Ferrari Formula One driver Kimi Räikkönen today officially opened the UK’s first Ferrari Store at 193-197 Regent Street in the very heart of London. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was hosted by Räikkönen and Dany Bahar, Ferrari Senior Vice President, Direzione Commerciale & Brand. The Ferrari driver then performed the now-traditional signing of the store counter after which there was a special reception for a select group of guests and Ferrari Owners. The day also featured a spectacular display of both new and classic Ferraris which, having first called to the Store, parked on Conduit Street for all to admire.

The design of the two-storey 530 square metre London Ferrari Store is entirely the work of the Studio Iosa Ghini. The design concept sees the Store as much as a homage to the history and spirit of Ferrari’s twin souls of racing and luxury as a straightforward retail outlet. Each area of the Store has thus been carefully designed as a unique, special space in which shoppers can truly embrace the Ferrari experience. Needless to say, the Regent Street Store offers a wide selection of products from the Prancing Horse ranges for GT car clients, Formula 1 tifosi, and Ferrari enthusiasts.

The Regent Street Store joins the other prestige Ferrari Store locations worldwide, including those in Rome and Venice (Italy), Barcelona (Spain), San Francisco and Miami (USA), Macao (China), Abu Dhabi (UAE), to mention but a few. It was created and will be managed by the Percassi Group, a high profile Italian and international retail company that also owns the Ferrari Store in Milan which opened its doors in September 2005. The Ferrari Store development programme includes plans to bring the number of openings to more than 40 over the next three years in Europe, America and the Middle and Far East.

At the Ferrari Store inauguration on Regent Street Kimi Raikkonen spoke about the upcoming race weekend: “We’ve got some updates for Barcelona, especially as far as the aerodynamic is concerned. This weekend we’ll see if we managed to make a step ahead compared to our competitors. We know what we have to do to get back on top, but it takes some time.

It was a very difficult start to the season, that’s true, but we’re a team: you win and you loose together. We all want to win. I know that we will, but I don’t know when. This is racing, sometimes it happens that you get stuck in a difficult period. I’ve been in Formula One for years and I know that a year like this can happen: it’s difficult to win all the time. There were many rule changes and the big teams were in trouble, but they will get back on top. We have to be realistic: as far as the Championships are concerned the situation is difficult, but we’ll give it everything to catch up, to improve the car race after race. We have to start winning and then we’ll see what’s going to happen.”

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