Baker Automotive Group: Indianapolis's Quiet Giant and the Architecture of Controlled Growth

Overview

Baker Automotive Group occupies a singular position in the Indianapolis automotive retail landscape. With 12 rooftops generating an estimated $500 million in annual revenue, the group is one of the largest privately held dealership organizations in Indiana, yet it maintains a remarkably low profile in a market where other operators of comparable size court media attention and industry accolades. This unassuming posture is entirely deliberate. The Baker family has built its business on the principle that substance matters more than visibility, and that a dealership group's reputation is best measured not by industry awards or press mentions but by the loyalty of the customers who return generation after generation.

The group's $500 million in annual revenue places it among the top 125 privately held dealership groups nationally, a ranking that understates its influence in the Central Indiana market. With 12 rooftops concentrated primarily in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, Baker Automotive Group commands a significant share of new-vehicle sales across multiple brands and price points. The group's portfolio ranges from volume domestic brands through middle-market imports to a luxury presence that competes with the most established highline dealers in the region. This breadth of brand coverage creates natural advantages in customer acquisition and retention — a buyer who starts with a Chevrolet under the Baker umbrella can graduate through Buick, Honda, Toyota, and ultimately Lexus or BMW without ever leaving the group's ecosystem.

What distinguishes Baker Automotive Group from its peers is not merely its scale but the philosophy that has guided its growth. The group has expanded methodically, adding rooftops only when the conditions are right — the right franchise opportunity, the right market, the right management team in place. This discipline has kept the group free of the indigestion that afflicts consolidators who grow too fast, and it has preserved a culture of operational excellence that many larger groups lose as they scale. Each Baker dealership operates with a degree of local autonomy that is rare in a group of this size, with general managers who have the authority to make decisions about inventory, pricing, and personnel without seeking corporate approval for every detail.

The group's corporate structure reflects this philosophy. The Baker family owns the real estate and the franchises, but the dealerships themselves are operated by professional managers who are given genuine ownership of their stores' performance. The corporate office provides centralized services — accounting, HR, marketing, IT — but deliberately avoids imposing uniform operating procedures that would stifle the entrepreneurial initiative of store-level leaders. This structure combines the financial strength and operational leverage of a large group with the agility and local responsiveness of an independent dealership.

Indianapolis has historically been a strong market for automotive retail, benefiting from steady population growth, a diversified economy anchored by healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing, and a central geographic position that makes it a distribution hub for the Midwest. Baker Automotive Group has grown alongside the city, expanding its footprint to match the metropolitan area's outward growth while maintaining its presence in the established corridors where its earliest stores were located. The group's dealerships span the Indianapolis market from the affluent north side suburbs through the growing south and east sides, ensuring that Baker is within easy reach of buyers across the region.

Founding and History

The origins of Baker Automotive Group trace back to 1969, when Harold Baker, a former used-car manager at a Chevrolet dealership in Anderson, Indiana, decided to strike out on his own. Baker was 34 years old at the time, with a wife, two young children, and a modest savings account that represented everything he and his wife had managed to put away over a decade of careful living. He had grown up on a farm outside Muncie, the son of a sharecropper who had never owned land of his own, and he was driven by a fierce determination to build something that would belong to his family.

Harold Baker's first dealership was not a new-car franchise but a small used-car lot on East Washington Street in Indianapolis, on a plot of land barely large enough to hold 30 vehicles. He operated with a single employee — a mechanic named Ray who worked for a share of the labor revenue — and he handled sales himself, seven days a week, often sleeping in the office on a cot when he was too tired to drive home. The early years were a grind. Cash flow was unpredictable, and Baker frequently had to borrow against his personal assets to keep the business afloat during slow months. But he was a natural salesman with an intuitive understanding of his customers, and he built a reputation for selling reliable cars at fair prices — a reputation that spread through Indianapolis's working-class East Side by word of mouth.

The breakthrough came in 1973, when Baker was awarded a Chevrolet franchise. Chevrolet was looking to expand its presence in Indianapolis, and Baker's reputation for honest dealing and his demonstrated ability to move used volume caught the attention of the zone manager. The Chevrolet franchise transformed the business almost overnight. Baker Chevrolet opened on a newly acquired parcel on East 38th Street, and it quickly became one of the higher-volume Chevrolet stores in the region. The used-car experience that Baker had built provided a steady pipeline of trade-ins that fed a growing pre-owned operation, and the service department — which Baker had staffed with the best mechanics he could find — became a profit center that carried the store through the ups and downs of new-car sales cycles.

Harold Baker ran the Chevrolet store with his son, Thomas Baker, who had joined the business after graduating from Indiana University in 1978. Thomas had grown up working at the used-car lot — washing cars, sweeping floors, and eventually helping his father negotiate trades with wholesalers — and he brought a more systematic approach to what had been, under Harold, a seat-of-the-pants operation. Thomas implemented inventory control systems, standardized the sales process, and began the work of building an organizational structure that could support multiple stores.

The Baker family's expansion beyond Chevrolet began in the mid-1980s. Thomas convinced his father that the Indianapolis market could support additional franchises, and that the group's operational capabilities were strong enough to manage multiple rooftops. The first addition was a Buick franchise in 1984, followed by a Pontiac franchise in 1986. These were not acquisitions of existing dealerships but new franchise awards — the Bakers built the stores from the ground up, designing them to their specifications and staffing them with managers they had trained.

The 1990s were a period of accelerated expansion. The group added a Toyota franchise in 1992, recognizing the growing demand for Japanese-brand vehicles in the Indianapolis market. This was followed by a Honda franchise in 1995, a Nissan franchise in 1997, and a Hyundai franchise in 1999. Each addition was carefully evaluated not just for its financial potential but for its strategic fit within the group's portfolio. The Bakers wanted to offer a complete range of brands, from value-oriented entry-level vehicles through mid-market family cars to near-luxury models, so that customers could stay within the Baker ecosystem as their needs and budgets evolved.

Harold Baker passed away in 2004 at the age of 69, having lived to see his single used-car lot grow into a nine-store operation with revenues exceeding $200 million. His funeral was attended by hundreds of customers, employees, and competitors — a testament to the relationships he had built over four decades in the business. Thomas Baker, who had effectively been running the group for several years, assumed full control and set about continuing the expansion that his father had begun.

The most transformative period for the group came in the late 2000s and early 2010s. During the financial crisis, when many dealerships were struggling to survive, Baker Automotive Group had the capital and the manufacturer relationships to acquire distressed franchises at attractive prices. The group acquired a Lexus store in 2008, a BMW franchise in 2010, and a Mercedes-Benz franchise in 2012, transforming its brand portfolio from predominantly mainstream to include a significant luxury component. These acquisitions were opportunistic but not reckless — the Bakers had been preparing for the luxury market for years, building the facilities and developing the talent that would be needed to serve high-end customers.

The luxury acquisitions elevated the group's profile in the Indianapolis market. Baker Automotive Group was no longer just a volume-oriented dealer of mainstream brands; it was now a player in the luxury segment, competing with established highline operators for the region's most affluent buyers. The group's ability to succeed in the luxury space reflected the operational discipline that Thomas Baker had instilled and the customer-service culture that had been the group's foundation since Harold Baker's used-car lot.

Today, Baker Automotive Group operates 12 rooftops under the leadership of Thomas Baker, who serves as chairman and CEO, and his son, Andrew Baker, who holds the title of president. The third generation brings a digital-native perspective to a business that was built on handshakes and personal relationships. Andrew Baker, now in his late 30s, earned an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and spent five years at a consulting firm before joining the family business in 2013. He has been the driving force behind the group's technology modernization, its digital retailing capabilities, and its data-driven approach to inventory management and customer relationship marketing.

Leadership and Governance

The leadership structure of Baker Automotive Group represents a careful balance between family oversight and professional management. Thomas Baker, the second-generation leader, remains actively involved as chairman and CEO, focusing on manufacturer relationships, strategic acquisitions, and the long-term direction of the group. His son, Andrew Baker, serves as president and handles day-to-day operations, technology strategy, and the implementation of the group's growth initiatives.

Thomas Baker is now in his late 60s and is widely regarded as one of the most astute operators in the Midwest dealership community. He has served on multiple manufacturer dealer councils and is a past chairman of the Indiana Automobile Dealers Association. His reputation among peers and competitors is one of quiet competence — he is not flashy or self-promotional, but he is known for making sound decisions consistently over decades. He has a particular gift for selecting and developing general managers, and many of the group's store-level leaders have been with the company for 20 years or more.

Andrew Baker represents the third generation and the digital future of the group. His MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School and his consulting background at Deloitte gave him exposure to best practices in analytics, digital marketing, and operational efficiency that he has applied to the family business. He is notably more comfortable with technology than his father, and he has been the driving force behind the group's investments in CRM automation, digital retailing, and data analytics. His leadership style is collaborative and data-informed, drawing on the analytics infrastructure he has built to support decision-making rather than relying solely on intuition.

The governance structure below the family leadership includes a group vice president of operations, a group vice president of fixed operations, a chief financial officer, and a chief marketing officer. All four of these positions are held by non-family executives with significant industry experience, and all four have been with the group for at least a decade. This stability in leadership is unusual in an industry where turnover among dealership executives is common, and it speaks to the group's ability to attract and retain top talent.

The group's board of advisors includes two independent members — a retired automotive manufacturer executive and a professor of business strategy from Indiana University — who provide outside perspective on the group's strategic direction. While the Baker family retains full ownership and decision-making authority, the advisory board adds a layer of governance that helps ensure disciplined strategic thinking and challenges the family's assumptions when appropriate.

Footprint and Market Position

Baker Automotive Group's 12 rooftops are concentrated in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, with a single store located in Bloomington, approximately 50 miles south of Indianapolis. This geographic concentration is a strategic choice that reflects the group's philosophy of depth over breadth. By operating multiple stores within a single market, the group achieves marketing efficiencies, inventory optimization, and talent development advantages that would be impossible if its stores were scattered across multiple states.

The group's Indianapolis-area dealerships are positioned to cover the full geographic spread of the metropolitan area. The north side, which includes the affluent suburbs of Carmel, Fishers, and Noblesville, is served by the group's luxury stores and its higher-volume import-brand franchises. The east side, where Harold Baker opened his first Chevrolet store, remains a significant presence and serves a broad cross-section of the market. The south side and the growing suburbs along the I-65 corridor are served by stores that capture the region's population growth.

The full portfolio includes:

• Baker Chevrolet (Indianapolis, East Side) — The original franchise, continuously operated since 1973, with multiple expansions and renovations over the years.
• Baker Buick-GMC (Indianapolis, North Side) — Added 1984, serving the affluent northern suburbs.
• Baker Toyota (Indianapolis, North Side) — Added 1992, one of the highest-volume Toyota stores in Indiana.
• Baker Honda (Indianapolis, West Side) — Added 1995, serving the growing western suburbs.
• Baker Nissan (Indianapolis, South Side) — Added 1997, positioned to capture the south side market.
• Baker Hyundai (Indianapolis, East Side) — Added 1999, paired with the Chevrolet store for operational synergies.
• Baker Lexus (Indianapolis, North Side) — Acquired 2008, the group's first luxury franchise.
• Baker BMW (Indianapolis, North Side) — Acquired 2010, located adjacent to the Lexus store in a luxury auto row.
• Baker Mercedes-Benz (Indianapolis, North Side) — Acquired 2012, completing the luxury trifecta.
• Baker Kia (Indianapolis, South Side) — Added 2014, capturing the growing demand for the Korean brand.
• Baker Subaru (Bloomington, IN) — Added 2017, the group's only out-of-market store.
• Baker Pre-Owned Center (Indianapolis, West Side) — A standalone used-vehicle superstore established in 2018.

The geographic distribution of the group's stores creates a competitive moat that would be difficult for an outside consolidator to replicate. Baker has the best locations in the best corridors, many of which were acquired decades ago at fractions of current market value. A competitor entering the Indianapolis market would face not only the challenge of competing with Baker's operational strength but also the barrier of finding suitable real estate at reasonable prices.

Brand Portfolio

The brand mix at Baker Automotive Group is one of the most diverse among privately held dealerships in the Midwest. The group spans the full spectrum from value-oriented domestic and import brands through the mainstream Japanese and Korean franchises to the top-tier German and Japanese luxury marques. This breadth creates a portfolio that is resilient across economic cycles — when the economy slows and luxury buyers defer purchases, the mainstream brands provide volume and service revenue; when the economy is strong, the luxury stores generate outsized profits.

The group's relationship with General Motors is historically its deepest, dating back to the original Chevrolet franchise in 1973 and the subsequent addition of Buick-GMC. These stores have been consistent top performers in GM's Midwest region, earning multiple dealer excellence awards. The group's long tenure with GM gives it preferred access to allocation and a strong voice in GM's dealer advisory processes.

The Japanese-brand franchises — Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Subaru — represent the volume core of the group's business. These brands have consistently gained market share in Indiana as consumers have shifted toward Japanese vehicles' reputation for reliability, fuel efficiency, and strong resale value. The Baker Toyota store is particularly notable, consistently ranking among the top 20 Toyota stores in the Central Region by volume and customer satisfaction.

The Korean brands — Hyundai and Kia — were added strategically during the Korean brands' growth surge in the United States. Baker Hyundai opened in 1999, when Hyundai was still struggling with quality perceptions but was beginning its transformation into a legitimate competitor. The group's early commitment to the brand paid off handsomely as Hyundai's quality ratings and market share improved dramatically over the following two decades. Baker Kia was added in 2014, giving the group coverage across both Korean brands.

The luxury portfolio — Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz — is the crown jewel of the group's brand collection. These three franchises represent the top three luxury brands in the United States by sales volume, and having all three under one ownership structure in a single market is rare. The group operates all three on Indianapolis's north side, clustered along the same corridor, creating a luxury destination that draws buyers from across the region. The stores share a common service drive and back-office operations, achieving efficiency while maintaining separate brand identities in their showrooms.

The used-vehicle operation, Baker Pre-Owned Center, operates on a different model than the group's franchised stores. The Center offers a no-haggle pricing model on a 400-vehicle inventory sourced from the group's trade-ins, auction purchases, and direct acquisitions. The Center has been a significant growth driver, particularly during the pandemic-era inventory shortage when new-car supply was constrained and used-vehicle demand surged.

Strategy and Competitive Positioning

Baker Automotive Group's competitive strategy is built on three pillars: brand diversification, operational excellence, and customer lifetime value. These three elements reinforce each other, creating a business that is resilient in downturns and highly profitable in up cycles.

Brand diversification is the most visible element of the strategy. With 12 rooftops spanning the price spectrum from entry-level Hyundai to top-tier Mercedes-Benz, the group is positioned to capture customers at every stage of their automotive lifecycle. A young buyer who purchases a Hyundai Elantra at Baker Hyundai can return years later to trade it for a Honda Accord at Baker Honda, then graduate to a Lexus ES at Baker Lexus, and eventually buy an S-Class at Baker Mercedes-Benz. The group's data systems track customers across the portfolio, enabling targeted marketing that moves buyers up the brand ladder over time.

Operational excellence is the infrastructure that supports the diversification strategy. The group has invested heavily in centralized back-office functions — accounting, HR, IT, marketing — that allow each store to operate more efficiently than it could independently. The centralized business development center handles inbound leads and phone inquiries for all stores, ensuring consistent response quality and follow-up processes. The centralized inventory management system optimizes vehicle allocation across stores, reducing days' supply and improving turn rates.

Customer lifetime value is the metric that Baker management tracks more closely than any other. The group's analytics systems calculate the projected lifetime value of each customer based on purchase history, service patterns, and demographic data, and they prioritize marketing and service investments accordingly. High-value customers receive priority treatment in service scheduling, personalized vehicle recommendations when they're in the market, and exclusive event invitations. The group's customer retention rates are significantly above industry averages, reflecting the effectiveness of this approach.

The group's competitive position in Indianapolis is strong and strengthening. The Indianapolis market has been attractive to publicly traded consolidators — AutoNation, Penske Automotive Group, and Sonic Automotive all have significant presences in the market — but Baker Automotive Group has held its own against these much larger competitors. The group's advantages include deep local relationships, prime real estate positions acquired long ago, and a level of operational flexibility that publicly traded groups cannot match. Baker can make decisions in hours that would take weeks at a publicly traded group, and it can invest in facilities, technology, and personnel on timelines measured in years rather than quarters.

Technology Stack

Baker Automotive Group's technology infrastructure has been substantially modernized under Andrew Baker's leadership, transitioning from a decentralized patchwork of systems to a unified platform that provides real-time visibility across all stores. The group operates on the Reynolds and Reynolds ERA DMS platform, chosen for its depth of functionality and its integration capabilities with other systems in the technology stack.

The CRM layer is built on Reynolds' Ignite platform, integrated with the ERA DMS to provide a single customer view across sales, service, and marketing interactions. The CRM supports automated workflow triggers that ensure consistent follow-up on leads, service appointments, and customer satisfaction surveys. The group has invested heavily in CRM data hygiene, with a dedicated data quality team that continuously cleans and enriches customer records.

The digital retailing platform is powered by a custom integration of the Reynolds online buying tools with the group's website. Customers can complete the entire purchase process online, from inventory browsing and vehicle comparison through trade-in valuation, financing pre-approval, and document signing. The platform provides real-time inventory data and transparent pricing, with the group's "best price" displayed upfront for customers who prefer a no-negotiation experience.

The group's inventory management system uses predictive analytics to optimize vehicle mix across all stores. The system analyzes historical sales data, current market conditions, and manufacturer incentive programs to recommend inventory positions that maximize profitability while maintaining acceptable turn rates. The system also supports centralized inventory pooling, enabling the transfer of vehicles between stores to fulfill customer requests without carrying redundant inventory.

The service department operates on a unified shop management system that provides real-time visibility into capacity, technician productivity, and repair order status across all stores. Customers receive automated text and email updates on their vehicle's service status, including video and photo documentation of recommended repairs. The group has also implemented an online service scheduling system that optimizes appointment availability across all stores based on current capacity and technician expertise.

Data analytics is a major area of investment. The group has built a centralized data warehouse that aggregates data from the DMS, CRM, and digital retailing platforms, enabling custom reporting and analysis. Management dashboards provide real-time visibility into key performance indicators at the store, department, and individual employee levels. The analytics team, which includes three data scientists, develops predictive models for customer churn, inventory demand, and service department optimization.

Community Impact

Baker Automotive Group's approach to community involvement reflects the values that Harold Baker established when he opened his first used-car lot. Baker believed that a business that succeeds in a community has an obligation to contribute to that community's well-being, and his philosophy has been maintained and expanded by his successors. The group's community engagement is extensive, systematic, and remarkably low-profile — consistent with the family's general preference for substance over visibility.

The group's most significant community investment is its support for the Indiana University Health system, and specifically for the Riley Hospital for Children. The Baker family has contributed more than $8 million to Riley over the past two decades, funding pediatric research, facility improvements, and a family assistance program that helps families afford travel and lodging while their children receive treatment. The group also sponsors an annual charity drive that raises funds for Riley through customer donations matched by the company.

Education is another major focus. The group has established Baker Automotive Group scholarships at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and Ivy Tech Community College, supporting students pursuing careers in business and automotive technology. The group also partners with Indianapolis-area high schools on automotive technology programs, providing vehicles, equipment, and mentorship for students in vocational tracks.

Each dealership in the group participates in its local community independently, supporting youth sports teams, local chambers of commerce, and neighborhood nonprofit organizations. General managers are given budgets and autonomy for local charitable activities, and they are expected to be visible and engaged in their communities. The group's corporate office supports this local engagement with matching gift programs and paid volunteer time for employees.

The group's charitable giving is organized through the Baker Family Foundation, which was established in 2005 and has assets of approximately $15 million. The foundation makes grants in three focus areas: children's health, education, and community development. The foundation is funded by annual contributions from the group and from the Baker family personally, and it is governed by a board that includes family members and independent community leaders.

Recent Developments

The past several years have been a period of significant transformation for Baker Automotive Group, driven partly by external forces — the pandemic, the inventory crisis, the accelerating shift to digital retailing — and partly by the group's own strategic initiatives.

The pandemic-era disruptions tested the group's operational resilience and accelerated its digital transformation. When showrooms closed in March 2020, Baker Automotive Group pivoted rapidly to a remote sales model, enabling customers to complete purchases entirely online with contactless delivery. The group's digital retailing platform, which had been under development before the pandemic, was fast-tracked and proved critical to maintaining sales volumes during the lockdown period. The experience demonstrated to the Baker family that their technology investments were paying off and that the future of auto retail would be increasingly digital.

The inventory shortage of 2020-2022 created both challenges and opportunities. With new-vehicle supply constrained, the group shifted focus to its used-vehicle operations, expanding the Baker Pre-Owned Center's inventory and investing in its reconditioning capabilities. The group's used-vehicle sales grew by more than 50 percent between 2020 and 2023, partially offsetting the decline in new-car volume. The shortage also compressed margins on new-vehicle sales, but the group's diversified portfolio and its emphasis on fixed operations helped maintain profitability.

In 2023, the group completed a major renovation of its flagship Chevrolet store on Indianapolis's East Side, investing approximately $3.5 million in a comprehensive remodel that updated the facility to GM's latest image standards. The renovation included an expanded showroom, a modernized service drive, and enhanced customer amenities. The investment reflected the group's long-term commitment to the Chevrolet brand and to the East Side community where the group's story began.

The group has also been active in talent development, launching a formal apprenticeship program for automotive technicians in partnership with Ivy Tech Community College. The program provides paid training and classroom instruction, with participants committing to work at the group for at least two years after completing the program. The initiative addresses the persistent shortage of qualified technicians while creating career opportunities for young people in Central Indiana.

On the manufacturer relations front, the group has navigated several significant transitions. The consolidation of the Chrysler-Fiat-Peugeot network did not affect the group directly — Baker does not hold any Stellantis franchises — but it affected the competitive landscape as other dealers in the market adjusted their portfolios. The group has also been preparing for the electric vehicle transition, installing charging infrastructure at all its stores and sending technicians to manufacturer EV training programs. The group's luxury stores, in particular, are well-positioned for the EV transition, as Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz have all committed to substantial electric vehicle lineups.

Outlook

The future for Baker Automotive Group appears bright, but the group's leadership is acutely aware of the challenges facing the auto retail industry. The transition to electric vehicles, the ongoing consolidation of dealership groups, and the changing expectations of consumers all present risks and opportunities that the group must navigate.

The EV transition is perhaps the most significant long-term challenge. Baker Automotive Group's franchises include many that are at the forefront of electrification — BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Hyundai all have ambitious EV plans, and Chevrolet's electric vehicle lineup is expanding rapidly with the Blazer EV, Equinox EV, and Silverado EV. The group has begun preparing for the EV future, installing charging infrastructure and training technicians, but the pace of consumer adoption remains uncertain. The group's Midwest location presents particular challenges, as EV adoption in Indiana has lagged behind coastal markets.

The consolidation trend in auto retail presents both a threat and an opportunity. As publicly traded groups and large private operators continue to acquire dealerships, Baker Automotive Group faces pressure to grow or risk being marginalized by larger competitors. The group has the capital and the operational capacity to continue acquiring, and it is actively evaluating opportunities in adjacent Indiana markets. At the same time, the group is also a potential acquisition target, and the Baker family has had conversations with consolidators over the years. For now, the family remains committed to independent ownership, but they recognize that the future is uncertain.

Technology investment will continue to be a priority. The group is exploring artificial intelligence applications for customer service automation, inventory pricing optimization, and predictive maintenance scheduling. The group's analytics capabilities are already industry-leading, and the leadership sees AI as a natural extension of the data-driven approach they have already embraced.

The group's greatest strength, however, remains its culture and its people. Baker Automotive Group has maintained a retention rate among managers that is exceptional for the industry, and its ability to develop talent from within provides a sustainable competitive advantage. The group's commitment to employee development, its promotion-from-within philosophy, and its competitive compensation and benefits create a virtuous cycle in which talented people are attracted, developed, and retained.

For the Baker family, the business is more than a financial asset. It is a legacy that began with Harold Baker's determination to build something that would belong to his family, and it is a responsibility that Thomas and Andrew Baker take seriously. Their goal is not merely to preserve what Harold built but to strengthen it, to position it for the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing industry, and eventually to pass it to the fourth generation in a condition that would make its founder proud.

The story of Baker Automotive Group is a testament to the power of patient capital, strategic discipline, and family values in an industry that is increasingly dominated by short-term thinking and transactional relationships. In an era of consolidation, commoditization, and constant change, the Baker family has built something that endures by staying true to the principles that have guided it from the start: treat customers fairly, invest in your people, serve your community, and never confuse activity with progress.