No Aston Martin concept store for Australia

Aston Martin opened its first flagship store in New York this week, but don’t expect the non-retail brand experience model to be coming to an Australian city any time soon.

That’s the take-out from discussions with Aston Martin’s Product and Brand Strategy boss, Alex Long, at this week’s launch of the British car-maker’s new DB12 flagship coupe.

Instead, Long says Australian Aston connections will refine their retail offerings to stand-alone stores that offer hands-on experiences for buyers.

“In the initial phase it’s Shanghai, London, New York, but there is an expectation that it [brand experience stores] will go to more major capital cities in a second wave,” Long explained.

“Aston Martin has been co-located with a lot with other brands [for] historic reasons but, increasingly, in order to operate at that [ultra-luxury] level, we have to be on our own.

“I think in all likelihood what we’ll see in other markets [like Australia] is [Aston Martin] within solus sites, where the sites stand on their own, [Aston] customers have their own space, there’s a Q bespoke studio… and it’s less clunky,” Long explained.

Although a digital experience will be important for the brand, it won’t replace ‘hands-on’ retailing. Indeed, a physical presence is key for a brand like Aston Martin, Long says.

“Absolutely. As a brand and as an ideology, it’s something that Lawrence [Stroll, Aston’s key shareholder] is absolutely wed to… The opportunity to speak with people… Obviously there’s the mechanics of the trade-in and all of those car things, but the initial touch with the brand [is important]…

“It’s not commodity purchasing. So, someone says, ‘I really like the way it looks. Clearly, it’s a big investment. You need to tell me an awful lot more about it’. And that takes time. And you need to be in a nice environment to do that… And then there’s all the personalisation [luxury buyers expect].”

But Long says Aussies can expect some of the New York City flagship store in local Aston Martin premises.

“Particularly in the major cities… I think we’ve got five dealers in Australia at the moment, but pick three [Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland] – those are the three that will step up,” he stated.

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