WEBVTT - Rolls-Royce CEO Chris Brownridge Talks Hyper-Luxury Cars

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News.

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<v Speaker 2>Rolls Royce unveiling Project Nightingale, its first coach build collection model,

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<v Speaker 2>at least in the past few decades, an ultra limited

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<v Speaker 2>car offered to just one hundred clients worldwide. Bloomberg's Hannah

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<v Speaker 2>Elliott from Bloomberg Pursuits Rights, Rolls Royce is selling something

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<v Speaker 2>much more ephemeral, true exclusivity as the company pushes into

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<v Speaker 2>hyper luxury and customization. Joining us now as the CEO,

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<v Speaker 2>Chris Brownridge. So, Chris, this is pretty exciting. I got

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<v Speaker 2>a sneak preview I will say of what it looks

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<v Speaker 2>like just on someone's laptop, But it is a massive

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<v Speaker 2>vehicle and it has a massive price tag to match.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, Project Nightingale is the first of our commission

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<v Speaker 1>collection motor cars, and what that means is it's a

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<v Speaker 1>motor car where our clients have had an extraordinary behind

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<v Speaker 1>the scenes experience. But also the motor car they get

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<v Speaker 1>is extravagant, extraordinary and will be extremely rare. So it's

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<v Speaker 1>a very very special project for Rolls Royce Motocrs.

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<v Speaker 3>Matt in the latter part of that mentioned the price tag.

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<v Speaker 3>What is the value of one of these things.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, we never talk about money, it's rude, But just

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<v Speaker 1>to give you an indication if you were looking at it,

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<v Speaker 1>sits somewhere between our one of one coach Bill motor

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<v Speaker 1>cars and our very complex private commissions.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, I got to say, like probably fair to

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<v Speaker 3>say this is the most expensive ev ever, right at

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<v Speaker 3>least is that the ballpark we're talking about.

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<v Speaker 1>I wouldn't want to comment any further on that.

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<v Speaker 2>Right now we're talking about three to five million dollars.

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<v Speaker 2>Probably I would guess closer to the higher end of

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<v Speaker 2>that range. Hannah Elliott wrote a fantastic piece on it,

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<v Speaker 2>and she shows in her story the Rolls Royce seventeen

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<v Speaker 2>ex which inspired the shape of the new car. So,

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<v Speaker 2>coll who's buying these things? Can you give us any names?

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<v Speaker 3>Well?

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<v Speaker 1>The wonderful thing is that the client base for this

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<v Speaker 1>motor car were involved in the project two years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>so they've been on the inner circle. And the great

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<v Speaker 1>news is this is the first time that Rolls Royce

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<v Speaker 1>Motor Cars will deliver a coach built motor car into

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<v Speaker 1>the United States. In fact, about a third of the

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<v Speaker 1>allocation of motor cars that will Bill will come to

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<v Speaker 1>this country.

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<v Speaker 2>Is this I mean, are you moving away from being

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<v Speaker 2>a car maker and turning into a luxury experience provider

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<v Speaker 2>or a marketer of exclusivity. I mean it seems like

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<v Speaker 2>it's customization built on a fixed chassis.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, Rolls Royce is perfectly placed today to really take

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<v Speaker 1>advantage of the shifting trend in luxury where it's all

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<v Speaker 1>about the experience as well as what is actually created.

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<v Speaker 1>And so every Rolls Royce that we build today is

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<v Speaker 1>for a client because they've requested it, and Coach Built

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<v Speaker 1>allows us to show our potential clients the possibilities of

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<v Speaker 1>their Rolls Royce Coachbuild Collection is a very important project

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<v Speaker 1>for us. It's a permanent part of our product offer.

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<v Speaker 3>Now, what is the geographical spread of clients for this car?

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<v Speaker 1>Look like it is literally all over the world, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's the wonderful thing. So these are motor cars that

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<v Speaker 1>will be seen. We have clients in Asia, we have

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<v Speaker 1>clients in Europe, we have clients in America. So of

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<v Speaker 1>course Project Nightingale will be seen and they will be driven.

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<v Speaker 1>Many of the clients who I know are looking forward

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<v Speaker 1>to taking delivery of their motor car have told me

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<v Speaker 1>that they will use it every day.

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<v Speaker 2>What are you learning at Rolls Royce that you can

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<v Speaker 2>pass on to Oliver Tips and your parent company BMW.

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<v Speaker 2>I was down in your private office, for example, and

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<v Speaker 2>I saw the level of customization that's possible, The sort

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<v Speaker 2>of understated luxury of the place, the elegance of it

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<v Speaker 2>really blew me away. But it strikes me that you're

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<v Speaker 2>not just a halo brand for BMW, but you also

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<v Speaker 2>are kind of a luxury laboratory for them.

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<v Speaker 1>Rolls Royce is a true house of luxury. Everything we

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<v Speaker 1>produce is because the clients asked us to produce it.

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<v Speaker 1>But what we've seen in the last few years is

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<v Speaker 1>a cli growth in demand for more complex commissions. Since

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<v Speaker 1>we've opened the private office here in New York, the

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<v Speaker 1>level of demand for those commissions has increased dramatically, and

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<v Speaker 1>we're seeing that at all parts of the world.

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<v Speaker 3>How does Middle Eastern deliveries look. We know Ferrari pulled

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<v Speaker 3>back amidst a war. How are you catering to clients

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<v Speaker 3>in that region that are dealing with the war on

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<v Speaker 3>their doorstep?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, of course, the Midley situation is one that we're

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<v Speaker 1>watching very very closely. It's an important region for us,

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<v Speaker 1>and our thoughts are very much with the people that

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<v Speaker 1>are affected by the situation. Right now, however, demand for

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<v Speaker 1>Rolls Royce globally is still very very strong, so of

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<v Speaker 1>course it's too early to say what sort of impact

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<v Speaker 1>that may have. I don't think anyone knows at this stage.

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<v Speaker 2>But you're still you're able to sell one hundred five

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<v Speaker 2>million dollar cars. Let's just say, I'll pick a number,

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<v Speaker 2>so Ferrari can do this as well. Now you see

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<v Speaker 2>Pegani and Kuenigzeg doing this. I mean, is this an

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<v Speaker 2>unprecedented time where people were the amount of people that

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<v Speaker 2>are so wealthy to buy as many products at that

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<v Speaker 2>level exist.

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<v Speaker 1>It's clear that the ultra high net worth audience is

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<v Speaker 1>continuing to grow, but their tastes for luxury are very

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<v Speaker 1>much shifting away from just having objects to having experiences

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<v Speaker 1>or creating objects which are meaningful, personally resonant, and that

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<v Speaker 1>really plays to Rolls Royce's strengths. Everything we create is

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<v Speaker 1>because a client has asked us to do it, and

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<v Speaker 1>Project Nightingale is a great example of that, where not

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<v Speaker 1>just the motor car itself, but the client journey is

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<v Speaker 1>something which is truly remarkable. Remember these clients have been

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<v Speaker 1>in the inner circle for two years and they'll be

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<v Speaker 1>part of the testing process for the motor car as well,

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<v Speaker 1>so their experience is something that quite literally money can't buy.

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<v Speaker 1>This is about a relationship that we have with our clients.

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<v Speaker 2>One of the experiences I would love to have and

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<v Speaker 2>will hopefully someday soon as a tour of your factory

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<v Speaker 2>at Goodwood. This is the estate of the Duke of Richmond,

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<v Speaker 2>where the Festival of Speed happens and where you have

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<v Speaker 2>your factory which normally puts out your production cars. But

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<v Speaker 2>now you've invested some massive some I think three hundred

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<v Speaker 2>million pounds to enable this luxury process. What was involved

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<v Speaker 2>in that.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, it's very clear that demand for more complex commissions

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<v Speaker 1>is increasing and it's increasing rapidly. That's a core part

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<v Speaker 1>of the Rolls Royce luxury model, and so we've extended

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<v Speaker 1>the facility in Goodwood so that we've got space for

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<v Speaker 1>those commissions. It also increases our capacity for more complex

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<v Speaker 1>paint finishes on motor cars and also these coach bill

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<v Speaker 1>projects too. The whole principle of Rolls Royce is about scarcity,

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<v Speaker 1>so we extend our factory so that we can create

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<v Speaker 1>more value for each motor car rather than creating more

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<v Speaker 1>volume of motor cars.

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<v Speaker 2>So, by the way, do you share your margins are?

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<v Speaker 2>What are your margins and how have they grown?

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<v Speaker 1>We don't talk about specific details, but what I can

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<v Speaker 1>tell you is we make a very meaningful contribution to

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<v Speaker 1>our shareholder BMW Group.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, it's been great having you here, Chris brown Ridge.

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<v Speaker 2>I hope the next time I see you is that Goodwood.

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<v Speaker 1>Hope.

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<v Speaker 2>I would like to go. I don't know when the

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<v Speaker 2>I want to go to the revival. So they have

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<v Speaker 2>the revival there, Danny, you have to explain the Festival

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<v Speaker 2>of Speed is exactly what it sounds like. The festival

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<v Speaker 2>modern cars and everything, but the Revival is like a throwback.

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<v Speaker 1>So you dress everyone does as if you.

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<v Speaker 2>Were in like pre war the pre war era.

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<v Speaker 3>Sorry, what does that mean? You dress as if you

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<v Speaker 3>were in the pre war era.

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<v Speaker 2>But it's like you go dressed as Downton Abbey basically

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<v Speaker 2>or whatever you like to.

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<v Speaker 1>Create nineteen fifties clothing. It's a very special event. I'd

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<v Speaker 1>say it's one of the best events on the on

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<v Speaker 1>the calendar