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MERCEDES Me Melbourne will open as the seventh Mercedes-Benz brand store globally on November 3 in collaboration with St. Ali coffee roasters, with final design specifications revealing a quartet of themed areas inside the CBD space.

Australia’s first Mercedes Me has followed other such stores in Tokyo, Munich, Moscow, Hamburg, Beijing, and Hong Kong, and the 500-square-metre two-level space at Rialto Tower on the corner of 525 Collins Street, Melbourne, has been green-lit by global headquarters and funded by Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific.

Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific has promoted event marketing and sponsorship specialist Simon Johnson to the role of Mercedes Me Melbourne general manager ahead of its opening within three weeks.

Unlike Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) which opened a similar brand store in Sydney’s affluent Bondi Junction this month, Mercedes Me Melbourne has not been created in partnership with a dealership and will not sell vehicles to the public.

As previously reported, the theme for Mercedes Me Melbourne will be based around the city’s coffee culture, with South Melbourne coffee roasters St. Ali now confirmed as the food and beverage partner of the space.

“Mercedes Me Melbourne is very much about cafe culture meets Mercedes-Benz lifestyle, and we do think that that is a good match made in Melbourne,” Mr Johnson told GoAuto at an event in Melbourne this week.

“They (St. Ali) make some of the best coffee in Melbourne, no doubt. We think having St Ali as a hospitality partner will bring people in for that reason, some people won’t necessarily be interested in the brand, but that’s fine with us because it’s really a non-pressuring environment.

All about Me: The Mercedes Me store will employ three brand specialists to talk to guests about Mercedes-Benz.

“By day it’s a place you can come in, you can interact with the brand whether it be through digital touch points, a special vehicle on display, or our brand specialists we have. Or even if you’re not interested in the brand, you can just come in for a great coffee and a meal. It’s about a space that people who we’ve never spoken to as a brand can come and enjoy.”

Only one “special” vehicle will be shown at a time in the downstairs cafe area, with a rear section dubbed The Garage about which Mr Johnson added: “Without giving too much away it has some really cool brand integration”.

“The ground floor is a mezzanine space that is close to 500 square metres of space,” he continued.

“All of the furniture moves, so you have a great canvas to create events, and in many different forms. By night this space is really versatile to transform itself into a venue that you can put on events that shine a spotlight on fashion, art, design, sport, innovation, film, food, and it’s no coincidence that in these areas we have national partnerships and sponsorships in.

“When we curate our event calendar for the year, we’ll be working it into our partners’ (calendars).”

Mr Johnson nominated Mercedes-Benz’s partnership with the National Gallery of Victoria and its MoMA exhibition opening mid-2018, as a potential opportunity to bring art and artists into Mercedes Me Melbourne for exhibits and talks.

He said the space could entertain fashion exhibits from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, host engineers and designers from Stuttgart headquarters, and screen live sporting events such as the Benz-sponsored British Open or US Masters in golf, or the Bathurst 12-Hour and Australian Grand Prix motorsport races.



At night, a bar would also serve themed drinks such as an “AMG espresso, Silver arrow cocktail and Gullwing martini.” All cleared, the downstairs space can fit six vehicles and hold up to 180 guests.

On the staircase upstairs, three booths each signify the three elements on the Mercedes-Benz tri-star badge, incorporating information on air, land and water.

A library section with books and free Wi-Fi dominates the upstairs area that will also contain a Meet the Maker section, which Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific said in a statement can, “showcase the work of iconic Melburnians – a milliner, a watchmaker or even a boutique gin distillery can present their wares and their creative process.”

Although the number of hospitality staff was yet to be finalised, three brand specialists would be employed to speak with those coming through the store.

Asked whether Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific would bank on increased sales as a result of the store’s opening, Mr Johnson replied: “In terms of exact numbers, I don’t have them (but) I do know there are sales attributed to the stores.”

“We’ll be tracking that in-store, but it’s not what we’re all about. There is nobody in there who is paid to put through sales, so that’s a point of difference of the Mercedes Me store.

“While it is not a sales environment per se, if someone is interested in a dealer contact we will certainly facilitate a really smooth transition and make sure they’re well looked after. (But) not everyone enjoys going into a dealership environment, some do, but this is a real point of difference.”

Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific CEO and managing director Horst von Sanden further added that the brand avoided opening the store in collaboration with a dealership to reduce the risk of Mercedes Me Melbourne becoming a sales outlet.

“Had we given it to a dealer or dealer group then the risk would have been pretty big that it would have been turned into a retail operation fairly quickly,” he said.

“We have the luxury now, we have the budget, for a pure brand development and a retail marketing tool.

“If the concept works and we generate new friends for the brand, and that is being passed on as leads to the regional network, that is what it is made for and therefore we won’t try to switch it over into a dealership.”

Mr von Sanden added that once the prime CBD location was found, Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific pleaded with Stuttgart to approve the concept.

“We fought for it,” he stated.

“We had the opportunity, we saw this location, we then pitched it to Germany with the clear intention of … please, approve it.

Asked whether another Mercedes Me store could open somewhere else in Australia, the CEO and managing director said: “I think we prefer to walk before we run.”

A VIP launch function will be held for Mercedes Me Melbourne on Sunday November 29 ahead of its opening to the public at 12pm on Friday November 3.

By Daniel DeGasperi

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