Infiniti goes shopping
Japanese luxury brand searches for gold on the coastAspiring luxury brand Infiniti has expanded its dealer network to the Gold Coast, but has elected to open a shop in the newly refurbished Pacific Fair shopping centre rather than a full-size retail and service centre.
Infiniti has signed a two-year lease on the outlet, which has the space to fit three cars and is situated in the centre’s premium precinct among outlets for such brands as Rolex, Prada and Gucci.
The Gold Coast site brings to seven the Nissan luxury brand’s network of sales outlets in Australia. It also has two service outlets. It launched with just three dealerships in 2012.
Infiniti Cars Australia managing director Jean-Philippe Roux said the move into Pacific Fair made sense for the brand for several different reasons.
“Gold Coast is too early (for a dealership),” he said. “But it’s still a full-time commitment.
“We are a small brand trying to get noticed and I think the Gold Coast is offering quite a good platform to do that.
“I think it is part of the thing where Infiniti is trying to do things a bit differently; the engines are a bit different, the design has to be different and I think also the retail has to be slightly different.”
Roux was speaking during last week’s media launch of the Q30 hatchback, which is the cheapest and smallest model Infiniti has launched in Australia.
It is the basis of what the brand hopes will now be consistent sales growth. So far in 2016 sales are already up 26.6 per cent year on year, but that’s to 395 sales. By comparison the German luxury heavyweights have each sold many thousands of vehicles according to VFACTS.
That’s the most obvious proof of the lack of cut-through the brand has achieved so far in its Australian life. But Roux hopes initiatives like the Gold Coast allied with new product will swing that.
“We think it has some value for us as a brand in terms of brand recognition and brand awareness to be there with a shop that will be displaying our technology, such as our link with our hybrid technology that is supporting Formula 1 for example.
“It will be displaying Q30, so it’s is a branding exercise as well as a sales exercise.”
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