Lamborghini contemplates going retail
Ferruccio Lamborghini, as the story goes, approached Enzo Ferrari with ideas on how to improve his sportscars, but Enzo rebuffed him promptly. And so Lamborghini Autobomili SpA was born, hungry to beat Ferrari at its own game, and been trying to ever since.
But making high-performance exotic sportscars is only part of the game these days, and Ferrari is the undisputed market leader in putting its name on anything and everything. But just as its F1 challengers try to claw back a slice of the merchandising pie, so do Ferrari's road car rivals. Lamborghini has followed the Ferrari formula by introducing a wide range of branded merchandise, including partnerships with Nokia and with Asus to produce branded cell phones and laptop computers to rival those made for Ferrari by Motorola and Acer.
Among other strategies for increasing brand awareness and capitalizing on its prestigious name, Lamborghini is reportedly considering opening a chain of retail stores to sell its branded merchandise. Raging Bull merchandise is already sold in authorized dealerships and online, and at a small number of retail locations mostly in Italy, but opening more stores around the world is a strategy that has been working for the Prancing Horse, and if it works for Ferrari, it just might work for Lamborghini, too.
[Source: CNN Money via Luxist]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
QueenMab 10:23AM (5/21/2007)
While I personally wouldn't buy a cell phone branded with either name, I think it's interesting that Lamborghini is opening stores. And I do remember how excited an ex-boyfriend once was just to have a Jaguar t-shirt, so I'm guess there is a serious market here.
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Geoff 1:30PM (3/20/2007)
I doubt it will work - why? Because Lambo has no racing heritage. Ferrari's brand is not just built on the road cars, it's built on racing. Look at the amount of red at any F1 race.
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The Penguin 3:33PM (3/20/2007)
I think that a Lamborghini laptop would be way cooler than one of those lame Ferrari laptops that are way overpriced.
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Luigi 3:25PM (3/20/2007)
Good to know but IMO, I have always seen Ferrari as the dominant exotic supercar manufacturer. It didn't help when VW of all companies took ownership of Lamborghini as well.
And btw, it's Lamborghini Automobili SpA :)
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Spectacular Bid 5:33PM (3/20/2007)
Ferrari makes more profits via merchandise and merchandise licensing then they do for all the production earnings. It isn't a difficult leap to assume VW/Audi wants a piece of that too with the Lamborghini brand. Go to the Rome International Airport and you can go through the Ferrari store there - excessively overpriced, of course.
The problem with the Lamborghini image, aside from the scant racing success, is that for years in the US the brand wasn't groomed and selectively managed. So cheap products were emblazened with the bull and distinctive logo name.
Frankly if I saw a guy wearing a Lamborghini jacket I'd have to snicker as it just tends to smack of being wannabe - regardless if the guy truly does own one of the cars.
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David Fox 1:21AM (3/21/2007)
Lamborghini used to be so special. Sigh...
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