Subaru of America Debuts New Retail Environment

- Subaru of Plano celebrates Grand Opening with special guest Travis Pastrana -

DALLAS, Oct. 5 -- An all-glass view into the showroom, granite surfaces, and high, open spaces: Welcome to the next-generation Subaru of America dealership, where these elements of comfort and quality are just some of the design upgrades Subaru is incorporating into its new United States stores.

The Cherry Hill, N.J.-based carmaker is giving its retail stores a more contemporary face as part of a larger effort to broaden the brand's appeal. Subaru is perhaps best known for its standard, Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive and boxer engine that offers customers excellent engineering, uncompressing safety, and go-anywhere capability. In recent years, the company has also attracted new customers to the brand by offering models like the Subaru Impreza WRX and Legacy 2.5 GT Sedan for driving enthusiasts that seek fun-to-drive performance in handling and acceleration.

The new interior and exterior of its stores were designed to speak to all brand enthusiasts and represent the progressive, advanced technology of its product lineup. "It's really an expression of the brand. It's a place where the products that we make and the retail experience come together," said Subaru of America, Inc. Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Tim Mahoney. "It's a beautiful facility that is keeping pace with the evolution of our cars, which have become so much more sophisticated, and they deserve a place like this."

The first "showcase" dealership built under the new template officially opened yesterday in Plano, Texas -- a Dallas suburb chosen largely for its growth prospects and reputation as a strong import market, according to Peter Cook, director of market development at Subaru of America, Inc. The surrounding market area is also one of the largest in the country based on vehicle registrations.

In addition, Subaru, which has great traction in colder climates, recognizes that to expand its business it must make Sunbelt cities like Dallas among its top priority markets, according to Subaru of America, Inc. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Kunio Ishigami. "Subaru has increased our sales in the Sunbelt region by 15 percent over the last five years, but we cannot stop there," he says.

In addition to being a showcase dealership, the 31,000-square-foot Plano facility will also serve as one of the carmaker's first "antenna stores." As such, associates at Subaru of Plano will formally maintain direct feedback with Subaru of America, Inc. and its parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan. "We'll keep close contact to see how new concepts work," says Hiro Kamagami, vice president of market development at Subaru of America, Inc. "Plano is such an important market for us and we would like to get more information and feedback from these customers."

The corporate office intends to use the new store as a lab of sorts, testing new programs that it intends to roll out nationwide, like those involving customer relations, merchandizing or showroom traffic tracking. "Subaru dealerships are the most important customer touch points and ones that we need to invest in and continuously enhance," says Mr. Ishigami. Another antenna store is planned for the Los Angeles area in the near future.

As part of the new retail store design, the traditional Subaru stone tower that has long represented the heritage of Subaru has evolved into a natural slate tower. "You see a lot of natural elements that are consistent with the brand," Mahoney says. "You see the wood and the slate materials that fit very well with the active lifestyle and outdoors and yet it's very clean and very elegant. Lots of light, lots of openness, so it's a friendly place -- it's not an imposing place to come to."

One other noteworthy new feature: The service waiting area was designed to feel like a relaxing lounge, with wood floors and comfortable leather chairs. Customers can access data ports from work stations or choose to watch their cars being serviced through large glass windows.

Subaru of America, Inc. currently owns the land and the building and is leasing to managing partners David Thomas and Phil Dunnet who will eventually purchase the dealership. The team also currently runs the successful Subaru of Dallas store.

"This much more updated and contemporary facility is very important in the car-buying process because it's very user-friendly, well-designed, no-barriers approach," says David Thomas, managing partner of Subaru of Plano. "We are trying to upscale the experience without upscaling the price." Phil Dunnet, managing partner, adds, "We're using a lot of glass to convey the openness of the entire purchase and ownership experience."

More than 200 people celebrated the opening of Subaru of Plano, including top executives from area corporations, officials from Subaru of America, Inc. and Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd., Plano Mayor Pro Tem Scott Johnson, general contractor Scott Schwob of Schwob Building Company in Dallas, and architect James Stephenson of Stephenson Architects in Fort Worth, Texas.

Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana also made a special guest appearance at the Grand Opening in his Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car. He dramatically drove onto the stage as ceremonial ribbons exploded into the air and then signed hundreds of autographs for fans.

Ishigami says, "It is our hope this dealership will produce best practices in sales and service, providing a benchmark for other Subaru dealers across the country."

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of nearly 600 dealers across the United States. Subaru makes the best-selling All-Wheel Drive car sold in America based on R.L. Polk & Co. new vehicle retail registration statistics calendar year-end 2005. For additional information visit http://www.subaru.com/.