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Lexus Interested in Tesla’s Mall Showroom Strategy


Lexus USA general manager Jeff Bracken believes the Tesla shopping mall showrooms are “clever”, according to a recent interview with Wards Auto:

“The model that Tesla has to open up their outlets in shopping malls is a clever one, (and) I think they’re getting a lot of folks to stop in and learn about Tesla,” Jeff Bracken, group vice president-Lexus at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. recently told a crowd at a late November media gathering here.

“We’re interested to watch what (Tesla does), how the business model works and what kind of customers wander into their outlets,” he says. “That’s really interesting to us and that’s about as much as I would be able to share with you today.”

All Tesla stores are company-owned, which would not work for Lexus (or any other automotive brand) due to their existing dealership network — however, Bracken believes this could be an advantage:

“If we were ever to consider something like that, we would keep our dealers part of the solution, no question about it,” Bracken says. “But it’s intriguing if young folks are telling us they don’t really look forward to going to a traditional dealership, but they still have an interest in buying a vehicle or shopping for a vehicle. (If) that’s an outlet that could work for them, then we need to take a look at that to see if that’s something that could make sense for us.”

[Source: Wards Auto]

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    codenamejanrei
  • December 15, 2014
Here in the Philippines, Lexus is the first car brand to open a showroom in a shopping mall. We already have that strategy here.
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    LexusGXman
  • December 15, 2014
would you pick up the car there, or would there be a special delivery and service spot to take it to.
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    Ron
  • December 15, 2014
Here in Malaysia, it's very common that car brands have road shows for weeks in shopping malls.. They will display their line up in the centre of the mall's atrium and people would just walk up and explore the cars and many would just put their orders in..
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      joe
    • December 15, 2014
    The concept being discussed isn't merely roadshows but is instead an outlet in a shopping mall that sells cars directly to customers that walk inside.
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    ltdh
  • December 16, 2014
I think it is high time that Lexus explore combining other sort of businesses together with selling the vehicles alone. For instance, setting up a showroom in a mall with Lexus official merchandise and apparels, along with a cafe. The Lexus brand is more associated with lifestyles, so combining things like cuisine, fashion, sports, etc will create more value for the company and the brand.
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      PG
    • December 16, 2014
    Absolutely! Lexus has promising potential to project its brand onto non-automotive applications. They have already done it with the carbon-fibre bike and should further explore in that direction.
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    Darren Songfreid
  • December 16, 2014
I often though Lexus would work well as a tenant at lifestyle centers and other upscale open air malls. The space would have the flagship vehicles prominently displayed, along with an owners gallery and information area.

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