White River Subaru Has New Local Ownership

White River Junction, VT – White River Subaru has new local ownership through a partnership between long-time northern New England auto retail executive Christopher Konovalchik and David Rosenberg – co-founder of the Ira Jack brand and one of the most experienced dealership owners in the industry.

Rosenberg and Konovalchik acquired the Subaru franchise at 429 Sykes Mountain Ave. in October 2020, seeking to further enhance the customer-focused and community-oriented dealership through local ownership and operations.

“This is an important milestone for Subaru in White River Junction, and an excellent opportunity for customers to experience a level of service and care they just aren’t getting anywhere else,” said Konovalchik, who lives in Quechee, VT. In addition to being co-owner, he will continue his role as the store’s General Manager.

“We have two important philosophies: we treat our customers like family and we believe in supporting our local communities. I’ve worked with David for more than 20 years, and he preaches this every day,” said Konovalchik.

White River Subaru is a 150-car per month dealership that employs approximately 60 people full-time. The dealership is strongly committed to the Subaru Love Promise – a core value of Subaru and company pledge to “show love and respect to customers and to work to make a positive impact in the world.”

The dealership is active as a corporate citizen in the Upper Valley region and a supporter of important charitable causes, including the Upper Valley Humane Society, Cover Home Repair and the Wise Center. White River Subaru serves the entire White River Junction and Upper Valley region, as well as Dartmouth, West Lebanon and other communities in New Hampshire.

“We feel the best way to celebrate this milestone is to reflect our company values by sharing the excitement with the local charitable organizations that provide such value for the community,” said Rosenberg, White River Subaru’s Dealer Principal and Co-Owner.

For every new Subaru sold between the month of February and May 31, Rosenberg and Konovalchik will make a donation to either Cover Home Repair, the Wise Center or the Upper Valley Humane Society. Both Rosenberg and Konovalchik are also promoting the initiative through a social media and radio marketing campaign that celebrates their new ownership and calls attention to all three charitable organizations.

“In addition to supporting the community through charitable giving, we also strive to make the buying process as comfortable, convenient and safe for our customers as possible,” said Rosenberg. “That’s why we launched the White River Subaru FastTrack program, allowing our customers to complete as much of the auto buying process as they’d like online. And for service, we offer free pick-up and delivery service or contact-less, in-store drop-off.”

After working closely with his late father Ira Rosenberg – an iconic figure in the New England automotive sales industry – David Rosenberg established and grew multiple New England area auto dealerships and also established the Ira Jack brand in Maine.

Rosenberg was the recipient of the 2019 Boston Business Journal Corporate Citizenship Award for Social Leadership, and also the JD Power Dealer of Excellence Award in 2019. Prior to establishing their partnership for White River Subaru, Rosenberg and Konovalchik worked closely for nearly 10 years running dealerships in both Maine and Vermont, and before that in Massachusetts.