Mitsubishi UK go ‘Retail’ with a new shop at Lakeside

Mitsubishi UK is expanding its UK profile by opening a Mitsubishi ‘Shop’ at the Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex, its first shopping mall based store.

As car sales evolve, and the dealer model starts to look unsustainable in its current form, car makers are searching for new ways to tempt car buyers in to their models rather than the competition’s. And one of those way is by opening retail shops in busy Shopping Malls.

The idea is that potential buyers can pop in and browse car stuff when they’re out doing their shopping, garnering buyers who would never have thought of popping in to a dealer to browse cars. In theory, it should work, although we can’t help but feel the majority of visitors are bored men dragged shopping by ‘er indoors (are we allowed to say that in 2018?).

Hyundai has had a bash at ‘Retail’ with Rockar stores in Westfield and Bluewater, but they ended up putting those stores under the control of a local dealer when they worked out that all the buyers they garnered came from within 10 miles of the store. Who’d have though it?

Jaguar Land Rover are still playing the game at Lakeside, and now they’re being joined by Mitsubishi, which will open its first retail store in Lakeside next month (June 2018).

Mitsubishi say the new store will give customers an additional way to interact with the brand and buy a car, and is aiming to compliment the dealer network and online sales, not take over. Which is pragmatic.

Rob Lindley, Mitsubishi UK’s MD, said:

With the opening of our first Mitsubishi store in such a prominent and well-established retail location, we are putting the customer at the very centre of what we do by offering them more choice than ever before in how and where to purchase their new Mitsubishi.

If nothing else, Mitsubishi’s Lakeside store will give them a big profile in front of an enormous number of shoppers.