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Porsche has recently been on a tear of opening dealerships, and this weekend celebrated the grand opening of their new “Porsche On Sylt” flagship dealership in the North Sea market. This is a brand new type of dealership, a smaller, more personal experience to work with a smaller and perhaps more demanding customer base. This new type of dealership is the first of its kind, an experiment by Porsche being tested in several small markets.
These new mini-dealers feature a showroom, a Porsche rental office, a point of sale for Porsche Design and Driver’s Selection products, a virtual reality visualisation center, and a small workshop to offer repairs and advice. Porsche is aiming this new concept of dealer at markets they’ve never really penetrated in the past. Look out for new dealer launches like this one in Jamaica, Beirut, and Guangzhou later in 2017. Of course, for the dealer’s grand opening, Porsche called upon brand ambassadors Patrick Dempsey and Mark Webber to visit the place.
Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board responsible for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG.
“Porsche on Sylt represents the beginning of a new format that will allow customers around the world to be even more enthusiastic about our brand. A Porsche is never just a means of mobility – our products clearly stand for thrilling driving enjoyment. This is a philosophy that runs through all our formats and services that are offered to customers worldwide.”
The dealership’s footprint is quite small, covering just 500 square metres. Porsche has reserved a section of the showroom floor for a rotating cast of characters to be on display. This rotating exhibition space currently features a legendary 911 Carrera RS 2.7. Even in the far reaches of the North Sea, that ducktail is easily recognizable and iconic.
While space is conserved to keep the running costs low, it occurs to us that dealerships like this, without the acres of on-hand cars and huge parking lots, might be a better way to sell cars altogether. With lower overheads and more intimate sales processes, the sales are less push and more pull. Think about it, Porsche. You might have a winner on your hands here.
