Dear Geely, we need a Lynk & Co Antwerp Club-style showroom in Malaysia

To call Lynk & Co’s new Antwerp Club a ‘showroom’ is perhaps an insult. The place is more than just a showroom for people to buy cars, but a whole experience that will immerse visitors into the brand’s modern active lifestyle concept. Maybe calling the Club an Instagram-worthy café is more accurate.

Set-up in an old historical fire station in Antwerp, Belgium, the new outlet is one of three new Lynk & Co Clubs opened around Europe. The first (opened in October 2020) is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and the second (opened January 2021) is set in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Each experience centre, the brand calls it a Club, is unique as Lynk & Co worked with local brands to create an experience especially for the residents of each city interwoven with the brand concept. 

For the new Antwerp Club, Lynk & Co worked with local architecture company New Order and interior designers House Raccoon to refurbish the old historical fire station the centre is located in and create a space for visitors to relax and have fun.

Also read: Proton's distant cousin, Lynk & Co has 7 models on sale; Here's a handy guide

When they say that visitors are welcomed to visit the place anytime they like, they mean it. This is very unlike car showrooms in Malaysia where brands claim they welcome all visitors anytime, but often times, sales assistants will start breathing down your neck and the areas have a sterile setup that don't seem very welcoming.

In Lynk & Co Clubs the car-buying experience is secondary while the modern café experience and creating a community is first. The centre even has plenty of activities set up just for visitors to participate.

Designers made sure to use recycled plastics as well as upcycled newspapers when building the place. Other than the café bar, there is also a hanging garden and even a swing for visitors to just relax and gain inspiration from the brand’s modern concept.

Other than that, Lynk & Co teamed up with other local brands like jewellery brand AR.M, clothing brand DAS, as well as furnishing brand Serax. So, not only do visitors get to just enjoy a cup of coffee but they also get to do a spot of shopping there as well.

Also read: Geely sold 630k vehicles in H1 2021, Lynk & Co to expand into Asian markets soon

If only Proton could learn from their cousins and bring this concept to Malaysia. With our rich culture, a Proton café would surely make it onto the Instagrammable café list!