Owner: Elmer Pique
Location: Gulfport, Mississippi
Staff Size: 17
Shop Size: 21,000 sq feet
Average Monthly Car Count:70
Average Repair Order: $6,000
Annual Revenue: $5 million
In the coastal town of Gulfport, Mississippi, Unique Collision Center grew from a single shop into the first of a three-location Mississipi multi-shop operator (MSO) with a location in Biloxi and the other in Ocean Springs.
The ceiling of the shop might make you think it’s a flipped sailboat. A FenderBender reporter certainly considered the possibility, but the truth isn’t that far off.
Elmer Pique Jr., the current owner of the small MSO, told FenderBender that his father, Elmer Pique Sr., bought the building in 1984, which used to belong to a fiberglass boat repair shop.
A Unique Family
Pique, who took over the business from his father in 2005, has continued to uphold the values and standards that have made the shop a trusted name in Gulfport. “My dad still comes in every day,” he said. “But he’s more involved just to have something to do. Since 2005, I’ve been running it, and we just celebrated our 40th anniversary last August.”
Pique’s son, Chase, has been involved with the business since he was old enough to drive. “He’s 25 now and has a lot to learn on the business management side, but he’s good with the technical stuff,” Pique Jr. said. He also hopes to pass it down to his son.
Not much can be said yet about what Chase’s leadership will look like, but one big difference between Junior and Senior is their views on MSO. From an outside perspective, it seems that both want to grow their businesses safely.
“Six or seven shops would be good for me,” he said. But he didn’t have a set timeline because he wants to grow slowly and carefully.
There’s Always a Bigger Fish
A testament to their success could be seen by the fact that some of the biggest MSOs tried to buy his business.
“I want to be able to pass it on to my son like my dad passed it to me,” Pique Jr. said. “One day I’d like to see my son pass it to his. Who knows?”
Unique Collision Center competes with the bigger fish by staying up to date on services. Pique Jr. shared he is equipped to handle electric vehicles (EVs) even though the market in his area isn’t demanding it yet.
“On the electric side of things and the higher-end cars, we’re onboarding right now with Porsche and Lexus, but currently our certifications are moving forward with Ford aluminum and GM EVs,” Pique said. Unique also holds Volvo, BMW, Lucid, and Rivian certifications.
All of this work can be undertaken in Unique’s 12 body shop bays and 10 paint bays.
A Unique Competition
Unique Collision Center has no issue attracting customers despite the competition. As of October 16, the shop has a four-week backlog. The business, however, does struggle to find qualified technicians.
“We have a 401(k), we have healthcare, we close for a half day on Friday, but we still get our 40 hours,” Pique said. “It’s hard to get people to even come to the industry, but then when you’ve got big MSOs that can give big signing bonuses and offer all this stuff, it’s even harder to compete with that. But as long as you stay true and do what you say, you tend to keep the good people.”
