Driving ahead
The new retail and leisure center on Aleje Jerozolimskie, due to open at the end of March this year, will however contain features new, not only to Poland, but to the rest of Europe as well.
Auto City, to consist of 1,200 square meters of space at the center and contain five to six car dealerships under one roof, is in the words of DTZ's head of retail and the person charged with leasing at Blue City Renata Kusznierska, "the first of its kind." William Reynolds, King Sturge's motor expert in the UK, acknowledges that no such thing "has been done in UK cities" and that if dealerships have appeared alongside one another there, it's happened, "more by default than design." There are plenty of 'car supermarkets' in the UK, where customers can choose a car in an arguably more relaxed environment than the traditional dealerships and can purchase one from a far wider range, but these tend to be located out of town and sometimes in glorified parking lots, not under one roof as in Blue City.
A change in the EU's 'block exemption' system on the car trade, introduced in October last year, is one thing that has given Blue City the green light to innovate. 'Block exemption' is when car manufacturers can insist on exactly who sells their cars and where, and this has, until now, meant that most customers have had to visit individual showrooms to buy their automobiles where notoriously pushy car salesmen lie in wait.
Which brands have already signed up for space at Auto City, for how long and for how much rent, is for now being kept a closely guarded secret by those involved in the project, in marked contrast to other deals readily announced at the center, which is eighty percent leased, according to Ms Kusznierska. This, it is maintained, is because the scheme is such a groundbreaking move that the people at Blue City don't want anyone stealing their ideas. But unlike other units at the center, where different types of tenant might come and go, Auto City, "is not temporary, it will not change," says Ms Kusznierska, perhaps highlighting the risk Blue City is taking here. On that subject she adds: "it has taken a lot of work to change people's views about selling cars because normally dealerships are separate from one another." She goes on to explain the marketing logic behind the new concept, "The main idea is that when whole families come to shopping centers, about eighty percent of men get quite bored, so Auto City is somewhere they can go to spend time. Another factor is that in Warsaw there are huge distances between car showrooms, and people can sometimes buy cars there by mistake [because they are pushed for time] and these places close at around six or seven in the evening. At a shopping center, they will have time to look carefully at the cars, compare one with another, and receive good advice." She also insists that Auto City will only display mid-priced vehicles, to allay any potential discomfort felt by customers who, because of income, are forced to buy cheaper models than their fellow drivers. This will distinguish it not only from the traditional dealerships, but also from the discount 'car supermarkets' found in the UK.
It is always difficult to predict how a brand new concept will fare once it enters three-dimensional, harsh reality and there is always a tendency among some to let others make the first bold move, before they follow suit. King Sturge's William Reynolds is prepared to accept that one big collection of showrooms under one roof might well draw the custom it's hoping to, but the Field Operations Managers at two car manufacturers Lokale Immobilia talked to didn't express much enthusiasm for the idea. "Volvo would not participate in any such center," says the firm's Wojciech Litwin, because, "we want to be distinctive and we need our customers to come to a particular place," though he concedes that for other brands, "it might be a good idea" and could attract business. Jerzy Onisk of Toyota, offers some rather more detailed comments on why his firm won't be taking advantage of the new space at Blue City: "We have been cooperating with a dedicated architectural company for a long time now, which is in charge of both preparing new facilities and developing them. These fulfill high standards of design, quality and operation and we are not sure whether the Auto City project is in a position to offer such a high level of dealer operation as the one offered by our existing network. We also expect to be able to offer a complete range of services to our customers, while Auto City will just be a showroom."
If these remarks are anything to go by, (and generalizing from them too much could be problematic), then the Auto City experiment has its work cut out attracting tenants.
"Let's just say," comments Renata Kusznierska, "that this is an invention and some people react that it's a great idea and others say that because it's new, they'll need to see how it goes."
*Interview in Eurobuild Poland, November 2002
Auto City, to consist of 1,200 square meters of space at the center and contain five to six car dealerships under one roof, is in the words of DTZ's head of retail and the person charged with leasing at Blue City Renata Kusznierska, "the first of its kind." William Reynolds, King Sturge's motor expert in the UK, acknowledges that no such thing "has been done in UK cities" and that if dealerships have appeared alongside one another there, it's happened, "more by default than design." There are plenty of 'car supermarkets' in the UK, where customers can choose a car in an arguably more relaxed environment than the traditional dealerships and can purchase one from a far wider range, but these tend to be located out of town and sometimes in glorified parking lots, not under one roof as in Blue City.
A change in the EU's 'block exemption' system on the car trade, introduced in October last year, is one thing that has given Blue City the green light to innovate. 'Block exemption' is when car manufacturers can insist on exactly who sells their cars and where, and this has, until now, meant that most customers have had to visit individual showrooms to buy their automobiles where notoriously pushy car salesmen lie in wait.
Which brands have already signed up for space at Auto City, for how long and for how much rent, is for now being kept a closely guarded secret by those involved in the project, in marked contrast to other deals readily announced at the center, which is eighty percent leased, according to Ms Kusznierska. This, it is maintained, is because the scheme is such a groundbreaking move that the people at Blue City don't want anyone stealing their ideas. But unlike other units at the center, where different types of tenant might come and go, Auto City, "is not temporary, it will not change," says Ms Kusznierska, perhaps highlighting the risk Blue City is taking here. On that subject she adds: "it has taken a lot of work to change people's views about selling cars because normally dealerships are separate from one another." She goes on to explain the marketing logic behind the new concept, "The main idea is that when whole families come to shopping centers, about eighty percent of men get quite bored, so Auto City is somewhere they can go to spend time. Another factor is that in Warsaw there are huge distances between car showrooms, and people can sometimes buy cars there by mistake [because they are pushed for time] and these places close at around six or seven in the evening. At a shopping center, they will have time to look carefully at the cars, compare one with another, and receive good advice." She also insists that Auto City will only display mid-priced vehicles, to allay any potential discomfort felt by customers who, because of income, are forced to buy cheaper models than their fellow drivers. This will distinguish it not only from the traditional dealerships, but also from the discount 'car supermarkets' found in the UK.
It is always difficult to predict how a brand new concept will fare once it enters three-dimensional, harsh reality and there is always a tendency among some to let others make the first bold move, before they follow suit. King Sturge's William Reynolds is prepared to accept that one big collection of showrooms under one roof might well draw the custom it's hoping to, but the Field Operations Managers at two car manufacturers Lokale Immobilia talked to didn't express much enthusiasm for the idea. "Volvo would not participate in any such center," says the firm's Wojciech Litwin, because, "we want to be distinctive and we need our customers to come to a particular place," though he concedes that for other brands, "it might be a good idea" and could attract business. Jerzy Onisk of Toyota, offers some rather more detailed comments on why his firm won't be taking advantage of the new space at Blue City: "We have been cooperating with a dedicated architectural company for a long time now, which is in charge of both preparing new facilities and developing them. These fulfill high standards of design, quality and operation and we are not sure whether the Auto City project is in a position to offer such a high level of dealer operation as the one offered by our existing network. We also expect to be able to offer a complete range of services to our customers, while Auto City will just be a showroom."
If these remarks are anything to go by, (and generalizing from them too much could be problematic), then the Auto City experiment has its work cut out attracting tenants.
"Let's just say," comments Renata Kusznierska, "that this is an invention and some people react that it's a great idea and others say that because it's new, they'll need to see how it goes."
*Interview in Eurobuild Poland, November 2002
