In 2000, Ozzie Giglio (a long time Harley-Davidson® enthusiast) and his wife Jill sought to purchase Wild Fire Harley-Davidson® (then known as Villa Park Harley-Davidson®) in Villa Park, Illinois, a middle-class suburb of Chicago. The impetus for this came from their desire to significantly improve the Harley-Davidson® customer experience in the area, which was steadily declining. Years of double-digit sales growth had created an unprecedented lack of supply in the marketplace around Chicago. Waiting lists to purchase motorcycles led to a growing arrogance among dealers at the time (including Villa Park Harley-Davidson®, prior to acquisition) which routinely charged up to $5,000 over MSRP for new motorcycles.

Ozzie and Jill’s first move after purchasing the dealership was to change the name.
Jill coined the name Wild Fire with the belief that if they provided a world-class customer experience their new-found friendly reputation would spread like “wildfire.” And over the first couple of years, as they navigated the nuance of running a motorcycle store, that is pretty much what happened. They prided themselves on offering fair pricing, dedicated themselves to providing exceptional customer service, and created a fun and exciting atmosphere at their Harley-Davidson dealership. They opened seven days per week for customer convenience, which was new for the industry, and treated people with respect and dignity.

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