When The Student Wants To Challenge The Master: MINI Vs. BMW
A used MINI dealer in Scotland challenges BMW over use of MINI name, why?
So BMW, love it or hate it, the brand is undoubtedly one of the more well known names in the automotive industry and for good reason. The brand has achieved global success and is seen as a symbol of success regardless of which part of the world one may find themselves in, but it appears not all are so happy with the brand.
So just in case you were unaware, German carmaker, BMW owns the British car brand, MINI, made famous to an entire generation in Malaysia through the classic Mr. Bean movies, shows and cartoons. It also owns the British ultra luxury marque, Rolls-Royce. I’m beginning to see a trend with British owned car brands…
Moreover, British car brand ownership aside, (oh, how the tables have turned, eh?), a used car dealer in Scotland which specialises in selling used MINI cars is now taking the fight to BMW via social media after the latter has asked the former to stop using the trademarked name because it is not an authorized MINI retailer.
This all started when the Scottish dealer, Bridgend Motor Group of Kilmarnock, Scotland, opened a used car dealership last December called Mini World, which caught the attention of BMW not long after opening and to combat this, the used car dealer hilariously used emojis to combat the trademarked name. Lol.
The “NOT” MINI dealership first crossed the word “MINI” off their signage and then proceeded to write on its Facebook page, “Apparently, we’re not allowed to use the word Mini when we’re trying to sell used Minis. Not on our signs, our flags, or our website.”
“We’re not even sure if we’re allowed to think the word now! They were so stern about it. Anyway, we are sincerely sorry for our genuine mistake, and for the avoidance of doubt, we sell used Minis and are definitely not a Mini dealer. We’re much cheaper!” They added.
Well, BMW didn’t like that so it informed the used MINI dealer that crossing out the name was still not good enough. The used dealer then responded by covering the MINI logos with a variety of face emojis and calling itself “iNi World.” It also added notes on its signs encouraging people to “follow the story” on social media.
On top of that, the Sales Manager of “iNi World,” Mark Hawthorn, said, “We never thought it would be an issue, a relatively small local family-run business specializing in used Minis in a small town like Kilmarnock. How many more used Mini specialists are there in the UK? Which I am sure will also be using the word, Mini.”
Well as of now, BMW has already confirmed that it has already asked the used MINI dealer to stop using the MINI name but has yet to respond to the ‘iNi World” name on social media.
We got all this from Motor1 and their full article is linked here. Thank you Motor1 for the information.
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