Temporary retail locations make a big splash with local communities.
During the summer of 2024, Porsche Cars Canada opened a total of five pop-up retail locations in select markets in Canada. These temporary stores are branded “Porsche NOW,” and this year they’re located in five key metropolitan areas: Montreal (Rive-Nord and Rive-Sud), Ottawa, and Vancouver (Langley and Richmond).
According to Derek Tadros, Retail Development Director for Porsche Cars Canada the Porsche NOW design concept is one that the company has used in a number of countries including Italy, Germany, Taiwan, Greece, Israel, Saudi, Singapore, and South Korea.
Tadros says that Porsche Cars Canada saw the pop-up retail locations as an effective way to herald the arrival of the brand’s newest electrified models, the Macan Electric and the 2025 Taycan.
“We went to our dealers with this concept last year, and said that we were willing to support up to five [locations in Canada],” he explains. “A number of our dealers applied, and we selected the top five entries. That’s how the locations were chosen.”
Each dealer’s application was rated, based on a number of factors, including their choice of location, design ideas, and their marketing plans. “They basically pitched their ideas, and we scored each one, choosing the best five,” Tadros adds.
Unique concepts
While the interior of each pop-up store follows the same design language, the exteriors are unique in a number of ways. “What’s cool about this concept is that it gave a lot of flexibility to the dealers, which is why the exteriors are different,” Tadros explains. “For example, two of the locations are basically renovated shipping containers, one is in a traditional mall location, one is more of a boutique store located near pedestrian traffic, and one is a temporary standalone structure.”
In short, Tadros says, Porsche Cars Canada gave their dealers the freedom to come up with exciting and innovative concepts, and the dealers delivered. “It’s a credit to the entrepreneurial spirit of our dealers,” he adds. “We don’t take credit for that. We gave them a concept, but they came up with the ideas and the locations, and they got creative.”
Focused on electrification
The five pop-up locations here in Canada have a definite green theme. Not only do they feature the brand’s electric vehicles, but the locations themselves are constructed with the use of recyclable cardboard cylinders in the wall, seating, and display elements. That said, even though each location puts the Macan and Taycan in the spotlight, consumers can learn about, test drive and even purchase any of the other vehicles in the brand’s lineup.
“Each location has a Porsche pro, which is our product expert, and a sales executive,” Tadros says. “We don’t have an F&I manager, because that’s what the dealership is for. Vehicles have been sold at our pop-up locations, but then the transaction is completed in a very smooth and hybrid fashion. Between the pop-up and the dealership, our customers can complete the transaction.”
Curated events
One of the interesting features of the Porsche NOW program here in Canada is that visitors can take part in a number of what the company calls “curated lifestyle events.” These include a variety of activities, ranging from in-person yoga classes to live painting sessions.
“We challenged the dealers to appeal to, and reach out to their local communities,” Tadros explains. “They came up with a host of ideas, including trivia nights, a make-up night, gastronomy, a LEGO event, wine tastings, and more.”
Tadros says that the curated events have resulted in positive feedback from consumers. “People are having fun,” he says. “One of our dealers said that there’s a lot more cleaning involved than they had anticipated, because they’re constantly wiping face prints and nose prints off the exterior glass. People are looking inside to see what’s going on, and these aren’t just kid-sized face prints. Adults are peering in as well.”
By definition, Porsche NOW pop-up locations aren’t meant to be permanent. In fact, these five locations will close their doors at the end of year. Whether or not the success Porsche has seen thus far with this concept will translate into more pop-up locations in 2025 and beyond, is still to be determined. However, Tadros seems bullish on the idea.
“Our dealers are enthusiastic,” he says, “and although I can’t predict the future, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were to see more [pop-ups] in the future.”