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ModdedJK

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Sources:
https://www.autonews.com/dealers/jeep-focused-showrooms-can-fuel-brand-growth-ceo-says
https://www.carscoops.com/2022/05/jeep-is-confident-dedicated-showrooms-will-help-to-boost-sales/

Jeep Is Confident Dedicated Showrooms Will Help It Boost Sales

Jeep Wrangler JL Dedicated Jeep Showrooms Are Coming Jeep-dealer-2_1



May 4, 2022

Jeep’s dealerships across the United States will undergo quite a transformation over the coming two years as the automaker encourages dealers to establish dedicated showrooms to attract additional customers.

One dealership that has already established a Jeep-centered showroom is LaFontaine Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Fenton in Michigan. This dealer has put a vintage Jeep Wagoneer on display and has also established a small area with Jeep shirts, hats, and coffee mugs.

Speaking with Auto News, the store’s general manager Paul Jordan said the dealer wanted to make Jeep customers feel like they’re in a dedicated Jeep store, rather than one with other Stellantis brands. As such, they have a Gladiator on display that’s loaded with Mopar accessories and available for test drives. Plans are also in place to update the dealership floor to accommodate the Grand Wagoneer.

“Just because you build a showroom doesn’t mean it’s going to work,” Jordan commented. “You have to have the culture of your employees match the showroom. That’s what the difference is — not the showroom — the culture of your staff.”​

Jeep chief executive Christian Meunier believes the dedicated showrooms will help dealerships capture some of the growth potential of the Jeep brand while also supporting its range of new vehicles.

“Because of the product plan and the growth opportunity for Jeep in North America in the next five years, the dealers are going to be, I think, very much engaged,” Meunier told Auto News. “So we need to show the dealers our future a little bit more so that they can have that vision more well defined. We have some work to do to convince them a little bit more about that, but this is the future. Some don’t realize the potential that exists. I think very soon they will see their peers being very successful.”​

Chairman of the Stellantis National Dealer Council and owner of the Daytona Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram dealer, Randy Dye, says some dealers are already reaping the rewards of establishing dedicated showrooms.

“I’ve listened to some of the guys that have done it, that got ahead of it, and they’ve indicated while they were not real sure how successful it was going to be as they made the decision to do it, [it] has been successful once it got done,” he said. “The customers really appreciate their own space, and the volume increases.”​
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Vito92

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Just like TXRubicon said this is probably more so for wagoneer people but I also think this is just another way for them the phase chrysler and dodge out. For some time now I didnt think they had any real legitimate interest in keeping them alive
 

Uncommon Sense

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I think Jeep can stand on it's own. Jeep is moving up market and there is a lifestyle element to the jeep brand. It needs it's own showroom apart from other brands. I just hope they can change the overall dealer experience to go along with a stand alone store.
 

Rustynail11

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Already have one that I know of TX. CDJR dealer built a stand alone Jeep Showroom next to existing dealership. Haven't been in though based on a previous bad experience with them.
 

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Powelligator

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The Jeep Brand has a cache very similar to the Harley-Davidson brand. Harley sells about $300M worth of merchandise/clothing/etc. each year. I can see Jeep wanting to leverage their brand like that, the dedicated store concept would be a big step towards that goal.
 

jellis4148

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We are building a new building, and that's exactly what ours will look like. We have a complete separate section just for Jeep. Had to buy a $20,000 display just to do Wagoneer Display. It looks like a cloud that sits above it.
 

Heimkehr

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The Jeep Brand has a cache very similar to the Harley-Davidson brand. Harley sells about $300M worth of merchandise/clothing/etc. each year. I can see Jeep wanting to leverage their brand like that, the dedicated store concept would be a big step towards that goal.
Beat me to it. 👍

Milwaukee's rebranding is a resounding success story. It's not surprising that Stellantis would want to recreate the boutique aesthetic that works so well for Harley-Davidson...and BMW and Triumph, come to that. I've experience with all three of those marques, and with the right sales staff in place, its easy to understand how such a business plan can remain not just sustainable, but markedly profitable.

With the foregoing in mind, I'm hoping it works out for Jeep.
 

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SH556JL

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If they get it away from the traditiona FCA/Stellantis dealer, not next to it or attached. I mean away and with separate management. I could see this being a good thing, at least with service. I would hope they poach some employees from the Mini dealership on the customer service side of things.
 

Uncommon Sense

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The biggest issue and risk is dealer culture screwing it up.

Jeep is moving up market with Grand Cherokees and Wagoneers (and even 392 and loaded Rubicons) and there is overlap with other traditional luxury brands. The dealership experience (sales and service) has to match those borrower's expectations. Jeep certainly has the brand equity to sell lifestyle merch and other other after market accessories in much larger numbers than they do currently.
 

zw470

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The Jeep Brand has a cache very similar to the Harley-Davidson brand. Harley sells about $300M worth of merchandise/clothing/etc. each year. I can see Jeep wanting to leverage their brand like that, the dedicated store concept would be a big step towards that goal.
Finally, an excuse to use my Jeep credit card :handsinair:
 

aldo98229

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Yes, I saw this article on Auto News.

This is my letter to the editor which, apparently, will appear on next week's print edition.

"I love Jeeps; I have been a Jeep customer for 25-plus years.
Jeep dealer service was never stellar, but I saw the dealership experience steadily deteriorate under Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ownership, particularly over the past seven or so years.
Opening up new stores makes OEMs feel good, but it rarely solves the underlying problems. Worse, opening new stores/showrooms automatically increases the number of vehicles that need to be sold to break even. And it is the individual dealers left to bear most of the risk — just look at what happened to Fiat USA dealers.
Granted, Jeep is not Fiat, especially not in North America. But unless Jeep implements better training for sales and tech staff and stricter customer service requirements, and/or enlists dealers with a reputation for delivering a better customer experience, making existing dealers to build separate showrooms is not going to fix any of the underlying problems.
As the old saying goes, it is simply putting lipstick on a pig."
 

LCW

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One of these Jeep-only showrooms has been open here in the Twin Cities since Dec. It’s in Forest Lake. Bought my Jeep there in Feb.
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