ONE STEP BEYOND
BMW’s destination retailers have been the benchmark for decades, so Matthew Parkinson sat down with Bowker MD Chris Eccles to find out why they’ve splashed out on a £1million refurb at Bowker Blackburn. Photography: Paul Currie
It’s easy to get carried away sometimes. Today I find myself slumped in a soft leather armchair, sipping a latte whilst a large TV blinks away across from me. It’s only when I shuffle my way across the deep pile carpeting to pinch a biscuit that I remember I’m in a BMW centre.
I was then introduced to Chris Eccles, the MD of Bowker Blackburn, and he’s got a very good reason to be happy about the refurbishment of Bowker BMW’s Blackburn showroom: “The development is an investment for staff as well as customers. We have opened up our office space to create a more inclusive and open plan feel.”
It’s from this elevated position above the showroom that you can see why the centre works so well for the customer.
Chris gestures to the floor below, where a line-up of BMW’s new cars are laid out on a tiled ‘roadway’ in the middle of the showroom. The roadway is traditionally created by BMW to present the vehicles as they would appear ‘on the road’.
“We took up the old flooring to install a power source for each vehicle,” explains Chris. “This way, we can show off the various features in each car like the interior lighting or any of the interactive features.”
Whilst customers can always call upon a friendly member of staff for more information, the under floor power source has enabled another option at their fingertips if they’d prefer to browse quietly. “We installed iPads alongside each car,” says Chris. “Customers can look at specifications of each car, as well as finance options and video demonstrations of how features work.” This creates a new experience for a customer, who now has a wealth of information available to them at the swipe of a button.
As practical as Bowker’s roadway is at displaying BMW’s model range, you’d need to extend it much further to show each and every combination of options available. That’s where the team of advisors come in. From their desks, on what I suppose you could call the pavement part of the roadway, customers can sit down and design a virtual version of their BMW, trying out various colours, wheels, engines and interior trims to find a style that suits.
At the end of the road sits a section devoted to BMW’s climate conscious i3, and with the addition of electric car charging points, it’s a clear statement of BMW and Bowker ideals moving forward.
Chris goes on to explain how the building itself has been adapted to save electricity too. “We’re the opposite of a house, really,” he jokes. “We use all our electricity during the day and shut down at night, so we’ve got solar panels delivering energy as we need it. We’ve also opted for LED lighting throughout to save energy.”
Being a family business, Bowker recognises that it’s not just new customers they need to think about, but existing customers too, as Chris explains. “We decided to merge the parts and service desks into one after-sales department. This makes it easier for us to communicate across departments and answer any questions the customer might have.”
Whilst a fast lane booking service endeavours to see customer cars back on the road as soon as possible, sometimes you’ll find yourself with a little time to kill. Named after the microcar which saved BMW in the postwar years, the Isetta Lounge is where customers can kick back and take it easy, although Chris admits that getting the space right was a challenge of its own. “We must have tried three different coffee machines before we decided on a winner.”
Leather sofas, wood coffee tables and deep pile rugs make the space a remarkably snug place to while away your wait, but if you’ve got business to attend to, Chris explains how Bowker have gone beyond charging points and complimentary wi-fi. “We’ve installed a small office at the back too, so if anyone needs a quiet area to make some calls or get some work done, they can.”
Whilst customers will likely love the wealth of features on offer, there’s one element of the refresh that remains refreshingly similar – the cars. Thanks to a range of eye-popping new body colours against the whites, greys and blacks of the showroom’s surfaces, BMW’s range has never looked better.
Obviously, that’s the point of the centre – to show off the cars, but Bowker’s new Blackburn showroom goes further than that by offering up so many features that you get a taste of the BMW experience before you even sit behind the wheel. The best bit? None of these optional extras will cost a penny.
OPEN WEEKEND
Bowker Blackburn BMW will be holding an open weekend event on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th April 2018.
With food and attendance from a number of other local businesses, it’s a weekend not to miss!
Bowker Blackburn BMW
Trident Way
Blackburn BB1 3NU
01254 274444
www.bowkerblackburnbmw.co.uk
www.bowkerblackburnmini.co.uk
