Lexus golfer wins Merc event, gets penalty drop - Singapore
Daimler excludes rival’s man from next stage as it’s a ‘marketing event’
By SIOW LI SEN
(SINGAPORE) He works for Lexus, but this golfer won the Singapore Country Final of the Mercedes trophy. This has led to a court case as well as an awkward situation. The golfer is suing the Mercedes-Benz distributor - his firm’s rival - for refusing to send him to represent Singapore at its Asian Final to be held in Australia next week.
Mr Lim: Is an avid golfer and only wants to compete in the match
The German auto firm had instead offered $7,000 compensation to Lionel Lim, a salesman for 19 years with Borneo Motors.
In a High Court hearing, according to affidavits seen by BT, Mr Lim is seeking an injunction to stop Daimler South East Asia, which sells the famous marque, from excluding him from the Asian Final of the Mercedes Trophy, the winners of which will compete in the World Final in Stuttgart.
Mr Lim said that as a passionate golfer, he only wants to compete. While he appreciated the compensation offer, he does not want it and will not accept it because ‘this is not the prize I won’.
He said: ‘What I won is the opportunity of further participation and the opportunity of sporting achievement. No keen amateur sportsman will trade the chance of playing in a final for money.’
Daimler’s defence is that the Mercedes Trophy is a marketing effort aimed at its high net worth customers and potential customers, and having a senior sales executive of its rival there will ’cause a great amount of awkwardness’.
Further, it would be against its interest to let Mr Lim see how it conducts its marketing events. At both the Asian and World finals, apart from playing golf, participants are feted, wined and dined, and get to take part in a customised unique driving event including trying out different Mercedes-Benz car models.
Kwek Geok Koon, Daimler general manager for sales and marketing, said in his affidavit: ‘I never expected an employee from one of our closest rivals to participate in or even attend our sponsorship and marketing events. I would certainly not expect any of the defendant’s employees to attend any of our competitors’ events, so as to avoid any accusations of spying and awkwardness.’
The Mercedes Trophy was conceived by the Daimler group in the late 1980s and last year, more than 57,000 people, mainly customers, from 54 countries took part. Daimler began organising the Mercedes Trophy in Singapore in 1992 and this year, more than 4,000 golfers from the 13 country clubs here participated in the qualifying rounds.
Mr Lim said that it was not in the rules of the Mercedes Trophy that participants should not be employees of rival car companies.
‘Golfers come from all walks of life from a variety of professions. With the qualifying event round open to all members of each participating club, it is inconceivable that some of the participants would not be employees of rival car companies, especially when there are so many keen golfers in the car industry,’ said Mr Lim.
‘It is unfortunate that the defendant should introduce the concept of accusations of spying and awkwardness. All keen golfers participate because of the thrill of competition, not industrial espionage,’ he said.
Mr Lim also noted that notwithstanding his job, he is also a potential Mercedes-Benz customer. As for getting a first-hand insight into Daimler’s marketing style and management methods, Lexus has its own highly successful methods and does not need to imitate anybody else’s, he said. In addition, he has never been involved in marketing.
Source : Business Times - 24 July 2008
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