PRINT THIS STORY:

CHANGE TEXT SIZE:

SCOOTING STAR

Vespa, loved by lovers and rebels, is hot again

BY JON SPRINGER

Vespa. In Italian, it means wasp. On city streets, it means cool. In commercial real estate, hot.

For now let’s stick to the literal translation. Has a product ever had a more fitting name? The classic Italian motor scooter, like the insect it’s named for, is sleek, light, colorful and distinct. Its mirrors arch from the handlebars like a pair of antennae, and the rear end gently tapers. Each connotes just a hint of danger — the wasp has its sting, the Vespa its rebel heritage. And then there’s the buzz. Less noisome than musical, it’s a pitch just loud enough to announce its arrival.

If you listen for it, you can hear buzz of a different sort regarding Vespa today. Vespa’s parent company, Piaggio USA, Rancho Dominguez, Calif., is seeking dealers behind a renewed stateside effort. Those dealers in turn are seeking out locations for boutiques that will sell Vespa scooters and related accessories. A few have touched base in shopping centers over recent months, providing a lifestyle retail concept that’s … well, pretty cool.

“I think Vespa is innovative and futuristic while at the same time, it’s nostalgic,” said Jill Noack, director of marketing at The Galleria, an enclosed lifestyle center in Edina, Minn., that leased temporary space to a Vespa boutique late last year. A local Vespa dealer set up shop in about 2,300 square feet at the center, which is owned and managed by Edina-based Gabbert & Beck, last November and December, and the drawing power was impressive, Noack said.

“We’d like to have them as a long-term tenant,” she said. “For us, it was a fast, fun and trendy concept to have, and it spoke to a variety of age groups.”

The Vespa scooter was created in 1946 by Milan, Italy-based aeronautics company Piaggio Group as a means to provide inexpensive and convenient mobility in a home country ravaged by World War II. Though born of utility, it was stylish and elegant even then. Soldiers returned home to the United States, Britain or to other parts of Europe raving about them, and a phenomenon was born.

Since then Vespa has achieved “icon status” as a result of its positioning in films throughout the 1950s and ’60s. Marilyn Monroe and Henry Fonda were among those pictured riding them. In the 1960s, the Vespa was adopted as the preferred mode of transportation for England’s “Mod” movement, a teen subculture encompassing fashion and a code of behavior romanticized by such musicians as Marc Bolan of T.Rex, and The Who. According to Don J. Brown, a motorcycle industry analyst at DJB Associates, Irvine, Calif., Vespa became (and remains) the most recognized brand of scooter even though by the 1980s such Japanese models as Honda and Yamaha surpassed it in sales.

Vespa’s latest effort in the United States, launched about a year ago, builds on the company’s iconic brand equity along with new scooter models previously unavailable here. It emphasizes Vespa ownership as gateway to a “lifestyle” that is reflected in the items available at Vespa boutiques.

The boutiques (there are 62 operating in the United States today, according to a Vespa spokeswoman) sell two versions of the Vespa scooter. The ET2, which sells for about $3,000 and features a two-stroke engine, does not require a motorcycle license to drive in most states because of its lower speed. The more powerful, four-stroke ET4 (around $4,000) can reach speeds of 60 mph. Both look unmistakably like Vespas and are available in a rainbow of colors ranging from alabaster to cobalt blue.

Accessorizing the bikes is part of the Vespa experience and a major component of the retail boutiques. At the boutique that opened in late February at the Village at Merrick Park open-air community center in Boca Raton, Fla., the items range from $5 stickers or sew-ons to custom leather seats that cost $550. A full line of ready-to-wear clothing, saddlebags, helmets and other accessories are available too, said co-owner Marylou Weber.

Weber said she and her husband, Pat, chose the new community center for the boutique because it offered the size they wanted — 3,800 square feet, including a service bay — and an upscale base of customers ranging in age from their 20s to their 60s.

Merrick Park, owned and managed by The Rouse Co., is anything but an auto row. Vespa’s neighbors there include an art gallery, a restaurant and Neiman Marcus. The center is a live-work-shop concept featuring 800,000 square feet of retail space, 110,000 square feet of offices and 150,000 square feet of residential space that is managed by The Related Cos.

“This particular merchant lends itself well to the village concept,” said Minerva Arboleya, the center’s marketing manager. “There are quite a few Vespa owners in the area, and you’ll see them zipping around the streets in the village. Vespa is really a perfect match here.”

Never too old: Tony Bennett at the Vespa boutique in New York City’s SoHo.

Vespa dealers find their own retail space, a Piaggio representative said. Existing store locations range from industrial corridors, such as the one near the 59th Street Bridge in the New York City borough of Queens, to Manhattan’s posh SoHo district to auto rows and centers like Merrick Park. Some include service centers. The 3,800-square-foot Merrick Park boutique, which has such a service center, is one of the larger U.S. locations, Weber said. The stores tend to be well appointed and upscale. Most display their scooters in a showroom layout, with gear and accessories off to the sides.

There is no question that scooters are hot again, says Brown. He estimates that U.S. sales will increase by about 26 percent this year to nearly 46,000 units, from last year’s roughly 36,000. Other factors, he says, are at work besides renewed vigor on the part of manufacturers. Among them he cites the attractive demographics of both Generation Y customers and those baby boomers who have so far resisted the Harley-Davidson motorcycle craze.

“The baby boomers have driven the motorcycle industry for some time now, and they spend more money than anyone else,” Brown said. “But Generation Y — those aged 9 to 24 years now — offers a huge opportunity, because when they reach their peak, they will rival the boomers. The idea of owning a ‘baby Harley’ is very attractive to these young guys and girls.”

This crowd rides scooters as much for recreation and social interaction as for transportation. Hundreds of scooter clubs have popped up in cities across the nation over the past few years bearing names and logos as distinct and classic as their vehicles, with many adopting a Mod-revival style.

Vespa, meanwhile, is promoting itself at venues that draw young crowds. This spring it ran a sweepstakes co-promotion with Starbucks in which the coffee giant’s card users were entered to win Vespa scooters and trips to Italy.

Brown sounds a note of caution, however. Honda and Yamaha had some success in the 1980s selling scooters behind a boutique concept, but neither could thrive once their parent brands pulled back advertising dollars.

“Honda spent millions promoting the scooter idea in the 1980s, and they were very successful getting sales,” Brown said. “But sales plummeted when Honda and Yamaha pulled their advertising budgets back to maintenance levels and the boutique stores collapsed.”

For Vespa boutiques to be successful, Brown says, their dealers will have to sell not only vehicles but accessories and clothing.

“They’re going to have to sell a whole batch of them in order to make their rent and overhead and still turn a profit,” he said, “because the margins on scooters aren’t great. I was skeptical at first, seeing what happened to Honda and Yamaha, but I think Vespa has a chance. They have a nice, high-end, high-priced scooter, and they’re going after the people with money. If they don’t overplay their hand, I think they have a shot.”

© 2008 ICSC. All rights reserved. | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Contact ICSC | ICSC Home |