It seems like simply selling cars is not enough for Lexus. The company is focusing on building brand-customer relation as well as increasing its brand value. In order to achieve this, the company is opening “luxury spaces” in its prominent markets. These units will be called “Intersect by Lexus” and will offer the customers Italian leather bags and volcanic ash glazed coffee cups. The company will start its first “Intersect by Lexus” in Aoyama district in Tokyo on the 30th of August 2013. After a successful inauguration in Tokyo, the company will start similar outlets in other places like the New York City and Dubai. But the company has not specified anything about the time frame. The outlets which will be started in Dubai and New York City will have art, design, fashion, culture, music, movies and technology which reflect the local environment.
Lexus took such an initiative as it is trying to increase its global presence even further. The company has seen a significant fall in sales for 2 consecutive years in its prominent markets like USA due to competition from Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) and Daimler’s Mercedes Benz. Even in the home market, Lexus has been beaten by Mercedes Benz. The company sold a total of 27,074 units in its home country i.e. Japan until July 2013. In this same period, Mercedes Benz has sold a total of 27,828 units in Japan. This data has been provided by Japan Automobile Importers Association.
This new “Intersect by Lexus” outlet is covering an area of 331,563 square feet in Aoyoma neighborhood. This facility is surrounded by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vinton SA and Prada Spa. The store has been designed by the famous Masamichi Katayama. This outlet in Tokyo is a 2 storey structure. The first floor houses a café which serves world best coffee and an exhibition place for lifestyle and culture cars which the company calls “Garage”. The second floor will house a “Crafted for Lexus” store which will offer –“a collection of lifestyle items produced by brand companies that harmonize with Lexus’ philosophies”. The second floor might also have a library lounge serving the customers Tokyo themed food.
The company has said that the new “Intersect by Lexus” store will offer its customers magnificent Lexus experience “without getting behind a steering wheel.” It is a part of the company’s “Amazing in motion” concept which applies all that Lexus stands for, to a wider sphere. This new philosophy “Amazing in Motion” started earlier this year at a design event which took place in New York City. At this event, the company unveiled its plan to start a Lexus Magazine titled as “Beyond by Lexus”. At this event, the company had also talked about its plan regarding the ‘Intersect by Lexus’ stores which has already been implemented now. Executive President of Lexus International, Mr. Mark Templin said that “Intersect By Lexus seeks to be a comfortable and inspiring space for interaction among people and between people and cars.”
The company has announced earlier in April that they will be manufacturing the new Lexus ES 350, a luxury sedan, at Toyota’s Georgetown facility. The sedan will be rolled out in 2015. The company has invested a sum of $531 million in this plant and it will offer employment to 750 workers.
