TOKYO: Nissan Motor Co. will increase the number of saleswomen in Japan and design more of its dealerships to appeal to female buyers as part of a push to win over household decision-makers.
The automaker will triple the number of what it calls “ladies first” dealerships to 300 in the coming fiscal year and 700 by 2018, Executive Vice President Takao Katagiri told reporters at the automaker’s headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. The carmaker will also double the number of car saleswomen from two years ago to 1,400 in 2018, he said.
First set up in 2013, Nissan’s “ladies first” dealerships feature cars targeting women, especially housewives, such as the Roox minicar. Some of these outlets will have nursing rooms and play areas for children, and feature stylish and colorful designs to make the car showroom more inviting and welcoming to women, according to spokesman Chris Keeffe.
In Japan, three out of four big-ticket purchase decisions are made by women or jointly with their husbands, according to a 2012 survey by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Under Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn, Nissan leads Japan’s car manufacturers in the number of women in executive jobs at 7 percent as of March 2014, with a target to increase female managers to 10 percent of its total by 2017, according to the carmaker.
Katagiri, who oversees Nissan’s business in Japan, also said that the automaker will target to produce more than 1 million vehicles in Japan in the fiscal year ending March 2017 to take advantage of the weaker yen.
