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Scooting Around L.A. on a Vespa

Courtesy of:  Downtown News

"Italian Cool" Vespa of L.A.

Downtown resident Caroline Le Duc bought a scooter from Vespa of L.A. Roger Miyakawa opened the shop in November. Photo by Gary Leonard.

Downtown Gets an Unlikely Business in a Little Tokyo Vespa Dealership

by Richard Guzmán

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – When Caroline Le Duc’s car broke down, she decided she needed some new wheels. But the 27-year-old Historic Core resident had other considerations too: She wanted to zip through traffic and save on gas.

So when Le Duc went out to dinner in Little Tokyo, she stumbled onto the perfect solution.

“I walked past here and saw all the Vespas behind the locked gates and that was it for me,” she said.

Last month, Le Duc became one of about 20 owners of a scooter purchased at Vespa of L.A., a 4,000-square-foot showroom and service center that owner and general manager Roger Miyakawa hopes will tap into the young urban market. He noted that his business is aiming at those frustrated by traffic and parking in Downtown Los Angeles, as well as tourists who are familiar with the scooter as a mode of transportation.

“My goal is also to try to move people into alterative forms of transportation,” said Miyakawa. “Scooters, as a mode of transportation, are going to lead the way in the future.”

Miyakawa signed a three-year lease on the space at Third Street and Central Avenue. The store opened in November with 40 Vespas on the floor. It also stocks accessories such as brightly colored half helmets and riding jackets, as well as a service station where customers can bring in their vehicles for maintenance.

The dealership is a fashionable space with big windows displaying the brightly colored scooters, dark cement floors and exposed wood ceilings. Large posters with chic models standing next to Vespas hang on the walls, as do helmets, T-shirts and motor oil.

Prices start at $3,199 for a 50cc Vespa, which can reach up to 39 miles per hour. The most expensive model, which sells for $6,900, is a 250cc version that can hit 78 miles per hour.

Miyakawa said about 90% of his buyers so far have been Downtown residents. He said he hopes to sell 200 Vespas during his first year in business, with a goal of 300 per year after that. Vespa officials said that is the norm for their dealerships.

Italian Cool

Originally manufactured in 1946 by the Italian firm Piaggio & Co., Vespas are hailed as the original scooter. They are popular not only for their performance but also for their stylish design. They were renowned as the vehicles of choice in the 1960s British mod movement.

These days, Vespas can be as much a fashion accessory as a mode of transportation, said Paolo Timoni, president and CEO of Piaggio Group Americas, the New York-based domestic maker of Vespa. That makes them a good fit for the Central City.

“Downtown is a neighborhood with the right demographics,” he said, citing the area’s youth, growing residential population and stylish urban lifestyle.

The Downtown dealership is part of a recent expansion by the company. In 2005 there were 70 dealerships nationwide, Timoni said. Today there are 300. Other Southern California locations are in Sherman Oaks, Long Beach, Torrance and Marina Del Rey.

For Miyakawa, starting a dealership in Downtown was about taking advantage of all the change occurring in the area.

“With everything going on in Downtown the last few years, the revitalization of the area and all the people that are moving and visiting here, I felt like this was a great market,” he said. “Vespa is top of the line, it’s synonymous with scooters and you have to have a sustainable business, so you don’t want to mess around with lesser brands.”

But Miyakawa knows that in a down economy, reaching his sales goals will not be easy.

Although it has been a slow start, the key, he said, will be to get the word out about the gas savings provided by a scooter, which can get up to 75 miles per gallon.

Miyakawa is hoping to expand his clientele by encouraging locals and tourists to drop the four wheels and get on a Vespa. He intends to begin scooter rentals in the summer, making them available at his shop and at Downtown locations such as hotels.

“A lot of the European tourists are already familiar with scooters and will feel right at home hopping on a Vespa,” he said.

He also hopes to obtain special parking rates in the area for scooter owners, although that effort is in the early stage and could be a far reach considering the state of the economy.

“If you don’t take up as much room then you shouldn’t have to pay as much,” Miyakawa reasoned.

But it may take more than a year to reach optimum sales. Timoni said a typical Vespa dealership needs about 18 months to build up a solid clientele.

An avid rider himself, Miyakawa has owned sport bikes like Ducatis, but now he commutes daily on one of his two Vespas from his home in West Hollywood.

“You have that feeling of freedom and at the same time scooters are so easy to maneuver that you get through traffic real easily,” he said. “It takes me 15 minutes to get here.”

Likewise, Le Duc’s only mode of transportation now is her cream colored Vespa LXV 150.

“It’s just so appealing and riding Downtown is easy,” she said. “It’s even relaxing.”

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.