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Kimi
Räikkönen today officially opened the UK’s first Ferrari Store
at 193-197 Regent Street in the very heart of London. The
ribbon-cutting ceremony was hosted by Räikkönen and Dany Bahar,
Ferrari Senior Vice President, Direzione Commerciale & Brand.
The
Ferrari driver then performed the now-traditional signing of the
store counter after which there was a special reception for a
select group of guests and Ferrari Owners. The day also featured a
spectacular display of both new and classic Ferraris which, having
first called to the Store, parked on Conduit Street for all to
admire.
At
the Ferrari Store inauguration on Regent Street Kimi Raikkonen
spoke about the upcoming race weekend: “We’ve got some updates
for Barcelona, especially as far as the aerodynamic is concerned.
This weekend we’ll see if we managed to make a step ahead
compared to our competitors. We know what we have to do to get
back on top, but it takes some time. It was a very difficult start
to the season, that’s true, but we’re a team: you win and you
loose together. We all want to win. I know that we will, but I
don’t know when. This is racing, sometimes it happens that you
get stuck in a difficult period. I’ve been in Formula One for
years and I know that a year like this can happen: it’s
difficult to win all the time. There were many rule changes and
the big teams were in trouble, but they will get back on top. We
have to be realistic: as far as the Championships are concerned
the situation is difficult, but we’ll give it everything to
catch up, to improve the car race after race. We have to start
winning and then we’ll see what’s going to happen.”
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Picture Gallery
The
design of the two-storey 530 square metre London Ferrari Store is
entirely the work of the Studio Iosa Ghini. The design concept
sees the Store as much as a homage to the history and spirit of
Ferrari’s twin souls of racing and luxury as a straightforward
retail outlet. Each area of the Store has thus been carefully
designed as a unique, special space in which shoppers can truly
embrace the Ferrari experience. Needless to say, the Regent Street
Store offers a wide selection of products from the Prancing Horse
ranges for GT car clients, Formula 1 tifosi, and Ferrari
enthusiasts.
The
Regent Street Store joins the other prestige Ferrari Store
locations worldwide, including those in Rome and Venice (Italy),
Barcelona (Spain), San Francisco and Miami (USA), Macao (China),
Abu Dhabi (UAE), to mention but a few. It was created and will be
managed by the Percassi Group, a high profile Italian and
international retail company that also owns the Ferrari Store in
Milan which opened its doors in September 2005. The Ferrari Store
development programme includes plans to bring the number of
openings to more than 40 over the next three years in Europe,
America and the Middle and Far East.
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