Lexus with your latte?
CNN's Executive Innovator travels to Japan where car manufacturer Lexus has opened a new showroom experience.

At Intersect by Lexus you can buy a hand-made hat, a cappuccino, even enjoy a nice meal. What you can't buy, a car. This Tokyo shop and cafe are part of a new concept launched by Toyota's luxury brand to redefine its image and capture new customers.
-We are not selling our cars here. This is the place for our future customers to get a world view of the Lexus brand.
Intersect is an innovative marketing strategy of a big departure from the traditional showroom. Lexus wants visitors here to imagine how Lexus cars will change their lifestyle, so they sell high-end products by Japanese craftsmen, post events with local designers and serve food and coffee. It's a play designed to help jump-start the brand that's had a bumpy few years. Lexus tops the luxury sales in the United States for 11 years but lost the crown in 2011 when a series of natural disasters destructed the production image. At the same time, the company's battled the perception in both Japan and United States that is a starchy even unhip choice compared to its European rivals.
Ise says Lexus wants to be seen as cool, which helps explain why the only car inside at the Intersect is a sleek, high-designed hybrid com*, concept only, or while a visit to the bathroom reveals a ceiling dotted with miniature cars. He hopes visitors here have a holistic, even emotional experience, attracting new customers to the brand.
Ise admits that marketing alone won't sell Lexus. They need to back up the branding with technological innovation and quality cars.
-It would be very superficial if you only changed your marketing strategies, but not your product.
Even if they try to engage the success of this cafe, Lexus is already planning to open two more sites like this, bring Intersect to both New York and Dubai.