AUTOMOTIVE ART CELEBRATES 20 YEARS IN JAMAICA

Stewart’s Automotive Group celebrated the 20th anniversary of its subsidiary Automotive Art and the first anniversary of its new flagship Automotive Art store in Kingston at 50 Hagley Park Road.

Opened in February 2022, the car-care store at Hagley Park Road joins others located at 22 Old Hope Road in Kingston, Mega Mart in Portmore, St Catherine, and the Trade Centre in Montego Bay, St James.

In celebration of the occasion and under their mantra, ‘Your Car, Our Passion’,Automotive Art has launched a ton-load of initiatives to give back to their customers.

“We are giving a lot back to our customers for 20 years of making your car, our passion,” said Michaela Francis, Group Marketing Manager for Stewart’s Automotive Group. “We plan to celebrate our customers all year long with many different events and specials.”

In addition to the 20th-anniversary celebration at the Hagley Park store, Automotive Art will offer customers a 20 per cent discount on all Rapid tyres, car accessories, car care products, Valvoline Lubricants, and Draper tools.

Automotive Art also plans to launch a new automotive clear coat in April and introduce a new Hankook tyre in June, and retailers and subdistributors will benefit from discounts at Automotive Art’s Wholesale Division located at Orchard Road in Kingston.

Head of Operations at Stewart’s Automotive Group and granddaughter of that company’s s founder (Richard Stewart), Christina Hudson, explained: “We opened Stewart’s Auto Paints [in 1993] and began importing Glasurit automotive paint, which ushered in a new age of polyurethane and two-stage technologies for automotive refinishes.”

She continued: “As the company began to build its refinish business, it also started to diversify into other related automotive categories. Initially, diversification and growth came from entering ancillary paint product categories such as sandpaper, spray guns, and compressors, which were naturally complementary to the refinish business. Over time, the company diversified into broader automotive categories, including wheels, car accessories, automotive chemicals, additives, waxes, and polishes.”

General Manager Wain Russell explained: “Our team is very enthusiastic about this latest store we have opened. We actually opened the store last year during COVID and as such, we were not able to invite customers to come by and see what we had to offer.”

Russell underscored that the occasion allowed persons to see that the auto-care store is for all Jamaicans. “Automotive Art is for all customers from all walks of life, all different-sized pocketbooks. We cater for all cars imported to Jamaica new and pre-owned and all vehicles. You name it, we’ve got something for everyone here.”

The general manager also touted the store’s state-of-the-art paint-mixing technology. “Paint-mixing technology is very important. Unfortunately, many of us have, on occasion, an accident, and we want to not respray the entire car but to match the existing finish. We have a spectrometer, and we are actually able to determine the pigment of the paint on your vehicle, analyse that through our computer system, and through that, we are able to match the colour perfectly. Beyond that, we have the most experienced paint mixers, and that really makes a difference.”

Nick Lue, Jamaica’s automotive YouTuber and social media influencer, who was on location for the event, revealed that he has been a customer of Automotive Art since day one, citing their quality of service and products. “When I got my first car, the paint on it was actually bought at Automotive Art … and all my polishes from back in the day. It’s just an ideal place for people that love cars to come and grab their products,” shared Lue.

Stewart’s Auto Paints rebranded as Automotive Art in 2003. With corporate headquarters in Barbados, Automotive Art currently trades in over 24 countries, inclusive of 15 Automotive Art franchise stores in nine countries throughout the Caribbean.