Posts Tagged "premium"

The Rolls-Royce and Ferrari stands sit alongside one another in the halls of the Beijing auto show. I took these two pictures less than a minute apart, having stood for quite a while watching the throngs of photographers milling around the two stands.

While it’s far from a scientific observation, I thought it interesting how much more popular the Rolls-Royce stand was proving. Literally hundreds of Chinese were queueing up to have pictures taken by friends of them with the Phantom or Ghost in the background. Yet at Ferrari, it was comparatively quiet.

In Europe, I’d judge the opposite to be true, you’re typically unable to get close to even the barrier of the Ferrari stand at the average motor show. Which made me ask the question – in China, what value does sporting pedigree have? Ferrari would probably say they are a sport-luxury brand. But in China, Ferrari’s sporting and motorsport heritage is much less well know. Given that so much of what we know and value the brand for in Europe and North American markets is connected to this motorsport history, does that mean a sport-orientated luxury or premium brands carries less value here?

By Joe Simpson

Why write about flowers on a car design site? A passing interest in floristry aside, it’s worth casting your eye idley around a show to see what’s happening in terms of stand and fashion trends. In Geneva, we noticed some very expensive looking, rather lovely arrangements of lillies on the Maserati and Rolls Royce stands. Here, literally every stand is decked out with vases of white flowers. Why? Well, unless someone happened to misplace the decimal point when ordering flowers, we suspect the reason brands are going for white blooms is that they convey freshness, purity, clarity and a level of real premium-ness.

The notable exception to the rule here is Infiniti, who’s stand architecture, stand staff uniforms and flowers, is resplendent in purple. It certainly helps them stand out.

By Joe Simpson