Aston Martin Moves Beyond James Bond With Boats, Baby Strollers

While expanding the Aston Martin brand beyond cars, could the company be risking muddying its image?

Aston Martin, known for sports cars used in James Bond films, is expanding outside the motorway with a push into yachts, apartments and handbags, as the British manufacturer shifts its sights from rival Ferrari to the likes of Hermes.

A new store in London’s exclusive Mayfair district, a shopping mecca that includes a Louis Vuitton mega store, is Aston Martin’s biggest effort to date to establish the brand as a purveyor of all things luxury and not just slinky performance cars.

While the shop at 8 Dover Street offers ornamental bowls, 3,000-pound ($3,980) baby strollers and 1,100-pound weekend bags, Aston Martin’s ambitions go far beyond that.

“Wouldn’t it be great if you’re down in a luxury harbour somewhere staying in an Aston Martin apartment, with your Aston Martin parked in the car park, and your Aston Martin boat harboured outside,” Chief Executive Officer Andy Palmer said in an interview at the shop opening on Thursday.

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