Acura isn’t a top luxury brand. But that’s the goal of Japan’s Honda Motor Co., parent of the Acura brand.
“We’re not quite at the level of Lexus, Mercedes or BMW,” said Mark McKellop, general manager for Norm Reeves Acura of Mission Viejo.
The brand is in the midst of a five-year plan to boost its luxury factor, McKellop said. It wants to be on the shopping list of auto buyers who are considering a Lexus or a Mercedes-Benz, he said.
Acura is encouraging its dealers to go upscale with their showrooms, he said. Norm Reeves Acura did just that.
It tore down its old building and built a nearly 70,000-square-foot showroom and now has the newest Acura showroom in the nation.
It doesn’t have waterfalls like Newport Lexus, he said. The dealership isn’t aiming for the four-star hotel feel, McKellop said. It wanted to be modern and state of the art, he said. Like other luxury dealers, it does have a coffee bar that serves Starbucks Coffee.
Norm Reeves Acura is targeting modest sales this year: new auto sales of 1,250 and 600 used. Construction put its sales goals behind normal levels, McKellop said.
“We were operating out of three facilities during construction,” he said.
Its 2009 sporty Acura TSX recently hit the showroom floor and the redesigned 2009 Acura RL luxury sedan and the 2009 Acura TL, a midsize luxury car, are due out this fall. Acura will soon be selling a “clean diesel,” a low-emission engine auto yet to be named.
Acura plans to add a new auto to the lineup every year, McKellop said.
The dealer is the top selling used Acura auto dealer in its district, which includes 13 dealers in the Los Angeles and San Diego regions. Used sales will be a focus this year, given the slumping economy.
Norm Reeves Acura also is a pilot store for “accelerated service,” which boosts services by dedicating dealer staff and service stalls for routine, minimal services, such as oil changes or minor tune-ups, to get people in and out quicker. It has 26 service bays.
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Acura of Mission Viejo: newest Acura showroom in the nation |
By 2010, all Acura dealers are expected to make improvements at their dealerships, he said.
Dave Conant, founder of Newport Beach-based Conant Automotive Retail Group, owns Norm Reeves. The company owns nine dealerships altogether, McKellop said. There once was a Norm Reeves. He died in the 1970s and Conant bought the dealerships from Reeves’ wife.
Luxury Marketing
OC now has a chapter of the Luxury Marketing Council, a worldwide trade group made up of luxury retailers, hotels and other businesses that cater to the well heeled.
The head of the local chapter, marketing guru David Winter, took over in January.
Winter founded San Clemente-based Luxury Media LLC, which produces TV shows for luxury hotels. He sold the business to his partners to focus on the Luxury Marketing Council.
He’s combined Los Angeles and OC into the Luxury Marketing Council of Southern California, based in San Clemente.
The Council sponsors events such as its recent Big Money for Big Ideas, which featured Bob McCooey, senior vice president of Nasdaq OMX Group Inc., who spoke about raising money.
The Luxury Marketing Council also serves as a way for its members to cross market. A piano store might place a piano in the lobby of a grand hotel, for instance.
Some of its 60 members include Newport Beach’s Bombardier Aerospace Corp., a branch of Canada’s Bombardier Inc.; SeaNet Co. of Newport Beach, a seller of fractional ownership of yachts; Irvine-based Rohl LLC, which sells fancy bath and kitchen products; and local malls including Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza.
The high-end of the luxury market is booming, according to Winter.
“Times have never been better,” he said.
Homes listed for $8 million in Newport Coast are sold out, he said.
Those having a tough time are the “aspirational” luxury shopper, who’s no longer buying the latest $500 handbag.
Lemonade Stand
Irvine Spectrum Center will be selling lemonade Saturday as part of Alex’s Lemonade Grand Foundation “Grand Stand.” The group raises money to fight childhood cancer. Bellini Baby at the Irvine Spectrum Center will donate a portion of its proceeds to the charity.
