• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Port Info

• Ships in Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• The Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Ajita Shashidhar

Chennai , Jan. 4

ROYAL ENFIELD has embarked upon a multi-pronged retail strategy, which will focus on various customer segments. Speaking to Business Line, Mr Ramesh Maheshwari, CEO, Royal Enfield, said the company has identified six customer segments, on the basis of which the retail outlets would be planned.

"We want to promote Bullet as a lifestyle brand. Therefore, through our retail outlets, we will enable customers to experience our brand. We will ensure that they have a hassle-free buying experience and create an ambience which would enable them to walk through the product and understand it better."

The company recently opened the first such outlet in Chennai, which according to Mr Maheshwari, is targeted at the upwardly mobile young customers (such as IT professionals), who mostly buy a bike to drive around the city or to go out on short breaks over the weekend.

The shop floor looks like a road, which is meant to make customers feel as if they are actually driving thebike on the roads. The company also plans to set up a cafeteria in the showroom. "The idea behind the cafeteria is to enable bike lovers to get together and share their experiences," said Mr Maheshwari.

He said the company has tried to align its showrooms with the mindset of customers; therefore, the interiors as well as the facilities in each showroom could vary.

The company's new showroom in Chandigarh, for instance, caters to a different customer segment, and is thus unlike the one in Chennai. "This showroom gives a semi-urban feel and is targeted at farmers, and sons and daughters of defence personnel who buy an Enfield just because their father or grandfather owned one. For a farmer in Punjab, possessing an Enfield is a symbol of prestige and power."

Mr Maheshwari said the company is currently experimenting this segment-based retail format and its expansion plans would depend on the success of these stores. He also said the company would soon open a showroom in Jaipur which would cater to another customer segment.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Virtual Marketing eyeing telecom, BPO sectors

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line