Online Automotive Retailer Vroom Increases Houston Presence With Launch of Last Mile Concierge Experience

October 20, 2021 at 09:30 AM EDT

National Retailer Continues to Add Jobs + Invest in Its People with New Personalized Delivery Service & Training

Vroom, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRM), a leading ecommerce platform for buying and selling used vehicles, today announced the opening of a new Houston hub, which will create a more customized driveway experience for nearly 7.1 million people in more than 455 zip codes within a 75-mile radius. The hub will also allow Vroom to inspect, detail and place temporary tags on all cars being delivered or picked up in Texas.

The Last Mile Hub represents Vroom’s ongoing commitment to Houston, where the company has delivered vehicles since 2012 and employs more than 900 people in the area across the company’s Reconditioning Center, Last Mile hub, executive offices, and Texas Direct Auto dealership and Sell Us Your Car locations.

Vroom’s mission is to offer the best driveway experience possible for both delivery and pickup, especially as the pandemic has increased consumer appetite for remote car buying and selling. With an emphasis on customer service, Vroom is taking a unique approach by recruiting employees with hospitality and client service experience for its Last Mile hubs, who along with delivering thousands of vehicles this year, have also helped local customers celebrate big moments, including surprise birthday and graduation deliveries.

Vehicle transactions by Houston-area Vroom customers included an increase in purchases by 144.6% from the first half of 2020 to the first half of 2021 and increase in cars sold to Vroom by 624.4% during that same time. The company is now offering a more personalized concierge experience, where customer advocates transport cars directly to local car buyers’ driveways on Vroom-branded trucks and show them how to use their new vehicles. The Last Mile hub expansion efforts are led by Vroom’s Chief Logistics Officer Mary Kay Wegner and her team, including VP of Transportation John Piatak. The new Last Mile hub will be located in Stafford, Texas, as part of the 293K-square-foot reconditioning center.

Vroom’s Houston reconditioning center has nearly 400 employees who recondition and inspect the vehicles to make sure they are clean and ready for delivery before going out to customers. Through a partnership with Advance Auto Parts and its Carquest Technical Institute, Vroom is investing in its people by providing employees with complimentary automotive career pathway certifications, Automotive Service Excellence training, and advanced interactive eLearning, on premise.

“As Vroom’s business continues to grow, we’re committed to investing in the Houston area, from expanding our physical footprint, to hiring more local workers, to offering new services for our valued customers,” said Mary Kay Wegner. “Creating a more personalized driveway experience, rolling out more local hubs across the country, and expanding our senior logistics team have been big priorities for us, so we’re excited to launch this offering in Houston, one of our home cities.”

Through its ecommerce platform and data-driven technology, Vroom offers thousands of low-mileage, reconditioned vehicles with delivery to consumers wherever they are in the U.S. It also arranges financing through leading lenders and offers service contracts and other value-added products that provide convenience for customers. In addition to providing a better way to buy a used car, Vroom’s Sell Us Your Car^® offering allows customers who wish to sell or trade in their cars to receive appraisals within minutes, attractive market-based pricing, hassle-free loan payoffs and convenient vehicle pickup. Vroom also owns and operates the Texas Direct Auto brand in the Houston area.

For more information on Vroom’s car buying and selling options, visit Vroom.com.

About Vroom:

Vroom is an innovative, end-to-end ecommerce platform designed to offer a better way to buy and a better way to sell used cars. The company's scalable, data-driven technology brings all phases of the car buying and selling process to consumers wherever they are and offers an extensive selection of used cars, transparent pricing, competitive financing, and at-home pick-up and delivery. Vroom is based in New York and Houston and also operates the Texas Direct Auto and CarStory brands.