The Mattiacio Group — a long-standing, family-run operator of Ziebart franchises — has acquired 17 additional Ziebart stores from The Harris Group, making it the largest franchisee in the U.S. Ziebart network with a total of 26 locations across New York, Florida, Indiana, and Ohio. The deal honors the decades-long contributions of The Harris Group, led by Jim Harris, who is retiring, while promoting Brandi Gehring (a 20-year veteran of the group) to President to ensure continuity in daily operations. The transition supports Ziebart’s ongoing commitment to service excellence, with leadership teamwork including five key members from The Harris Group joining The Mattiacio ownership as equity partners.
If Harris Group employees had any unease about their stores being acquired by another large Ziebart franchisee group, it apparently didn’t last long.
Within days of the deal being finalized, the executive team from Mattiacio Group visited each of their 17 newly acquired Ziebarts in Indiana and Ohio to meet with their new employees. The team answered questions employees had about the acquisition and what it means for them.
The message from leadership was clear: No jobs would be eliminated and that the merger of the two companies was a chance to celebrate the creation of the largest and in many respects most successful Ziebart franchisee group in the system with 26 locations in four states.
“Between the two of us, we’ve got six of the top 10 performing stores in the system,” said Zach Mattiacio, the chief finance officer for Rochester, New York-based Mattiacio Group.
Mattiacio Group operated nine Ziebarts in Buffalo and Rochester, New York, along with a single location in Fort Myers, Florida, prior to the acquisition. Ziebart is an automotive appearance and protection franchise that focuses on extending the life of vehicles.
“The message was we’re here to join forces and become a team and we’re not here to fire anyone or change anyone or anything,” Mattiacio said. “We told them we’re here to learn from you guys because you do so many things real well and for you guys to learn from us because, just like them, we’re operating some of the top-performing Ziebarts.”
Judging by the first month of sales since the acquisition, the merger of the two largest Ziebart groups has apparently gone as well as anyone predicted.
Brandi Gehring, a longtime employee with the Harris Group who was promoted to president of the group’s Indiana and Ohio operations, said that year-over-year sales improved by $100,000 for the month of July. She and Zach Mattiacio confirmed that average unit volumes for their stores come in consistently above the systemwide AUV of $1.3 million with their top performing stores, posting annual revenues closer to $4 million.
“The Mattiacio family reputation for running outstanding Ziebarts was something we were all well aware of, but until you actually go through an acquisition like this one you naturally have your concerns how it will all go,” Gehring said. “I can honestly say that it’s been about as smooth a transition as one could hope for.”
The Mattiacio Group’s roots in Ziebart date back to 1989 when family patriarch Tony Mattiacio opened his first location. Since then, the group has grown slowly yet steadily to successfully operate nine high-performing Ziebart locations. The Mattiacio Group evolved into a family business throughout the years, with Mattiacio’s children—Mark, Zach, Ryan and Meghan—all taking on leadership roles with Mark Mattiacio as chief operations officer, Ryan as chief
Prior to Mattiacio Group’s acquisition of the Harris Group, Tony Mattiacio transitioned ownership of the group to the next generation of his family while retaining his role as CEO.
Meanwhile, the Harris Group was led by franchise veteran Jim Harrison since 2015. When his fellow Ziebart operator and long-time friend mentioned his plans to retire, Tony Mattiacio expressed interest in acquiring his portfolio. One of the main stipulations of the transaction was Harris’ longtime employees and close friends would retain their jobs.
“The one thing we’ve learned over the years of running Ziebarts is that if you treat your employees well and pay them well, they will take pride in their work. Customer satisfaction increases along with the sales. Some of them have been with us for 20 years,” Zach Mattiacio said.
Mattiacio and Gehring both said their Ziebart businesses have not been impacted by the jittery economy and consumers pulling back on their discretionary spending this year. They said clients see rust-proofing and detailing as a way to protect their investment in their vehicles. Gehring said the average ticket sales are $650 to $700 with customers paying as much as $5,000 for full vehicle protection plans.
Now at the top of the Ziebart system, Zach Mattiacio said the group is happy where it is.
“We’re not looking necessarily to grow anymore,” Zach Mattiacio said. “We like the number we’re at now and the stores we have.”
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