’s what we can do to help.’”

All of it is grounded in the values handed down from Andy, to Clair and to his grandsons today, said Cooley. No one got anything easily: Dan swept floors, reconciled cash, sold cars, ran parts and worked his way up.

All four brothers began their careers at the bottom.

“I started out swatting flies at an auction,” Paul said. “That was my first job. Dad paid me a penny a fly.”

One day in the 1950s, Clair sold a car to a farmer in Saskatchewan, and drove out to deliver it the same day, Paul said. “So, he took a trade-in [from the customer], and on his way home, he stopped and sold that trade-in and took another trade-in, continued for home and then before he got to Souris, sold that trade-in and had to call Uncle Dell to come pick him up.

“It’s all about being good with people; with farmers, you go and see them because maybe it’s harvest and they don’t have time to come in,” Paul said. “Dad did that and sold four cars in the same trip.”

The next generation is also on its way. Dan’s son, Mitchell, is now a sales manager, having paid his dues as a sales rep.

It hasn’t always been easy, and an ability to adapt was paramount. From the Second World War, when car sales slowed to a crawl, to the collapse of leasing in 2008, the family has had to think on its feet.

“In the space of a weekend, we lost leasing,” Dan Murray said. “That was 50 per cent of my sales. But, we rolled out 84-month financing and we found a way to keep going.”