Page 67 - Iconic Restaurateurs - The Entrepreneur Mag Ed. 3

Newsroom Round Up Niranga

Peiris

Director - Sales & Marketing - Prestige Automobile

What can you tell us about your organization? facilities, service centers, staff and marketing. However, we are
Prestige has been the sole authorized agent for BMW for the last currently at war with a number of garages and car sales that use our
25 years. Under the Prestige group, we have a portfolio which logos and official BMW advertising material for their own benefit.
includes the BMW used car division, Sixt Rent A Car and Prestige As the sole agent, we are the only entity authorized to do so. As the
International which focuses on heavy machinery. Previously, we also state of this infringement ranges from a small spare parts shop to
represented Mini and Hyundai. The company has come a long way a large high-end garage or car sale, it is impossible to bring these
since its inception and has been the pioneer across many segments. players to justice. But of course, if this infringement happens in a
From introducing High Security vehicles and being the reason substantial and blatant manner, we look at each issue case by case
behind the massive success of BMW 5 and 3 series vehicle models, and inform the parent company, BMW AG.
we benchmark ourselves as a market leader in the industry. Prestige
is also proud to have the BMW I franchise under its belt as well. How does one innovate when it comes to branding?
As BMW recently celebrated their centenary, they are now on the
What does branding mean to you? lookout for what the next 100 years will bring about. How will the
Branding is a promise to consumer. This promise relates back to market change? Will people only be concerned with mobility versus
what the brand represents. BMW’s brand promise has been to owning a vehicle? In order to answer these questions, we must
provide the customer with sheer driving pleasure. This promise is understand where the utilization of our vehicles will go in order
consistent regardless of which BMW model you purchase or from to innovate a branding strategy. For example, BMW is currently
which region you purchase it. So, if I could reiterate, branding is a targeting university students, giving them free test drives to
promise to deliver a product or service in a very consistent manner. experience sheer driving pleasure. The idea behind this is to embed
the brand at a youthful age so the customer will mature with the
What specific challenges are associated with branding brand.
in this industry?
We face an immense amount of brand infringements going on. As
the sole agent, we invest a large sum of money into developing

The Entrepreneur Page | 64 The Entrepreneur Page | 65