Royal Enfield and the new mantra of selling bikes

Nearly 15 years ago, not too many people would have taken special notice of Royal Enfield. This business unit of Eicher Motors operated out of a decades-old plant near Chennai, churning out barely 40,000 motorcycles annually.

Today, these are the numbers that Royal Enfield comfortably produces each month from its new Chennai plant. Over the years, it has also become the most touted brand for leisure biking that is now keen on spreading its wings beyond India.

In the meantime, the company is also setting in place a new thinking paradigm which involves a shift from the traditional B2B to the more contemporary B2C space. Simply put, it involves transiting from a manufacturing mindset to being more consumer-driven.

As Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director & CEO of Eicher Motors puts it, “What we have figured over the years is that automobile companies are generally engineering companies. The rest of it is just an afterthought; you make a vehicle, design and manufacture it and then figure a way to sell it.”

In other words, this is the traditional approach and Lal adds that it is not his intent to undermine the importance of engineering. “Conceptually, we have taken a mind shift to wanting to be a consumer brand first: a company which understands the need of the hour as a consumer brand and consumer-driven organisation,” he says.

Therefore, instead of the back driving the front, Royal Enfield would rather have the front driving the back. The products are not just driven by engineering but strategy which is about understanding consumer, markets and technology. “We now take a world view of what the company needs to be and it is all about consumer thinking,” says Lal.

The idea is to build on the fact that Royal Enfield is the best bet for leisure motorcycling in India. The big shift from a B2B to B2C goes beyond just selling bikes to the riding experience. Eventually, it is about the about number of test rides and communities Enfield builds in India and overseas.

“The big change within the organisation is to how to live the story before telling the story. We have a long way to go and the recently launched Himalayan is a big step in that direction,” says Rudratej Singh, President.

Today, Royal Enfield increasingly wants people to invite and search its motorcycles and this is where the showroom experience becomes important. “We want to be the best relationship company in the world and not the best marketing company. Marketing limits the scope and the passion to deliver while relationships create the business,” adds Singh.

It is this thinking that Royal Enfield will replicate across markets like ASEAN and Latin America where it is keen to be considered as the definitive choice for mid-weight bikes. Like India, the idea is to replicate the experience of rides, communities, spares and sales to create the pull. “From our point of view, it is about fitting into what people want,” says Singh.

Lal chips in to add that the idea is be a motorcycle company which is just not driven by products but the entire experience. The Himalayan, for instance, was driven by the idea of what riders have been doing for decades with their Bullet motorcycles.

“From a product side, it is about engineering and finding the right solutions. From a non-product side, it is about making the experience a lot better right from features and creating an ecosystem around motorcycles. We are trying to move from creating an outstanding experience to putting everything around the brand,” says Lal.

The ultimate objective is to get the brand in people’s minds. New markets have already reacted positively to Royal Enfield and this is what gives the company the confidence that it can quickly get a foot in the door and then do all the hard work after that. “We want to do something different all the time but will stay focused to our core and not go after every segment. The key is to give business and pleasure while keeping things simple and fun to ride. It is a self imposed goal in making mid-weight bikes since the opportunities are enormous,” says Lal.

The recently launched Himalayan was meant to reach out to those riders who are now in a phase in their lives where they would like to do a little bit more, go out and experience adventure. It is their time off when they want to live and enjoy.

“That is what we made this motorcycle for: to enjoy the great outdoors and lose yourself in a way. Forget about everything else including the motorcycle,” he says Lal. The Himalayan was created in a way that it was a truly a case about form following function.

“We made sure it looks pretty and does its job without being too extreme in its nature. This is a motorcycle that you can use on a daily basis and yet enjoy on weekends and go out on long rides,” adds Lal.

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