Korean luxury brand Genesis is opening its largest retail space yet in Australia.
The new Genesis Sydney Showcase replaces the old Parramatta Test Drive Centre. It’s located on Parramatta Road in North Strathfield.
The company will celebrate its opening with customers and invited guests on January 29, with global Genesis boss Mike Song and motor racing legend and brand ambassador Jacky Ickx to be in attendance.
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Genesis will also show off its GV60 Magma Concept, a hotted-up version of its electric SUV. This model will enter production later this year, becoming the first member of Genesis’ new Magma series of performance vehicles.
This series will grow to include a Magma version of each vehicle in the Genesis lineup.
The brand is calling the new North Strathfield location a major investment in the brand locally, and a “visually spectacular space” with two Customer Delivery Lounges and a conference space.
Genesis’ retail network has remained small as it has eschewed the traditional franchise model of most brands in favour of a network of retail locations it owns and operates.
That has left it with some significant gaps in its coverage. For example, it doesn’t have any locations in South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory.
The brand has instead been busily refreshing its retail presence in Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, after first launching here as a standalone brand in 2019.
It operates what it calls Showcases in these three markets, as well as Sydney and Perth. These are more like traditional dealerships, while Genesis also has what it calls Studios – flagship locations situated in areas with high foot-traffic – in both the Sydney and Melbourne CBDs.
That gives Genesis a total of just seven retail locations nationwide. Genesis’ newly appointed local boss, Justin Douglass, confirmed last year the brand’s short-term focus was to continue to develop its existing locations rather than expand the network.
Jacky Ickx isn’t in Australia just for the opening of a new dealership. He’ll be taking another Genesis concept – the X Gran Berlinetta – for a series of demonstration laps at the Bathurst 12 Hour endurance race from January 31 to February 2.
The GV60 Magma Concept will also be running laps at the event.
For the first time since its 2019 launch in Australia, Genesis sales dropped last year. It posted a decline of 26.9 per cent, with the GV80 range pared back and a facelifted GV70 launching later in the year.
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