13.03.2004 EUROPEAN LAUNCH FOR THE FERRARI 612 SCAGLIETTI IN GENEVA WHILE THE 575M GETS A RACE INSPIRED HANDLING UPGRADE
2004 promises to be a particularly important year for the Ferrari
Maserati Group as a whole, in terms of its new sales presence in the Russian
market and its growing position in the Chinese one.
Both Prancing Horse and
Trident models will be racing through Sweden, Finland and the cities of St
Petersburg and Moscow in the third week of March as part of a 10,000-mile
rally through north-east Europe in very difficult driving conditions, while
June 5th will see the official opening of the new showroom in Shanghai.
The
move into Russia brings to 46 the number of world markets in which Ferrari
operates directly, via a strong network of over 200 dealers. This highlights
the specific yet constant growth of the marque’s presence across the world,
a fact that has gone hand in hand with the astonishing track victories and
impressive sales records it has delivered over the last decade.
Ferrari is also extending its activities in the Licensing and
Merchandising sector with the opening of the new Ferrari Store in Rome and
the Ferrari Shop at Malpensa Airport, Milan, in late March-early April. The
opening of these two new sales outlets comes in the wake of the success of
the Ferrari Store in Maranello and the Ferrari Shop at Bologna’s Marconi
Airport, and is part of the plan announced two years ago by President Luca
di Montezemolo to open Ferrari Stores and Shops in the world’s leading
capital cities and airports.
Ferrari also recently signed a series of major
agreements which will further enhance its quality partnerships in the
development of products under licence for the main market segments. The
agreements range from those with well established partners such as Mattel,
Electronic Arts, Tod's, Girard-Perregaux and Fila, to more recent additions
such as Olympus, Lego, Montegrappa and Acer.
The Ferrari Maserati Group expects to close the 2003 business year with a consolidated turnover of approximately 1,260 million Euros, with an increase of 4% over the previous year. However, its operating profit is expected to drop somewhat as a result of changes in exchange rate with the dollar and significant investments made in developing the Maserati range.