The concept, in use by a handful of other brands in Australia, is relatively new for Mitsubishi Motors and is the first for its Australian business.
Owner Peter King, who operates Kings Cars in four Victorian centres and with five brands, is quick to dismiss the store as a “pop-up”.
“This is not a pop-up. We have a seven-year lease,” he said.
“This, for us, is a long-term vision of where we think car shopping is heading. But we have to be clear that a shopping centre store cannot operate alone – it has to be part of a dealership.”
Already the results – in terms of customer traffic, product interest, feedback and indirect sales – have been encouraging, though not precisely as expected.
“To date, we have not sold as many vehicles directly as we would have liked,” he told GoAutoNews Premium.
“However, indirectly – that is, by shopping centre visitors that then go to our dealerships – we have increased sales.
“The Westfield premises works extremely well at attracting people who may not even wish to buy a car.
“It is a form of advertising – it shows the Mitsubishi product and allows shoppers to interact with us on neutral ground.”
For Mr King, the concept has changed some of his traditional business practices, particularly the choice of advertising media.
“We compete in our district – Geelong, Ararat, Ballarat and Hamilton – with the Rex Gorell Group and the Blood Motor Group, among others,” he said.
“These dealerships strongly support the local newspaper but it means we can’t get an ad in the paper within the first 20 pages.
“So now we advertise on buses, on the radio and we allocate much of that money to the store and we’re getting a better result.
“We’re probably saving $200,000 a year in newspaper advertising costs but we are still having increased sales through the store and other advertising methods.
“I think, with the decision to open the store at Westfield, that we have backed the right horse.”
Mr King said as part of the trial, the store traffic is monitored.
“In December, we had more than 2000 people in the shop and on busy days, we have up to 100,” he said.
“Now compare that to how many people you get visiting a dealership on a 40-degree day.
“As part of the trial for Mitsubishi Motors here and in Japan, we also ask visitors what they like and what they want in their shopping experience.
“The reactions are overwhelmingly positive to the concept and to the Mitsubishi product – and I think that’s pretty good in a Ford town.”
Mr King said sales were up 12 per cent year-on-year for his Mitsubishi franchise compared to a market which is down about two per cent.
“We are on track to sell 400 per cent more Mitsubishis by October this year compared with four years ago,” he said.
“That’s due to the product and also the way the business is being conducted.
“We know that 80 per cent of the vehicles we now trade are non-Mitsubishi products, which is a great endorsement of the product and the fact we are doing something right.”
Mr King also notes that the age groups of visitors are predominantly in the 35-45 year group and that there was a much higher percentage of females.
“There are more females making a vehicle purchase through the store than through a dealership,” he said.
“In a dealership, visitors are expected to buy. That’s why they turn up there. At a shopping centre, it’s more about browsing in a relaxed environment, without any expectations or pressure.
“The buying intention may be low at the shopping centre but there is an incredibly high consideration of the brand.
“It is organic growth that builds momentum. When shoppers who browsed our Mitsubishi range come to buy, the brand and our business are likely to be very high in their consideration.”
Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd (MMAL) president and CEO John Signoriello told GoAutoNews Premium that Mr King was “bringing technologies to the store that we want to roll out to the network”.
“Peter has set a benchmark for a global rollout at some time,” he said, without indicating further shopping centre stores for MMAL.
“Online buying is another aspect. It is happening with most brands in different degrees. We have a very strong dealer network and it’s important to ensure it stays that way.
“We will work with them as online buying evolves, but we will incorporate it within the network.”
Mr King said the experience had taught him a lot about selling cars in a new environment.
“We learnt a lot since we have been here. For example, in a dealership, it is common to set the products back from the window so visitors walk up to the vehicle,” he said.
“In a shopping centre, it’s the reverse – the product must be right up against the door to become the highlight of the store.”
Mitsubishi Motors representatives from Japan are visiting Australia this week and one of the issues to be discussed is the progress being made by Mr King’s Geelong store.
Mitsubishi storming NZ market with record December
MITSUBISHI Motors NZ (MMNZ) has recorded growth of 29 per cent in December 2017 compared with the same month in 2016 as light-commercial vehicle (LCV) and SUV sales surged, led by the ASX.
The brand moved into third place in New Zealand sales for December, posting second for passenger cars and fourth for LCVs.
It recorded 944 units in December, including 661 passenger vehicles and 283 LCVs, giving Mitsubishi a market share of 8.5 per cent, up 1.8 percentage points on December 2016.
The December result was the best since 1988. Total NZ sales were 159,871 vehicles in 2017, up nine per cent on 2016.
MMNZ general manager of vehicle sales and marketing Daniel Cook said the brand’s strength in its SUV line-up was evident again in December, with ASX (286 units), Outlander (160 units) and Pajero Sport (52 units) all performing strongly in their segments.
“Outlander has been a Kiwi family favourite for some time now and ASX is a car that resonates with a broad range of New Zealanders,” he said.
“With Eclipse Cross having now joined the Mitsubishi family we’re quietly confident of continuing our market-leading growth in 2018.”
By Neil Dowling
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