Stewart’s Automotive Group celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Automotive Art subsidiary and the first anniversary of its new flagship Automotive Art store in Kingston at 50 Hagley Park Road.
Opening in February 2022, the Hagley Park Road car care store joins others located at 22 Old Hope Road in Kingston, Mega Mart in Portmore, St Catherine and at the Trade Center in Montego Bay, St James.
In celebration of the occasion and under its mantra, “Your car, our passion”, Automotive Art has launched a host of initiatives to give back to its customers.
“We’ve been giving a lot to our customers for 20 years making your car our passion,” said Michaela Francis, group marketing director of Stewart’s Automotive Group. “We plan to celebrate our customers throughout the year with many different events and specials.”
In addition to the 20th anniversary celebration at the Hagley Park store, Automotive Art will be offering customers a 20% discount on all Rapid tyres, car accessories, car care products, Valvoline lubricants and Draper tools.
Automotive Art also plans to launch a new automotive clearcoat in April and introduce a new Hankook tire in June, and retailers and sub-distributors will benefit from discounts at Automotive Art’s wholesale division located in Orchard Road in Kingston.
Chief Operating Officer of Stewart’s Automotive Group and granddaughter of that company’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 era of polyurethane and two-stage technologies for automotive touch-ups.”
He continued: “As the company began to build its repair business, it also began to diversify into other automotive-related categories. Initially, diversification and growth came from entering categories of auxiliary paint products such as sandpaper, spray guns and compressors, which were naturally complementary to the refinishing business.Over time, the company diversified into broader automotive categories, including wheels, accessories for to cars, automotive chemicals, additives, waxes and polishes.
Managing Director Wain Russell explained: “Our team are really excited about this latest store we’ve opened. We actually opened the store last year during COVID and as such we weren’t able to invite the customers to come and see what we had to offer.”
Russell emphasized that the occasion allowed people to see that the auto care shop is for all Jamaicans. “Automotive Art is for all customers from all walks of life, all pockets of different sizes. We cater for all new and used cars imported to Jamaica and all vehicles. Either way, we have something here for everyone “.
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 don’t want to paint the whole car but match the existing finish. We have a spectrometer and we can actually determine the pigment of your vehicle’s paint, analyze it through our computer system, and thanks to that we can match the color perfectly. On top of that, we have the most experienced paint mixers, and that really makes a difference.” .
Jamaican automotive YouTuber and social media influencer Nick Lue, who was present at 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 was bought from Automotive Art… and all my period enamels. It’s just a great place for people who love cars to come and get their products,” Lue shared.
Stewart’s Auto Paints changed its name to Automotive Art in 2003. With corporate headquarters in Barbados, Automotive Art currently trades in over 24 countries, including 15 Automotive Art franchise stores in nine Caribbean countries.
