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How is the Apple Store an analogy to Tesla establishing dealerships? As far as I know, Apple Stores are owned and operated directly by Apple and are thus direct
by nrivadeneira 13y ago
How is the Apple Store an analogy to Tesla establishing dealerships? As far as I know, Apple Stores are owned and operated directly by Apple and are thus direct sales, while dealerships are third-parties/franchisees that buy from the manufacturer and re-sell to the consumer.
- jusben1369 13y agoYou're super literal. Imagine completely re-designing the car dealership experience so that it becomes a positive to the buying experience vs a negative. Secondly, who said the dealership has to be a franchise? Lastly, franchise's (even if you did that) have to follow some pretty strict guidelines. So you could drive the process hard.
- nrivadeneira 13y agoThe important distinction here is that dealerships don't constitute direct sales since they are not owned nor operated by the manufacturer. The question @pedrocr posed was why would it be necessary for Tesla to begin working with third-party dealerships at scale - they could still continue building their own showroom floors and continuing direct sales through their own channels. If they continued their direct sales process, it would not be ironic, as you claim, since they'll still be circumventing the dealership middleman. Note: This has nothing to do with good/bad experiences. That's not what defines a dealership.
- jpwright 13y agoThat's a non-sequitur to the debate about whether car companies should be forced to sell through third-party dealerships. Tesla already has dozens of showrooms across the country, and yes, they are Apple-Store-esque.