It has only been a matter of weeks since Asbury Automotive Group opened its first Q auto store.

So, in speaking to the crowd at the Stephens Spring Investment Conference in New York this month, the retailer made it clear that it is a bit early in the game to get any real measurable feel for the success of Asbury’s debut in the world of stand-alone pre-owned stores.

The company’s president and chief executive officer did acknowledge that the proposition of launching this type of retail outlet is a risky one, but it’s one that Asbury is willing and prepared to take.

The Wall Street Webcasting website provided a webcast of their presentation made by Asbury president and CEO Craig Monaghan and Asbury senior vice president/chief financial officer Keith Style at the New York event, where the executives provided an update on the progress on Asbury’s Q auto program.

With the debut store — located in the Tampa, Fla. area —  having just opened May 25, Monaghan said it was “too soon to know anything” about the store’s success, and he emphasized that the primary activities of Asbury’s team there revolves around getting acclimated with the various technological applications at their disposal.

“We’ve got a number of applications in that store that are, I would say, next-generation from what are in our core stores. The sales process happens on a tablet. There is no F&I office. The car is fixed price, the F&I product is fixed price. It’s a single associate that works a customer through that process,” he said.

“It’s somewhat of a place for us to experiment with technologies that could one day find themselves in the core stores, as well. That’s one of the reasons we’ve done it. It’s very interesting for us to see how this plays out,” Monaghan continued.

One of the more important philosophical question around Q auto, Monaghan said, is why the retailer decided to go with this concept in the first place.

He began his answer to that by noting that when Asbury purchases a store, it’s not uncommon for half or more of the purchase price to be goodwill. So, rolling out something along the lines of Q auto can be quite cost-effective.

“If we can figure out how to solve this used-car puzzle, we can put that store in place, if you would, at essentially a 50-percent discount,” Monaghan said. “Accordingly, the returns that we could achieve, if it works, could be quite handsome. And that we find highly motivating.”

 Motivating, yes, but also risky, he would acknowledge. Keeping the risks in mind — including those that Monaghan has seen firsthand — he says the company’s expertise in the used market, the technological amenities and access to capital can help Asbury succeed in rolling out this concept.

“We’re not naïve in that we recognize that many have tried this and failed. And I, myself, was part of an undertaking that didn’t work out. So, we’re very sober about that, but we also recognize that there are a number of people around the country who are successful with this,” Monaghan said.

“Many of them are regional players, but there is a lot of success.  And we think the world has changed quite substantially in just the last two to three years that we’re actually in a position that there’s a real good chance that this is going to work,” he continued.

“And what I would tell you specifically that’s different is, the way we think about it is, I think we’ve demonstrated that there are a lot of used-vehicle expertise within our organization.  And you can see that in our used-vehicle growth rates. So, one, we’ve got some people who are very knowledgeable about this. Two, the movement in technology has been almost mind-blowing,” Monaghan said.

He later added: “We think the risk is worth the potential reward, but we won’t know until we see how it plays out.”