The grand opening ceremony of the first Ferrari Store in California took place yesterday in Los Angeles. The store is the fifteenth Ferrari Store sales point in the world and the second in the United States, after Las Vegas.

The store has a total floor space of over 3500 square feet and is located in the heart of the city, at the Beverly Center, an 8-story mall in Los Angeles. A broad array of Ferrari products are on display in a showroom that was designed to specifically offer customers a journey through the areas that characterize the Prancing Horse's boutiques: fan and vintage memorabilia in the first section, the children's section in the middle, and finally the exclusive luxury section.

True to the tradition of every Ferrari store, the store window is dedicated exclusively to the Formula 1: on a scooped surface of simulated asphalt, cordoned off by a velvet rope, is an example of the Ferrari team's single-seater race car. At the entrance visitors are welcomed by the roar of a Formula 1 engine. Inside the store there is room for more than 1500 items, most of which are sold exclusively at Ferrari Stores. These include apparel for men, women, and children, leather goods, memorabilia, publications, toy models, and gadgets. As an absolute world premier, the Los Angeles boutique will be selling the baton created for the Ferrari 60 relay, an world-wide event celebrating the company's sixtieth anniversary. Ferrari will be celebrating both the inauguration of the Store as well as the 60th Anniversary on the evening of March 25, when Ferrari customers gather at the Beverly Center for a symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Los Angeles Ferrari Store arrives after the opening of Ferrari Stores in Maranello, Rome, Milan, Venice, Las Vegas, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing, and shops at the airports of Bologna, Milan-Malpensa and Rome-Fiumicino. There is an ambitious development plan for more than 40 openings in the next five years, in Europe, America, and the Far East. Next stops include Abu Dhabi and Macao.
 

In 2006, Ferrari North America's total sales grew for the fourteenth consecutive year, with 1,635 cars delivered for a 5.5% increase over 2005. North America accounts for approximately 30% of Ferrari's global sales, thus representing the company's top market. There are 36 authorized Ferrari dealers in North America (32 in the United States, 4 in Canada). California is Ferrari's most important market in North America. The beautiful and diverse landscape, mild weather and road system make it the perfect place for Ferraris and their owners. There are seven authorized California Ferrari Dealers located in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Fernando Valley, Beverly Hills, Newport Beach and San Diego.

Ferrari North America, Inc., headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, is headed by Maurizio Parlato, President and CEO, now in his fifth year at the helm of Ferrari's largest market worldwide. Ferrari North America is the exclusive North, Central and South American importer of Ferrari vehicles including the 599 GTB Fiorano, the F430 and F430 Spider and the 612 Scaglietti.

The celebrations of Ferrari's 60th Anniversary, which started in Abu Dhabi on January 29th, arrived in Los Angeles after North American stops in Miami and San Francisco. The celebrations will then proceed to Toronto, Montreal and New York finally arriving at the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. on Saturday, March 31st. Hundreds of Ferrari North America clients have taken part in the Anniversary festivities.