From a Swallow to a Jaguar
BOB NEVILLE
Strategic global retail leader driving growth and innovation and transforming retail landscapes with visionary leadership and agile strategies. 30+ Years Clarks, Under Armour, New Balance, PURE, adidas
Hands up! Before I get going, I’ll say it with pride! I LOVE OLD CARS!! Does this make me a bad person? 😁 The sound, the smell, the raw excitement of driving something truly mechanical. I’ve owned several Jaguars over the years and have a deep appreciation for the brand’s heritage, you all know I love a bit of heritage. I also know and respect a number of the great professionals at Jaguar Land Rover. So, I’ll make it clear: I’m not a keyboard warrior, and I understand the bravery and responsibility it takes to create a future for a brand with such a remarkable history. It’s too easy for online critics to voice opinions with no accountability—something perfectly explained in The Online Disinhibition Effect: Exploring the Psychological Reasons Behind Keyboard Warriors by Kumaran Handy. Anonymity gives people the freedom to critique without the burden of real-world consequences, but that’s a luxury those steering a brand forward cannot afford.
Jaguar’s journey is a masterclass in reinvention. It began in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Company, founded by William Lyons and William Walmsley to produce motorcycle sidecars. By 1934, Lyons had taken full control, evolving the business into S.S. Cars Limited and shifting the focus to sports saloons and open two-seaters. The first S.S. Jaguar models arrived in 1935, heralding a bold new identity built around performance and luxury. In 1945, in a post-war world needing fresh starts, the company rebranded as Jaguar Cars Limited, decisively breaking from its earlier S.S. name the logo of which I love by the way.
The leaping cat logo, first introduced in 1945, became synonymous with Jaguar’s values of strength, agility, and forward motion. Over the years, it has evolved alongside the brand, subtly modernised but always a powerful emblem of Jaguar’s identity. Today, Jaguar faces a new chapter. The recent unveiling of its updated logo and the teaser for an upcoming car have sparked a wave of online criticism. But criticism is easy when there’s no accountability. It takes no courage to throw stones from behind a screen.
As I’ve mentioned many times in my work, there is a time for evolution and a time for revolution. Jaguar Land Rover is facing precisely that choice. Reinventing a brand like Jaguar demands bold decisions, made under scrutiny, with no guarantees of success. It’s about balancing the heritage that enthusiasts cherish with the innovation required to thrive in an electrified, sustainable future. The transformation from Swallow Sidecar to Jaguar was monumental in its time, and today’s team at Jaguar Land Rover is tasked with another seismic shift.
To Chris Aubrey and the whole team at Jaguar Land Rover I wish you all the very best as you create a new future for this iconic brand. True innovation doesn’t discard history; it builds on it. For those of us who love Jaguar, it’s exciting to see where you’ll take it next.
To the LinkedIn Universe what do you think?
As alway love and peace to you all.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Bob
Selected references
VP Global Broadcast Engineering. (QVC, HSN & QVC International)
2wIf you define success by the amount of chat it has generated then Jaguar’s rebrand is a huge success. Despite most if it negative.. Personally, I don’t get it. I don’t get who they’re are marketing too. If it’s a younger customer.. they probably can’t afford the new cars. Jaguar in my mind, had positioned itself as an affordable supercar. Rogueish appeal to speed freaks and getaway drivers. But now those new cars, with mood stones.. yes mood stones.. seem aimed at millionaires and want to compete with Rolls and Maybach. Maybe that’s the ploy.. It’s a no from me, I’m sticking with my F-Type and a leaping cat (to the past).
Student at Chinook High School
3wI call bullshit. Many car brands in the past have had the same opportunity to rebrand and enter the EV and Hybrid markets, pushing forward concepts that are interesting to look at and even appeal to enthusiasts, take Hyundai, Toyota, Ford, and GM as examples. What has happened to Jaguar isn’t the modernization of the brand, rather the Teslafacation of an iconic brand that has created a base of enthusiasts greater than Elon could ever hope to reach. There is something disturbing and tragic about watching an car brand stop developing gorgeous cars and begin to fall into the same trap that has led to the beginning of the end at places like Stellantis. This situation is embarrassing and I believe that if this rebrand was the catalyst for more elegant design and vision, the reaction from the public would be very different. All Jaguar needs to do as a corporation at this point is look to their counterparts who are further along this same path to realize the inevitable failures that await: full dealership lots, lack of brand identity, and an alienated customer base. I ultimately was hoping this rebrand and concept was a stunt to bring publicity to something actually positive for the company’s future but it seems my hopes were optimistic.
Strategic global retail leader driving growth and innovation and transforming retail landscapes with visionary leadership and agile strategies. 30+ Years Clarks, Under Armour, New Balance, PURE, adidas
3wLOVE this 👏🏻❤️👏🏻 Agree?
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3wI agree
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3wWill there be no place for the Mercedes S-class in an electrified sustainable future?