Kia Corporation has revealed updates regarding the status of its new Showroom Identity implementation plan across the Middle East and Africa. Named SI 2.0, the plan details the transformation of Kia’s showrooms into compelling, immersive and experiential spaces for its customers.
The implementation of SI 2.0 across the region begun in July 2021, and to date Kia Corporation has transitioned and completed 89 showrooms - 51 In the Middle East and 29 in Africa, including 20 in KSA, 18 in Iraq, 9 in South Africa and 7 in Egypt.
The brand’s move to upgrade its showrooms compliments its significant 2021 brand relaunch which saw the unveiling of a new brand strategy as well as logo and brand slogan.
The design of the new Showroom Identity is inspired by the brand’s ‘Opposites United’ philosophy, which seeks to combine opposing elements in an integrated design that centers on the beauty and elegance of simplicity. To further emphasize this contrast, Kia is precisely dividing each showroom into two sections, the customer-focused area and the exhibition space.
The customer area is minimalist in its design, characterized by natural, warm colors and wooden surfaces. In contrast, the exhibition area is futuristic featuring an achromatic color theme, metallic surfaces, and reflections.
Kia strives to convey the identity of design through an “infinite loop” that fuses spaces that are different from each other, which provide a heterogeneous feeling and harmony by contrasting texture and space. The elements that compose the space in the showrooms emphasize contrast while maintaining symmetry, which represents the brand’s confidence in suggesting new customer experience through providing futuristic products and services. Symmetry is one of the design pillars of the brand, together with rhythm, that conveys Kia’s brand promise to move and change unceasingly under customer’s demand and to bring moments of inspiration for customers, and rising, which embodies Kia's ambitions in becoming a new brand that truly absorbs the customer’s perspective.
“We’re thrilled to see more and more of our Kia showrooms across the region undergo this transformation in line with our new brand identity,” commented Yaser Shabsogh, Chief Operating Officer, Regional HQs, Middle East & Africa, Kia. “The new showroom identity represents the new Kia brand personality that we aim to showcase through the various touchpoints of our customers. With this new design, we want to create a space where customers can get inspired, and most importantly, we want to deliver a Kia customer experience that reflects our new brand, products and services.”
Kia is simultaneously continuing its expansion in the region and aims to implement the new identity across a total 200 showrooms throughout the region by the end of 2022. Beyond that, it is expected to have transformed 550 Kia locations in the Middle East and Africa by the end of 2025.