Volkswagen’s inaugural store concept motors into Bullring
Volkswagen has launched its new store concept at Birmingham’s Bullring as the brand looks to benefit from the shopping centre’s 36 million annual footfall.
Customers will be able to conduct everything from initial enquiries to the purchase of a new or pre-owned Volkswagen car in the interactive space.
With the store designed by Dalziel & Pow, the entrance features a 10-screen video wall to attract the attention of shoppers while large-scale magazine light boxes adjacent to each vehicle explain the benefits of each model. There is also a digital wall spanning the left-hand side of the store.
Meanwhile, vignettes of people enjoying the benefits of vehicle ownership come alive around car models, and on a model of Volkswagen’s Car Towers in Autostadt is a button that prompts illuminations and facts about the factory and manufacturing processes to appear on the wall.
Quotes from car owners, adverts, branded video and aggregated social media feeds all feature in the multi-sensory display. The digital wall also engages children with specific features on the lower shelves.
After exploring the digital wall, customers can then configure their own car on iPads around a central table, getting added inspiration from wall-mounted samples of colours and finishes, before moving onto a big-screen ‘reveal’ of their chosen vehicle.
Customers can also sit in the various Volkswagens in-store or take a car for a spin from the dedicated test drive pod in the recently refurbished Bullring centre car park.
Michaela Moore, general manager of Bullring, said: “We are thrilled that Volkswagen has chosen Bullring for its debut store in a UK shopping centre, it’s great to see top car brands recognising the value in opening modern day showrooms in prime retail destinations. The opening marks the latest in a number of high end regional debuts including; Ben Sherman, T2, New Look Men and Smashbox, as well as both Coach and Russell & Bromley which are set to open in August.”
The store’s flexible design means it can be transformed overnight to accommodate individual car stories or takeovers, such as a model launch. In addition, Volkswagen’s range of vehicle accessories and official merchandise are stocked in the store.
Partnering Volkswagen in the project is Johnsons Cars, which has operated Johnsons Volkswagen retailers in the Birmingham area since 2004.
