JLR, formerly Jaguar Land Rover, will completely overhaul its retail network in line with its all-out repositioning as a luxury manufacturer, introducing the agency sales model and transforming its showrooms to give a much “warmer” and “less formal” experience.
Briefing Autocar on how the company’s Reimagine strategy will affect its retail operations – following a wide-reaching product preview led by CEO Adrian Mardell in April – company bosses explained why “we have to change, we can't do what we've always done” in light of fierce competition from new premium-market contenders and upheaval in the car sales sphere.
Interim UK managing director Patrick McGillycuddy explained: “If you look at our current model, we devolve responsibility for the client interaction entirely to our retail partners as a function of the franchise model.
“What's fundamental to our modern luxury journey is that we have to take greater ownership of the client relationship because, in fact, clients want it and demand a direct, closer, deeper relationship with the brands that they're buying into.
