Snap Shop: Valley Collision Draper

Jan. 21, 2022

Take a look inside this growing Utah MSO’s massive renovation.

SHOP STATS: Valley Collision Draper Location: Draper, Utah Owner: Valley Collision Staff Size: 16 Shop Size: 10,000 square feet Average Monthly Car Count: 150 ARO: $2500 Annual Revenue: $4.5 million

An (Almost) Total Makeover

When Valley Collision bought its Draper location three years ago, now one of its eight shops, a complete makeover was needed. Described as “straight out of the ’80s” by co-owner Dan Spirgen, the previous owner built the facility with a jungle theme in mind.

There was a large terrarium in the middle of the lobby and a large waterfall on one of the walls. The floors were lined with black tiles, miniature palm trees were spread out across the space and floral patterns were lined on the walls.

With a focus on a repeatable look across all their locations, “it needed to go,” Spirgen says with a laugh.

In its place is now a more modern-looking shop to appeal to a wider, everyday customer base. The tile was replaced with light wood and other browns and earth tones are present throughout the shop. The space was opened with the removal of the terrarium and includes plenty of natural light and high ceilings.

Old:

Staying Recognizable

While the before and after photos look completely different, one remnant of the old shop remains outside: a large statue of a gorilla with an arm around a fake palm tree.

“It doesn’t go with any of our themes but we kept it because everybody in the city knows it,” Spirgen says.

“Oh, you’re the shop with the gorilla,” has become a common response when Spirgen speaks with members of the community about Valley collision. It’s the one aspect of the business that has no plans of changing.

Spirgen does plan to paint the building soon to fit the shop’s colors.

Simple, Elegant Branding

Around the same time the shop was remodeled, Valley Collision’s brand also got a touch-up. Spirgen and his other three partners sat down with a brand specialist who went through the best colors, messaging and logos to use to optimize their goals. With the hope of expanding to 15 shops by the end of 2022 and 45 within the next 3-5 years, they needed to make sure the branding was right.

Self-described as a production shop, it didn’t need anything flashy; rather a simple, elegant and clean look.

In their research, they determined black, gold and grey fit that goal. The logo was touched up slightly to include lines above and below the signature “V” to frame it and center the customers eyes on it. Now with the logo and the shop remodel in place, it all works in concert of the simple, clean and elegant goal.

Spirgen has seen good returns on it. Customers are consistently coming in asking to buy the shop’s shirts and hoodies. Spirgen is in the process of ordering shirts in bulk to stock at each location and give to customers for free.

“Before I got into auto body I wouldn’t have thought people would want to wear a shop shirt,” Sprigen said, “but here we are.”