Customers, VIPs and Lamborghini executives were in attendance at the grand opening celebration of the newest Automobili Lamborghini Boutique, located in a luxury shopping centre outside of Los Angeles.

At the opening of a new boutique in Los Angeles yesterday Lamborghini President Stephan Winkelmann said the sports car brand's sales will be down by more than a third this year as customers continue to hold back on luxury purchases in the wake of the global recession.

However, while Winkelmann sees little change in the sales picture in 2010 either, he does forecast that Lamborghini will break even this year despite sales being down 37 percent during the first 10 months of this year. In the first six months of this year Lamborghini posted a 5.4 million euro profit after declaring revenues of 223.7 million euros, which equated to a year-on-year drop of 43 percent.

"It was tough, it's still tough," Winkelmann commented in an interview with Reuters at the opening a new boutique in Los Angeles. The Sant'Agata Bolognese based brand is rapidly following the pathway beaten by it perennial rival Ferrari in opening retail stores at key locations around the world. "2011 will be a recovery, but we first have to see, if 2010 will be another very tough year for the industry," Winkelmann told Reuters.

A bright point however is China, this year Lamborghini expects to sell 80 cars there, up from 70 last year, and within the next three to five years it is likely to grow to become the second most important market after the U.S., putting it ahead of Italy. Last year China was the brand's ninth biggest market. "If it's going to go on like this, it's going to happen sooner than expected," Winkelmann added, however cautioning: "I don't want to be too optimistic."

Meanwhile customers, VIPs and Lamborghini executives were in attendance at the grand opening celebration of the newest Automobili Lamborghini Boutique, located in a luxury shopping centre outside of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles fashion boutique is the second Lamborghini boutique to open in 2009, after the Beijing, China store in November. Beijing and Los Angeles were strategically chosen for their locations - Bejing as one of the world’s fastest growing markets and Southern California, traditionally one of the brand’s strongest regions.

“Opening an Automobili Lamborghini Boutique in Los Angeles further demonstrates our brand extension strategy towards high-end products consistent with the spirit of luxury sports cars,” said Winkelmann in a written statement. “The philosophy behind the Collezione Automobili Lamborghini fashion line is synonymous with the traits of each Lamborghini super sports car: Extreme, Uncompromising and unmistakably Italian. The Automobili Lamborghini Boutique embodies this culture to offer customers access to a more glamorous and exclusive world.”

In celebration of the opening, nearly 30 Lamborghini owners and their super sports cars gathered in Santa Monica, California for an exclusive drive event. They were joined by Lamborghini executives, including Winkelmann, who led a convoy in a scenic drive to the grand opening of the Automobili Lamborghini Boutique. A Collezione runway fashion show introduced guests to new products from the Autumn/Winter 2009 Collection.

Positioned inside the high-end Westfield Topanga shopping centre's luxury wing, the Automobili Lamborghini Boutique will sell items from the Collezione fashion line, comprised of men's, women's and junior's collections for all four seasons. These collections include beautifully tailored Italian fashion and fine Italian leather accessories including hats, shoes, briefcases, and more; as well as Lamborghini crested t-shirts, sweatshirts and accessories. The collection is tailored not only to Lamborghini buyers, but to the luxury consumers. The Automobili Lamborghini Boutique will be owned and operated through Westfield Topanga by Tony Schwartz and Harrison Gray of the Auto Gallery.