Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany, and the partners in Porsche Design Management GmbH of Salzburg, Austria have decided to streamline brand management outside the automobile sector. Current activities are to be transferred to a newly established company. This will unify and thus strengthen the Porsche brand's presentation and the manner in which it is perceived.
Prof. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche and Ing. Hans-Peter Porsche, the founders of Porsche Design Management GmbH, Salzburg, Austria, have successfully built up their design and license business since 1978, established the ''Porsche Design'' brand and rounded off their activities with their own exclusive retail stores (Porsche Design Flagship Stores) in Germany and in the USA. In parallel, Porsche AG has undertaken the distribution and sale of items accompanying its car sales such as lifestyle products, clothing and sports equipment, including for instance Porsche bicycles, under the ''Selection'' brand name.
Both partners expect the merger of individual Porsche Design and Selection activities under the auspices of a joint company (''Porsche Lizenz- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG'') to generate synergy effects and thus advantages for both parties in the field of high-value luxury articles and lifestyle products. Porsche AG will have majority control over the new organization, which is to have its headquarters in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany.