McLaren Automotive last night opened the doors to its first dedicated McLaren retailer, McLaren London, with a star-studded celebration at its One Hyde Park, Knightsbridge location.
By the end of 2011, McLaren will have 35 bespoke retailers in 19 countries worldwide. All have been carefully selected by McLaren to offer the best in customer sales and service for a range of high-performance sports cars, beginning with the ground-breaking McLaren MP4-12C.
The opening, hosted by Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, and McLaren Group and McLaren Automotive executive chairman, Ron Dennis, celebrated ‘Defining Moments in Time’. Recognising the launch of the global network of McLaren car retailers, and the arrival of the first ‘pure’ McLaren sports car, the event also presented past McLaren track successes with iconic trophies and two of Lewis Hamilton’s race-winning Formula 1 cars.
Ron Dennis said: “We are fiercely proud of the McLaren brand and I am personally proud that we are welcoming into the McLaren family some of the world’s best car retailers, many of whom are with us tonight. I look forward to delivering great cars to them, as I know we share a common objective: we are driven to succeed and we try to be the best at everything that we do.
“Jenson, Lewis, our hosts, and many of our guests represent tonight a group of people who share a particular value: that is that somewhere along our careers and lives we have experienced an iconic, or defining moment. Tonight is that moment for McLaren Automotive,” Mr Dennis said.
McLaren has invested nearly £800m since 2005 to establish itself as the world’s newest sports car company. That investment has focused on the development of a range of innovative, technologically ground-breaking, and bespoke high-performance sports cars, as well as the construction of a brand new manufacturing facility (the McLaren Production Centre – MPC) at the company’s headquarters.
This solid foundation requires similar commitment to the McLaren brand from retailers in order to turn McLaren’s dream into reality; the launch of McLaren London, to be operated by the Jardine Motors Group, marks that commitment as the first of 35 retailers that will supply and service McLaren customers in all major global markets.
McLaren anticipates expanding its global retail network to around 70 locations by the middle of the decade when the full range of cars is under production at the MPC in Woking, England: as the MP4-12C goes on sale, three further models or derivatives are currently already under development.
The McLaren network will be small in number compared to other premium brands, driving McLaren’s partners to ensure a high-value is placed on McLaren customers. McLaren’s strategy is to support its retailers in servicing customers to a high level by keeping volumes low and business profitable, rather than stretching retailers through high volumes and too many locations.
The initial 35 strong retail network was recently completed with the confirmation of McLaren retailers in Frankfurt, Munich, Osaka, Singapore and Tokyo whilst attention now moves on to securing up to six more retailers in 2012. Markets that McLaren is considering include China, Russia and Scandinavia. The company’s first ‘pure’ McLaren sports car is experiencing high demand with over 18 months of production currently accounted for.
