Justin Divaris, who could be called a compulsive retailer, runs a lifestyle centre for the wealthy, writes Nicola Mawson
AS A small boy, he was already selling. He sold his comic books to make a buck, and even tried to sell his brother for extra cash. And he’s had a life-long passion for cars. Now, he owns companies and brand names that retail some of James Bond’s favourite brands, such as Aston Martin and Sunseeker Yachts. Justin Divaris is licensed to sell.
Being granted the agency for Aston Martin in SA has, so far, been his crowning achievement, but Divaris, now 35, has been involved in running entrepreneurial businesses since university and, although he says it’s time to slow down now, his energy belies this statement.
His first job was at the age of 15, as a casual for Totalsports. Since then, he has worked towards selling several luxury brands under one roof. Divaris, a self-confessed “car nut” says he is lucky to have “ended up doing what I love”.
His energy is apparent in his fast speech, and his way of talking with his hands.
He still seems excited from the thrill of a deal he was busy with just before our meeting, as if he is on a natural high.
At the time he wanted to open the Aston Martin dealership (in the mid-2000s), he had already built up Hyde Park BMW to number two in SA in terms of sales. Aston Martin was looking at launching a “baby” V8 Vantage at R1,8m, cheaper than anything comparable in the market at the time. Divaris had always been keen on the brand and so he went to the UK to persuade the company that SA was a good country to invest in .
He says Aston Martin thought the market would be good for 20- 30 cars a year, Divaris wanted to top that and sold more than 100 cars in the first year.
The dealership, on Rivonia Road in Sandton, has now been going for four and a half years. Divaris competed against several other people to be awarded the agency, including some established names in the industry, but Aston Martin liked the youthful team, and Divaris won out.
The Aston Martin dealership has also been joined by the original BMW outlet, and a few other luxury brands such as Ducati. The Aston Martin dealership is now one of the top dealerships globally, says Divaris.
Divaris started out coaching sport — another love — while at school. After his stint in the air force, he went on to study for a BCom in marketing at the University of Cape Town, and then moved to Johannesburg, where he continued studying at what was then the Rand Afrikaans University.
Divaris didn’t finish, leaving the degree in his final year to focus on his business interests.
But dropping his degree didn’t go down well in a family of chartered accountants. Divaris says degrees are simply not practical enough.
“It doesn't prepare you for the real world.”
While studying, he started running a sports coaching and development company in Soweto. The company grew as sponsors came on board, and he converted old tennis clubs to sports centres. These developed into sports clinics and then sports events.
The sports coaching led Divaris to opening sports shops. But, two years later in 1999, it was time to do something different.
He was offered a position at jewellery retail group Arthur Kaplan, then owned by McCarthy, as marketing manager. Divaris spent about a year rebranding the company, bringing in the top brands and making sure it was targeting the right market.
After 18 months, he was promoted to MD and a year later led a management buyout. This move was pure serendipity. One Saturday, he was serving customers in the Sandton store and he served a senior FirstRand executive. The rest, as they say, is history and the chain was purchased for R45m in 2001, despite his not having much to put up for his share. “The fluke was, I helped him in the shop, selling a watch to his wife.”
Within a year, Divaris had bought out the bank’s shares in the business and extended market reach by opening the World’s Finest Watches concept stores. The Arthur Kaplan Group is today the largest national retailer of Swiss watch brands, including Rolex. Divaris is still a majority shareholder.
In 2004, Divaris passed the Arthur Kaplan reins to his brother, Dean, and bought the ailing BMW dealership. The outlet was, at that stage, near the bottom of the ladder in terms of sales. Divaris took a year to take it to number two.
In 2005, the dealership moved to Sandton and Divaris started building the Daytona umbrella. He says he had planned a lifestyle centre that sold luxury brands targeted at the same market.
The focus was on “one customer” for the luxury goods and brands in the group.
At the moment, Dad can buy an Aston Martin, Mom can get a BMW, daughter can drive off in a Mini and son can get a date with the track and a Ducati.
Daytona Luxury Cars, also in the centre, was opened after the Aston Martin outfit, and is the arm of the company that resells cars traded in on Aston Martin purchases.
Daytona Luxury Cars was formed as the premier retailer of pre-owned luxury sports cars such as Ferrari, Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini.
In 2007, Divaris took on the Rolls-Royce brand and sold 15 cars, up from two in the previous year. Ducati also joined the fold in 2007 through the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Ducati SA, the importer and distributor of Ducati motorcycles.
Also in 2007, the world’s fastest car — the Koenigsegg — joined the stable and last year, Divaris was awarded an Audi dealership. The Audi dealership is based in Randburg, where it has been a “roaring success”.
Divaris says he has sought out brands that “have legs” and are not at the end of their life. Audi is a “fantastic brand with a lot of future success to come”.
Last year, he moved his focus to water and started a joint venture with Sunseeker Yachts — another James Bond favourite — that will see Divaris represent the brand in Africa.
He is also planning to add other brands to the stable, but is coy about what consumers can expect. Next year, however, a sports car linked to the Formula One brand will join the umbrella group, which has about 10 outlets.
In his spare time, unsurprisingly, Divaris enjoys taking a bike onto the track, and sport. Although married a year, there are no children yet. “I’ve got myself to look after, that’s a big enough kid.”
Dad can buy an Aston Martin, Mom can get a BMW, daughter can drive off in a Mini and son can get a Ducati, all from the same place
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