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OT: Porsche Palm Springs - The Next Generation of Dealerships
I took a short trip in the Spyder this past weekend to Palm Springs and while there visited Porsche Palm Springs, the first Porsche Centre worldwide to adopt the new corporate architecture and "Destination Porsche" concept whereby dealerships are to become a gathering place for the Porsche faithful, a place to hang out, watch races, hold private events/parties, etc. During PCA's 65th Porsche Parade being held next summer in Palm Springs, this dealer is likely to be a hotbed of activity from June 21 - 27, 2020.
Although the aluminum exterior facing we know from existing dealerships remains, the store is dramatically lit up in red at night and is quite bold as can be seen in the pics below.
This new-style dealership is to be rolled out gradually and when it does come time for your local dealership to upgrade, here's a sneak peek of what it will probably look like.
Porsche dealerships receive worldwide new corporate architecture
Welcoming and experiential: Porsche is launching a new corporate architecture for its Porsche Centres worldwide.
Following the tagline “Destination Porsche,” dealerships are intended to become a central gathering place for the Porsche community, appealing to current as well as new customers. The new architecture is characterized by its flexibility, its use of digital media for individualized communication, and its emphasis on brand experience.
Prototype opens in California
The first prototype of the new concept has celebrated its Grand Opening in Palm Springs, California. The dealership was constructed within one year and shows the way for future changes within the framework of “Destination Porsche.” The complete concept can be experienced by mid-2020 in two Porsche Centres that are underway in Dortmund and in Hangzhou, China.
“Destination Porsche shows one of the ways we can answer the challenges of changing consumer preferences and the evolution of automotive retail,” says Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG. “Porsche stands for life dreams and for a strong community of our friends and fans. We are designing our Porsche dealerships to be forward-looking gathering places to experience the brand.”
The concept for “Destination Porsche” is based on changing customer needs. A broader product lineup requires communication with specific target groups, while the wish for individualization means that a higher degree of flexibility is necessary. The Porsche Centres of tomorrow will consist of several content areas that can be flexibly designed, and in which digital media can help address customers individually. They will become places to experience and touch the brand.
Further development of the Porsche DNA
The design of future Porsche Centres uses the structure of current ones and completes it with further developed and new elements. The interior style remains timeless so that attention is focused on the displayed vehicles. Also the fundamental form typical of current dealerships will remain.
The renewed exterior aluminum façade opens up in partial areas, offering a look inside the facility. This creates a welcoming impression that is supported by the elevated glass façade on the ground level. The aluminum panels above the main entrance as well as red LED lighting emphasize the dynamics of the concept.
The customer journey through a flexible world of Porsche
The customer journey through new Porsche dealerships runs along various themed modules that can be flexibly integrated and adapted. This makes the interior easy to customize towards regional or individual characteristics. The modules represent for instance current Product Highlights, E-Performance or Certified Pre-Owned cars. Another focus is on social spaces with a newly created lounge area where customers and fans of the brand can come together. Through a large window, they can glance into the workshop – similar to the “look inside the kitchen” in a restaurant.
Digital means for an individualized customer approach
An important pillar of the new corporate architecture is targeted digital media. Part of it is virtual reality with which customers can virtually experience their own car configuration. Touch screens will also make the products and services of the Porsche brand come alive in an interactive way.
Concept as part of the Porsche retail strategy
The implementation of the “Destination Porsche” concept begins with the Porsche Centres – and thereby the core of retail. In the future, other physical touchpoints will also be geared even more towards customer needs, and the possibilities for communication will be expanded. In addition to Porsche Studios in urban areas, these locations include pop-up stores as well as new digital contact points and formats that enable more ways to experience the Porsche brand.
Porsche Is Giving Their Dealerships the 'Disneyland' Treatment, and It's a Great Lesson in Adapting to Consumer Trends
As the auto-buying industry evolves, the German carmaker is turning a visit to the dealer into an immersive, interactive experience.
Porsche is shaking up the traditional auto dealership experience -- in which customers visit only to purchase or service vehicles -- with the world premiere of “Destination Porsche,” the prototype for the German automaker’s next generation of global dealership design. Porsche Palm Springs, part of indiGO Auto Group, is the first location to undergo the transformation.
“Our world is changing very fast,” says indiGO CEO Todd Blue. “With so much digital buying occurring, we truly believe the human condition craves community and a way to enjoy, first-hand, the things people love. People want to see, touch, smell, feel and listen; the best things in life are visceral!”
Unlike the open-gallery layout of traditional dealerships, here visitors enter the showroom to face a lineup of cars that resembles the starting grid on a race track. On each side, individual modules feature a specific product line or topic. In Porsche Palm Springs, for example, the modules include a new model at the front, a “Classic Corner” with a vintage vehicle, an area for electric cars, a “Porscheplatz” lounge with a cafe and kids section, a space for car customization and an owner’s delivery area.
The environment also serves as a space for consumers; there’s a lounge for client events and private dinners, plus digital screens for a variety of screenings, like viewing parties around Le Mans or Formula E races.
Entrepreneur spoke with Blue and Klaus Zellmer, President and CEO, Porsche Cars North America, Inc., for insight into how and why one of the world’s most renowned automakers is making such a dramatic transformation.
Where did the idea for Destination Porsche first come from?
Zellmer: Consumer trends are changing fast at the moment, so we decided to find out what the future of retail looks like for our brand. One outcome was a fresh take on dealership design, and Porsche Palm Springs is the result. We had to rethink everything, from the layout to the link between digital and analog, but I think we have created a lively space that inspires Porsche passion for enthusiasts and customers alike.
Tell us about the new design.
Blue: Porsche wanted to build something that did not just “compete” with other dealerships, but rather one which can be compared to a Four Seasons Hotel, Hermès boutique, Apple Store or anything which represents the best of the best. The idea is to take customers through a Porsche journey -- step onto the road and immerse oneself into the brand's DNA, from past to present to future, through distinct environments that reflect and celebrate each model offering.
What’s the biggest difference with traditional dealerships?
Blue: This facility is truly a destination. This is a dealership where one can purchase, be serviced, and also soak up the entire Porsche brand experience in a way that currently does not exist for automotive retail. For example, one can walk along a bridge which connects two different sections of the second floor: It is reminiscent of the conveyor system which transports Porsche bodies overhead across the street, in Stuttgart, Germany, to final assembly. A visit to the fitting lounge allows Porsche fans to experience endless possibilities of vehicle configuration and customization. Once built, a customer will have a new Porsche that is unique and authentic.
What visual cues make it recognizable as a Porsche dealership?
Zellmer: Customers can always recognize a Porsche dealership, because the architecture is evolutionary -- just like the look of our cars. The aluminum façade, for example, has been there since the beginning, but the louvered panels with the added lighting now resemble the rear line of our iconic 911.
How are the new dealerships being rolled out?
Zellmer: This is a global architecture, and we are excited to see it in the market. We have 191 dealerships in the U.S. alone, and they won’t all just flick a switch at one time to make these changes. The rollout will happen gradually as the time comes for an upgrade, and at that point Destination Porsche will be the design of choice.
Those race viewing parties sound fun!
Blue: We are strong proponents that customers want to shop and experience brands beyond their home computer screens. However, we cannot underestimate how much people love technology. Because of this, we invested in the most advanced in-store technology in the world -- especially for retail automotive. Viewing parties will provide our guests with something which reflects an experience that is more Disneyland than “car dealership.” Whether it’s Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona or a classic car show, we have combined virtual reality, audio, video to allow guests a world which immerses them into all things Porsche.
Described as the first-of-its-kind, Porsche Palm Springs was designed to provide customers with architectural and tech-immersive elements that offer an exclusive Porsche experience.
Sitting on a 2.7-acre lot, the 45,000-sf facility will offer 30% to 40% more inventory than the old dealership. The LEED-certified building uses solar power and is will service and recharge the new Porsche Taycan, the brand’s first all-electric vehicle.
The showroom was designed with distinctive environments to reflect each model offering such as the 911, Cayman, and Cayenne. Customers enter the facility and follow a walkable road that leads them through the building to the distinct vehicle environments. The environments create experiences via audio, visual (Porsche Palm Springs includes 12 digital screens, two of which measure 16’x9’), and virtual reality elements (VR allows customers to virtually experience their own car configuration before purchase), and are easily adaptable. A walkable bridge on the second floor mimics one found in Stuttgart, Germany where Porsche vehicles sit on a moving conveyor belt that transfers them to the next stage of assembly.
The showroom includes the Porscheplatz social space, an area that offers various seating arrangements, a café, and a Kids Corner. The second floor features Werk 1, a lounge that can be used to host events. The expanded service department comprises 16 service bays, two electric bays, and indoor hand wash bays. Visitors are able to look into the service workshop via a large window while waiting.
Porsche Palm Springs marks the prototype for Porsche’s new corporate architecture philosophy. The concept, dubbed Destination Porsche, looks to turn the dealership into a central gathering place for the Porsche community. The final concept will follow by mid-2020 with two dealerships currently underway, one in Dortmund Germany and one in Hangzhou, China.
The Palm Springs showroom is the result of a partnership between Porsche and indiGO Auto Group, a luxury automotive dealer with 15 franchised dealerships across five U.S. markets. Whitfield Associates, Inc. designed the project.
Palm Springs has become home to the inaugural Destination Porsche dealership in the world, marking the introduction of an immersive luxury car experience in the desert from indiGO Auto Group.
At its grand opening in mid-March, guests were allowed to tour the 45,000-square-foot facility that sits on a 2.7-acre lot on Highway 111. Formerly located at indiGO’s automotive campus in Rancho Mirage, Porsche’s move to Palm Springs has meant offering 30 to 40 percent more inventory.
A walkable road inside this modern architectural design takes guests through the entire facility where you can also see a glass-enclosed bridge overhead on the second floor that mimics one built in Porsche’s Stuttgard, Germany, plant. There is also an expansive, glass-enclosed Porsche boutique, multiple client lounges and cafés, including the world’s first second floor VIP lounge equipped with a full catering kitchen for small client events and private dinners, a fitting lounge, and an expanded parts department.
Porsche’s first all-electric vehicle, the Taycan, will be introduced in 2020, and the Palm Springs dealership features fast-charging portals where future owners can charge 62 miles of range in just four minutes.
Big fan of making the service area viewable from waiting areas.
Worth taking a peek at the next time you're in the Palm Springs area or during Parade next summer.
I would really love checking out this dealership, my only concern is that my current dealer has only done 1 oil change for me because they over filled it and failed other simple issues when my car was a CPO, how much will service cost increase to cover this amazing looking dealership.BTW the bad oil change cost was a $350 special.
I was in palm springs earlier this year and had NO idea that they are working on something like this in the meantime out there.
I am surprised that out of all the locations in the USA - Palm Springs is where they are testing and designing that concept (would of imagined there are hotter Porsche locales to try it out with?).
Will definitely be great to see how it turns out - and I'm definitely a fan of bringing enthusiasts together in a car-related space, and what better place to do that at then a Porsche designed center.
09-30-2019 | 07:14 PM
OT: Porsche Palm Springs - The Next Generation of Dealerships
