I had a week filled with Mazda. I got to hear Julien Montousse, newly-named director of design at Mazda North American Operations tell the Motor Press Guild, an automotive journalists’ organization, about the design process at Mazda (this was last Tuesday, before his promotion was announced). While designing an interior, Mazda designers have to ask themselves, “What is the clear message you want to show?” said Montousse.
Mazda apparently asked itself that question about its dealership design, and decided the existing look didn’t convey the new message Mazda wanted to send about its brand – that that is a sophisticated premium brand.
Last year, it announced a new design language for its dealerships called Retail Evolution. Last week, the first Retail Evolution store debuted up in Washington State. I figured it was a good time to ask that question that always gets dealers worked up: Are facility upgrades worth the investment? As with so many questions, the answer depends.
Also this week, we look at exit strategies. The market is hot right now, and that is attracting new kinds of investors. If you don’t have a good exit strategy in place, however, you can’t take full advantage of this environment. Jason Borden of DHG (as Dixon Hughes Goodman now prefers to be known) lays out some major considerations when planning your exit strategy.
Then of course there is our hugely popular Transaction News.
Enjoy!
