Royal Enfield aims to become global player

Royal Enfield, a division of Eicher Motors Limited, today said the company aims to be a global leader in the mid-sized motorcycle segment. Besides, the the company is looking to expand business in Karnataka.

"Our company's aim is to become a global leader in the mid-sized motorcycle segment and expand its business in Karnataka," Royal Enfield Head (Sales, Services and Spares) Shaji Koshy told PTI here. The company plans to expand its city-wise growth in global market by opening city-based stores rather than opening dealerships, Koshy said. "Internationally, we want to grow city-wise. We have two stores in London and Paris. We also have the stores in Jkarta, Paris, Columbia and Barcelona.

Our strategy will be to create the brand understanding in cities, first and create customer eco-system and then expand nation-wide," he said. "To begin with we had planned 100 dealerships across Indian cities and in next five years we increased it to 570 dealerships," he added.

Talking about Karnataka market, Koshy said the company had registered 81 per cent growth over corresponding period of April-July in the last two years with sales of over 18,000 units in last four months (April 2016 - July 2016). "We plan to open eight more dealerships by March 2017,"he added. By the end of this fiscal (April to March), the company aims to set up 650 more dealerships across the country.

On Royal Enfield Himalayan bikes, he said that despite being the first motorcycle in its category in the country, it had been well received by customers, especially in Karnataka. "The state currently accounts for more than 25 per cent of Himalayan sales registered across India, a trend we expect to continue.

In fact, Royal Enfield has traditionally performed remarkably well in Karnataka with presence in 47 locations. We have registered 81 per cent growth," he stated. Responding to a query on the company's capacity-building units, Koshy said its third unit is expected to come up at Vallam Vadagal near Chennai and will be operational from this year. Currently, Royal Enfield has manufacturing units in Thiruvottiyur and Oragadam, he added.

Asked about future acquisitions, Koshy said as of now,there were no such plans, however the company had acquired UK-based Harris Performance Products Ltd last year.  "Harris Performance is one of the leading experts in designing, manufacturing and marketing motorcycle chassis and components," he said.