MG Gallery: MG Philippines Opens New Lifestyle Hub

As the first point of contact, the experience buyers have at a dealership is of utmost importance. Respect, attention, and flattery are the tools used by many agents to convince tire-kickers into becoming clients. On more than one occasion, I myself have seen the power a simple cup of coffee, given freely, can have on a person’s decision making skill. But what if that pressure and persuasion was removed, and instead replaced with simple invitation to spend time appreciating a car, exploring what it has to offer for your lifestyle?

The Filipino car buyer is younger than it’s ever been, and MG Philippines plans to address this with the grand opening of its latest endeavor, the MG Gallery along Quezon Avenue – the first of its kind in the country by MG Philippines distributor SAIC Motors Philippines.

On this 100 year anniversary of the MG Brand, and as a one-year anniversary gift to itself, MG Philippines officially opened the doors to the MG Gallery yesterday, by giving media personnel an exclusive first look at MG’s new facilities, and a sneak peek at SAIC’s soon to arrive luxury performance sedan, the IM Motors L7.

With the aims of building interest in the British-born brand, MG Philippines hopes the new MG Gallery will showcase both current and upcoming Electric, Hybrid, and Internal combustion models for clients, allowing them to get a better understand of both the models MG sells, as well as the philosophy the brand follows.

As large as the Gallery is, this 10-car showroom doubles as an events space for the company, allowing it to host functions like media events, and even cater to customers with lounges and a café, to further enhance the atmosphere of a socializing space. In addition to this, the building will also house MG Philippines’ Sales and Technical training center, with its Aftersales Training Laboratory. It’s here that dealers nationwide can send their staff and technicians to train and understand the products they sell, to provide their customers with the best service available.

MG, however, has outright said that no sales will take place at this new space, and that any sales inquiries will be followed through at the customer’s preferred dealership. Which does beg the question: Why go through the trouble of creating a space to showcase your best cars if not to sell?

In the words of the President of MG Philippines, Mr. Felix Jiang, “We’re excited to unveil the MG Gallery to our Philippine Market, where Filipinos who deserve a next-level driving experience can see for themselves the full potential that MG Cars possess.”

In essence, this space is designed both to and not to sell cars – customers come, see, feel, experience everything, in an environment where buying a car isn’t pushed upon you. But in the same way, being able to experience the cars without that pressure, in itself, creates the conditions for the sale – simply by showing clients the best that MG has to offer.

More than that, it’s a visible, tangible example of how invested MG Philippines is in the market. It’s the company’s way of saying “We value the Philippine market, and we plan to stay for a long time.” Maybe more established companies can take a page out of their handbook, and focus more on customer satisfaction. After all, a customer won’t buy a product they don’t like, and a happy customer always leads to a happy sale.