laughabledynast: Ferrari opens its first Pit Stop store in a volcano

Friday, December 17, 2010

Ferrari opens its first Pit Stop store in a volcano

Grand Opening of the Ferrari Pit Store store at Vulcano Buono - Click above for high-res image gallery

Another day, another Ferrari Store opening somewhere in the world. Right? Maybe so - the company has proven particularly adept at capitalizing on its brand identity with a staggering array of merchandise and the retail locations at which to peddle them. But this one is a little different, and we'll tell you why.

First is the nature of the store itself. Called the Pit Stop, it eschews the leather briefcases and fancy pens with the prancing horse logos and sticks with the motorsport paraphernalia. In other words, this store is for racing fans, less so for car owners, be they wannabe or actual. Besides the inventory though, it also features a different design from the store you might have seen in an airport terminal while traveling overseas.

Instead of lacquered red eveything, the Pit Stop store is designed to emulate the pit lane garages the team uses at grands prix, complete with perforated plates covering the wall and furniture styled after those industrial-strength travel cases the teams use to transport their equipment from race to race. There's also a replica pit wall where visitors can try their hand at the Ferrari Virtual Academy race simulator and other attractions in the 900-square-meter retail space.

The second reason this store is different is its location. Ferrari chose to launch the first of this new kind of retail space at Vulcano Buono in Nola. The innovative commercial complex sits at the foothills of Mount Vesuvius and imitates its form in a 40-meter tall structure covering 500,000 square meters, insulated by acres of sloping vegetation fields in a unique green initiative. A telling location to launch a new concept store, and Ferrari has many more planned for the future. Details in the press release after the jump, along with photos from the store's opening in the gallery below.

Gallery: Ferrari Pit Stop at Vulcano Buono