For Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln luxury brand, what happens in China won't necessarily stay in China.
The brand is studying the habits of luxury shoppers here at Shanghai's luxury malls for new ideas in customer service that eventually could find their way back to U.S. Lincoln dealerships.
"In many ways, China will be a listening post for Lincoln in the United States," Jim Farley,Shop the latest from Michael Kors Handbags. Totally free shipping and returns. global head of Lincoln and the automaker's top marketing executive, said in an interview at the Shanghai auto show. "Soon China will be the largest luxury market in the world."
Farley met the first group of Chinese Lincoln dealers over dinner before the auto show. Farley compares the Lincoln experience in China to what he went through when Toyota developed the Lexus and Scion brands from scratch.
"It felt like 1988 to me with Lexus," said Farley, who was a young product planner with Toyota Motor Corp. when Toyota launched its luxury brand.
Lincoln's first dealerships in China will open in 2014.Welcome to replica louis vuitton outlet online store and buy latest Cheap Louis Vuitton handbags. "Because we're building the Chinese Lincoln business from the ground up, we can take more chances here because the dealer network is brand new," Farley said. "We can give them large trading areas. They will have large throughputs and they can make upfront investments and differentiate the service."
Farley declined to say how many dealers Lincoln will have initially in China except to say it was a "small group.Shop the latest from Michael Kors Handbags. Totally free shipping and returns." Lincoln has not announced volume targets.
Ford already is busy trying to reinvent Lincoln for a new generation of U.S. luxury customers. Lincoln has been trying to improve the shopping experience at U.S. dealerships. Lincoln has contracted with Le Clefs d'Or, an organization of hotel concierges, to develop an academy to train dealers to provide the kind of luxury service consumers would experience at boutique hotels.
In the United States, Lincoln has a history -- both good and bad -- going back to 1922, with years of experience working with American consumers.Welcome to our michael kors outlet online shop! Here we sale Michael Kors Bags, bags, purses, wallets with very low price. Join us quickly!
Not so in China. Brett Wheatley, Ford's vice president of marketing for Asia-Pacific, said Lincoln representatives have been visiting luxury auto dealerships of other brands and also are studying shopping patterns at nonautomotive shops.
Wheatley spent portions of several days with two female shoppers, observing their spending and browsing behavior at central Shanghai's swanky IFC Mall.
"These women started at the Salvatore Ferragamo store with a $1,900 handbag purchase. They then tried on sunglasses at Prada, bought a watch at Van Cleef & Arpels, and finished with some small jewelry purchases which I assumed were gifts," he wrote in an e-mail. Each of those brands, along with numerous others such as Louis Vuitton and Hermes, has a store in the mall.
"It was fascinating to watch the luxury shopping experiences firsthand," Wheatley wrote. "Some of the retailers did an excellent job with attention to detail on branding from the moment you approach the entrance to the store, to the attire of the staff, and the way the product is displayed. In China, food and beverage service play an important role in the shopping experience."
Many U.S. Lincoln dealers have set up coffee bars, a U.S. version of the tearooms that Lincoln has looked at in China.
For many shoppers, the preferred pace of the sales process was much different than in the United States, Wheatley said. "Many customers savor the experience of shopping for luxury products and genuinely seem to enjoy the interaction with the sales professionals," many of whom wear branded apparel, he said.
Lincoln hopes to cultivate one-on-one relationships with customers in the United States, too.Shop our selection of designer shoes, including Manolo Blahnik, christian louboutin shoes. Ford has not said what practices it learns in China might migrate to the United States.
Hamilton Gayden, managing director of Urban Science Applications, an automotive retailing consulting firm with offices in China, said Lincoln will face challenges getting established in China, where many luxury brands already are jostling for customers. "They have some work to do with Lincoln. Other premium marques that have come late to China have struggled, but you've got to start sometime. You can't afford mistakes in finding the right dealer partners or the right dealership locations," he said.
"Ford has a great opportunity to grab and hold investors' attention by bringing to the table global tools and experience that help Lincoln dealers find profit opportunities."
The brand is studying the habits of luxury shoppers here at Shanghai's luxury malls for new ideas in customer service that eventually could find their way back to U.S. Lincoln dealerships.
"In many ways, China will be a listening post for Lincoln in the United States," Jim Farley,Shop the latest from Michael Kors Handbags. Totally free shipping and returns. global head of Lincoln and the automaker's top marketing executive, said in an interview at the Shanghai auto show. "Soon China will be the largest luxury market in the world."
Farley met the first group of Chinese Lincoln dealers over dinner before the auto show. Farley compares the Lincoln experience in China to what he went through when Toyota developed the Lexus and Scion brands from scratch.
"It felt like 1988 to me with Lexus," said Farley, who was a young product planner with Toyota Motor Corp. when Toyota launched its luxury brand.
Lincoln's first dealerships in China will open in 2014.Welcome to replica louis vuitton outlet online store and buy latest Cheap Louis Vuitton handbags. "Because we're building the Chinese Lincoln business from the ground up, we can take more chances here because the dealer network is brand new," Farley said. "We can give them large trading areas. They will have large throughputs and they can make upfront investments and differentiate the service."
Farley declined to say how many dealers Lincoln will have initially in China except to say it was a "small group.Shop the latest from Michael Kors Handbags. Totally free shipping and returns." Lincoln has not announced volume targets.
Ford already is busy trying to reinvent Lincoln for a new generation of U.S. luxury customers. Lincoln has been trying to improve the shopping experience at U.S. dealerships. Lincoln has contracted with Le Clefs d'Or, an organization of hotel concierges, to develop an academy to train dealers to provide the kind of luxury service consumers would experience at boutique hotels.
In the United States, Lincoln has a history -- both good and bad -- going back to 1922, with years of experience working with American consumers.Welcome to our michael kors outlet online shop! Here we sale Michael Kors Bags, bags, purses, wallets with very low price. Join us quickly!
Not so in China. Brett Wheatley, Ford's vice president of marketing for Asia-Pacific, said Lincoln representatives have been visiting luxury auto dealerships of other brands and also are studying shopping patterns at nonautomotive shops.
Wheatley spent portions of several days with two female shoppers, observing their spending and browsing behavior at central Shanghai's swanky IFC Mall.
"These women started at the Salvatore Ferragamo store with a $1,900 handbag purchase. They then tried on sunglasses at Prada, bought a watch at Van Cleef & Arpels, and finished with some small jewelry purchases which I assumed were gifts," he wrote in an e-mail. Each of those brands, along with numerous others such as Louis Vuitton and Hermes, has a store in the mall.
"It was fascinating to watch the luxury shopping experiences firsthand," Wheatley wrote. "Some of the retailers did an excellent job with attention to detail on branding from the moment you approach the entrance to the store, to the attire of the staff, and the way the product is displayed. In China, food and beverage service play an important role in the shopping experience."
Many U.S. Lincoln dealers have set up coffee bars, a U.S. version of the tearooms that Lincoln has looked at in China.
For many shoppers, the preferred pace of the sales process was much different than in the United States, Wheatley said. "Many customers savor the experience of shopping for luxury products and genuinely seem to enjoy the interaction with the sales professionals," many of whom wear branded apparel, he said.
Lincoln hopes to cultivate one-on-one relationships with customers in the United States, too.Shop our selection of designer shoes, including Manolo Blahnik, christian louboutin shoes. Ford has not said what practices it learns in China might migrate to the United States.
Hamilton Gayden, managing director of Urban Science Applications, an automotive retailing consulting firm with offices in China, said Lincoln will face challenges getting established in China, where many luxury brands already are jostling for customers. "They have some work to do with Lincoln. Other premium marques that have come late to China have struggled, but you've got to start sometime. You can't afford mistakes in finding the right dealer partners or the right dealership locations," he said.
"Ford has a great opportunity to grab and hold investors' attention by bringing to the table global tools and experience that help Lincoln dealers find profit opportunities."
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