Chicane News

Anil Dua quits Hero MotoCorp

Anil Dua has quit as Hero MotoCorp's head of sales and marketing. He is likely to take up an assignment abroad. Mr Dua had joined the company (it was called Hero Honda then) in September 2006 from Hindustan Unilever. That was the month Bajaj Auto came within inches of dislodging the Munjal flagship from the top of the motorcycle market. There was panic in the company. If it was overtaken by Bajaj Auto, its brand equity would suffer serious erosion. The Munjals, to their credit, decided the time had come to focus on market share instead of profits or else there would, one day, be no profits to protect. Amongst the first things they did was get Mr Dua on board.

And that is when the company developed marketing savvy. At that time, it was the convention to split the motorcycle market into three segments: entry level (100 cc engine capacity), executive (125-135 cc) and premium (150 cc). Mr Dua's research showed that buyers looked not at the engine capacity but at the holistic experience - the imagery associated with the motorcycle. Motorcycles with the same engine capacity could talk to different customers. Also, the three segments weren't watertight: consumers moved easily between them. Hero then decided to look at the market from the consumer's point of view: how he brackets the motorcycles in the market. Focus shifted from the overall brand to individual motorcycles. Out went the Hero punch line of "Fill it, shut it, forget it" and in came new ones like "Always game" (for the Karizma) and "Thinking is such a waste of time" (CBZ Extreme).

Consumer research, of the kind that is carried out in the fast-moving consumer goods industry, started being done at Hero. Specialists were hired to talk to thousands of customers every month to gauge brand health. Backed with the knowledge that the target customers (aged between 18 and 35) relate to cricket, music, movies and adventure, a new communication strategy was adopted. Hero roped in film stars Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra as brand ambassadors, joined the Indian Premier League bandwagon and got associated with TV programmes like MTV Roadies.

In mid-2007, consumer finance companies began to pull the plug on two-wheelers, due to the sharp rise in bad loans. They overnight withdrew their representatives from motorcycle showrooms. As almost 70 per cent of all motorcycle purchases were on monthly instalments, this hit the industry hard. But Hero sales were flat. This brought home the realisation that it had a strong customer base in villages, where people do not buy motorcycles on instalments. Hero could leverage its strong brand equity in the rural markets to sell more. Thus, in 2007, the company set up its rural sales vertical under Mr Dua. Five hundred salesmen were co-opted for the initiative. They were given work targets and not sales targets: they had to fan out into villages and talk to decision-makers. Their waves were launched each harvest - when farmers have money in their pockets. Today, the rural market contributes almost half of the company's sales.

Hero was thus able to stave off the challenge from Bajaj Auto. In fact, the challenger corrected course and decided to focus on profits and not market share. (Today, Bajaj Auto is the country's most profitable two-wheeler company.)

This greatly boosted the confidence of the Munjals. It came in handy in 2011 when Honda decided to end the partnership with them. They had to decide fast. The Munjals formed a team of three - of which Mr Dua was a part - to assess if life was possible without Honda. This team couldn't have done open research, because that would have spilled the beans on Honda's departure. It, therefore, had to rely on gut feel. It noted that Honda had launched motorcycles on its own in 2006 and yet had a market share of only 7 per cent, while Hero scooters, which were also launched in 2006, had grabbed a share of 17 per cent (Honda was, and still remains, the undisputed leader in scooters). It was, therefore, decided to stay put in the market. Technology was equal for all and Hero could deliver everything the Indian buyers were looking for: low price tags, high fuel economy, inexpensive spares and good resale value.

The Munjals had the option to use the Hero Honda brand till June 2014, but they decided to replace it as early as possible. As it involved renewal, the project was codenamed Yajna. Wolff Ollins, an Omnicom company, was engaged to give the company a new identity. It came out with the name Hero MotoCorp. It was international sounding and did not confine the image to just two-wheelers. Law & Kenneth was hired to craft the new communication strategy. It came up with the line, Hum main hai Hero (There is a Hero in us). Lyricist Irshad Kamil expanded it into an anthem; A R Rehman set it to music; and Anurag Kashyap made it into a film. To unveil the new identity, the Munjals chose London because it is a blend of tradition and modernity. The dealers who were flown to London for the purpose came back impressed.

Hero (it still operates from a cramped commercial complex in south Delhi because the Munjals are superstitious about it, though the shareholders like the fact that money hasn't been spent on a fancy office) is still the market leader with a 41.3 per cent share of the market in 2013-14. Its biggest challenger is Honda (24 per cent). It is gaining market share at a fast clip. Hero will have to use all the marketing muscle it has gained in the last eight years for this fight

Advertisers see jump in reach and rating in IPL.

The number of advertisers with the Indian Premier League (IPL) might have dropped to 60-70 from last year's count of 100, but that does not set off alarm bells for media planners. They put it down to the fewer matches this year, as well as the change in the venue due to elections.

Rohit Gupta, president, MSM, whose channels aired the finale on June 1, says, "The IPL is a property much like the English Premier League or the NBA. It is not going anywhere, and will continue grow. What you see at IPL is the best of T20 cricket. Which is why, despite the controversies every year, IPL continues unscathed."

According to Gupta, after the first 51 matches, IPL reached 183 million viewers this year, versus 176 million viewers last year. Sony is understood to have earned ad revenues of Rs 850 crore, equal to its last year's earnings. But that does not vindicate the naysayers as the ad inventory was lower this year: Sixty matches versus 76 last year.

Not only did e-commerce players spend Rs 100 crore on the IPL, there were new sponsors too. Gupta says, "Marico, Perfetti and TVS joined us."

R S Sodhi, MD, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, the owner of Amul, says, "IPL is a property that is watched by so many people across age-groups that an advertiser cannot ignore it." After initial hiccups following the venue-change and legal hurdles, Amul has advertised on IPL this year. Manish Sharma, MD, Panasonic India, says, "This time we advertised air conditioners and smartphones and got a good response. It was a wise
decision to have spent on IPL despite not being sponsors this year. For the last three years, we sponsored Delhi Daredevils, which gave us visibility on air, ground, in-stadia. The quality of the matches were good this year."

IPL's ad rates in 2014 were almost 10-12 per cent higher than last year's, with nothing less than Rs 4.75 lakh per 10 seconds. This is the average rate during the entire tournament.

A Vijay Narayanan, vice-president, marketing, Havells India, says, "Consistent ratings across 60 days is the reason why we have been associated with IPL (as a sponsor) for the last seven seasons. No other programme offers this consistency. Havells launched 14 new ads during the IPL season (over the years), including the recent 'Respect for Women', Hawa Badlegi and Shock Laga earlier. Ratings and reach have seen a 3-4 per cent jump this year, which is incredible given that the first 20 matches were held outside India, and there were elections and legal tangles."

A PepsiCo India spokesperson says, "It is a key platform in the middle of the season that allows us to explode our marketing calendar, activate consumer promotions and initiate on-ground activities."

Triumph eyes three-fold jump in sales in two years.

British cult bike maker Triumph is aiming for three-fold increase in its sales in India targeting to sell around 2,700 units in two years.

The company, which launched operations in India last year, has sold 450 units and expects to touch the 500 mark by the end of this month.

"We expect to sell a total of around 1,200 units in 2014 -15 and looking to retail 1,500 units in 2015-16," Triumph Motorcycles India Managing Director Vimal Sumbly told reporters here.

The company, which today opened its first dealership here in North India, aims to take the number of outlets to around 12 by March 2016.

"This (Delhi) is our seventh outlet in the country. We will close the year at 9 dealerships. By 2016 we are looking to have 12 outlets," Sumbly said.

The next dealerships would come up at Chennai and Kolkata respectively, he added.

The prices of the company's 11 models in Delhi will range from Rs 5.68 lakh to Rs 20.08 lakh (ex-showroom).

The company, which is present in India through a wholly- owned subsidiary, had expanded its product portfolio with the launch of 'Daytona 675' during Auto Expo in February, taking the total number of models launched in India to 11.

Last November, the company had entered the Indian market with the launch of ten models.

Triumph assembles the Bonneville T100, Daytona 675R, Street Triple, Speed Triple and Thruxton in India at its facility in Manesar.

The rest of the bikes, Rocket III Roadster, Tiger Explorer, Tiger 800 XC and Thunderbird Storm are imported into the country as completely built units (CBUs).

Triumph is the largest British motorcycle manufacturer and has more than 740 dealers across the world.

Hero Moto's savings may 'Leap' to Rs.1k cr this fiscal.

Margin transformation programme & end to Honda payments to boost co's coffers Co has completed a pre-production run at Neemrana plant and expects the plant to be fully operational by the end of June
Hero MotoCorp looks poised to save close to 1,000 crore in the financial year 2015 with its ongoing margin transformation programme yielding desired results, and the ammortised payments to former partner Honda coming to an end in June.

Pawan Munjal-led Hero is aiming to more than double its savings to over ` . 300 crore in fiscal 2014-15 from the previous financial year as part of its margin transformation drive 'Leap', started a few years ago. “We accrued more than ` . 150 crore in the financial year 2013-14, which is going to increase progressively. We have already come to a stage where, effective April 1, 2014, the monthly accrual was ` . 25 crore. So, all other factors, such as volatility in commodity market and the currency fluctuation remaining constant, we expect over ` . 75 crore to be added to the bottom line per quarter in FY15,“ Ravi Sud, senior vice-president & chief financial officer at Hero, told ET.

“And it will keep growing as we go on implementing the ideas at different points of time. The exit run rate for FY2015 could be anything between ` . 50 and ` . 60 crore. It's too early to say, but we are working on it,“ he added.

So, even by a back-of-the-envelope calculation, it means a straight savings of ` . 300 crore for the company in FY15.

Taking April 2013 as the base, Hero MotoCorp had launched the 'Leap' programme in May 2013 with a view to transforming its margins over a four-year period. The programme looks at a wide gamut of areas, including pricing and feature optimization, raw materials consolidation, outbound logistics, operational excellence and marketing expenditure, e-sourcing and product design.

In addition, Hero stands to gain big with the last of the 14 installments of the amortized payments to erstwhile partner Honda coming to an end in June.

“The one-time lumpsum payment of 45 billion Japanese yen to Honda was amortised into 14 quarters, and the last installment will be paid in June. While it may not have any impact on the EBIDTA of the company, it will still positively impact our EPS (earnings per share). And the positive impact on PAT for the period July 2014 to March 2015 will be around . 440 crore net of tax,“ Sud said.
` The actual impact of this, therefore, is . 600 crore in savings. So, this likely to be ` along with the 'Leap' benefit put together, will accrue in total savings of close to . 1,000 crore for Hero ` MotoCorp in FY15. MotoCorp in FY15.

The company is also moving rapidly to scale up its capacity from its current 6.9 million units to close to 9 mil lion per year. “We have already completed a pre-production run last week at Neemrana and plan to start trial pro duction this month, and expect the plant to be al by the end of June. As far fully operational by the end of June. As far as the fifth plant (at Halol in Gujarat) is concerned, we have started building a boundary wall and our expectation is it will take 12 months for the plant to be ready . I would say by the end of the second quarter (September 2015), the Gujarat plant will also be operational,“ Sud added.

Neemrana will commence production with a capacity of 750,000 units while the plant at Halol in Gujarat will have an installed capacity of 1.2-1.5 million units of two-wheelers.

Hero on Monday reported 8% growth in sales in May and its highest-ever non-festive monthly sales of 6,02,481 units. Hero MotoCorp's shares closed at an all-time high of ` . 40.7.

Jupiter expands TVS' orbit in scooters.

In September, 2013, when TVS Motor Chairman and Managing Director Venu Srinivasan launched the company's new scooter, Jupiter, he had said that just as the name suggests, it would be the biggest scooter in terms of performance. The company, atleast, has had a smooth ride on the Jupiter.

TVS' market share in two-wheelers, which was around 21 per cent in 2010-11 had gone down further to 12.3 per cent in 2012-13. But analysts say that TVS has gained 1 per cent by dint of sales of the scooter.

In 2013-14, the total scooter market stood at 3.6 million units. The market leader continues to be Honda (52.8 per cent), followed by Hero (19.2 per cent) and TVS Motor (13 per cent). It was in 2011-12 that TVS lost the second place to Hero.

Yaresh Kothari, automobile analyst at Angel Broking, says scooter sales reported a growth of around 20 per cent. The segment contributes around 24 per cent to the overall two-wheeler sales.

In 2013-14, TVS' motorcycle sales increased to 786,000 units, from 756,000 units a year ago. Scooter sales in the same period increased from 446,000 units to 474,000 units.

K N Radhakrishnan, president and CEO,TVS Motor, says, "Jupiter is doing well and the company had sold around 100,000 scooters since its launch in September."
Between Jupiter and Wego, the company had initially planned a capacity of 25,000 units a month, which was revised to 45,000 units a month. The overall capacity of the company is around 2.8-3 million two-wheelers. Experts point out that the higher  capacity utilisation was a result of the launch of Jupiter.

The company would also be increasing its manufacturing of scooters to 75,000 units a month, with the launch of the new Scooty Zest, says Srinivasan. The Scooty Zest is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2015 and a refreshed version of the Wego in the second half of 2015.

Kothari says Jupiter's launch was important for TVS, considering it was losing out to Hero and Honda, and especially Hero, which has the Maestro and Pleasure that have done well.

TVS' scooter volumes recorded a growth of around 60 per cent in May, 2014, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

"We expect the company to continue reporting improvement in its performance going ahead, given that its new scooter launch, Jupiter, has been accepted well by the markets.  The new Scooty will help it to continue the growth momentum, though it may not increase the market share substantially," says Kothari.

"The key aspects are building the brand and positioning the product," says Kothari, noting that while Jupiter and Maestro have been positioned as rides for men, Honda's Activa is yet to be differentiated on such lines. But that has not dented Activa's appeal, and it recently pipped Hero's Splendor motorcycle as the highest-selling two-wheeler.

Apart from Hero and Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha too are expected to step up the pressure on TVS.

Recently, Suzuki strengthened its scooter portfolio by launching the 110-cc Lets. Ichiro Kondo, president, sales and marketing operation, Suzuki Motorcycle India, has set a target to capture 10 per cent market share in scooters. He says that while TVS is an established player with the edge of a local brand, Suzuki's USPs are technology and comfort. Kondo has also indicated that it would step up brand-building.

TVS, then, is gearing up to spend more on advertising. Today, TVS spends around 5 per cent of its turnover on advertising, as compared to Hero's 2.2 per cent and 1.4 per cent of Bajaj (albeit on much larger revenues), say analysts. They say that quantum-wise, TVS' spends would either be at par or slightly lower. For instance, while TVS had spent around Rs 460 crore on brand building, Hero spent around Rs 470 crore.

TVS has incurred a standalone capital expenditure of Rs 250 crore in 2013-2014 towards capacity expansion, new product launches and R&D spends and plans to invest a similar sum in the current fiscal.

Analysts expect the new launches, coupled with the success of the Jupiter, will enable TVS to register a volume growth of 8 per cent over 2014-2016

Hope on new Govt revs up auto sales in May

Most automakers reported better domestic sales in May on an annualised basis, led by positive customer sentiments, especially towards the end of the month, after the formation of a new Government at the Centre.

Two-wheeler companies continued the growth trend, with market leader Hero MotoCorp reporting May as its highest-ever sales month for any non-festival period.
Passenger cars

In the passenger cars segment, market leader Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor India and Honda Cars India reported more than 10 per cent rise in sales compared with the year-ago period.

While Maruti Suzuki sold 90,560 units in May against 77,821 units a year earlier, Hyundai sold 36,205 units against 32,102 units in May last year. Honda’s sales grew 18 per cent to 13,362 units in May against 11,342 units in the year-ago month. New launches such as Xcent (Hyundai) compact sedan and the diesel variant of Honda City helped these companies improve sales.
Ford India

Ford India’s sales grew 51 per cent to 6,053 units in the domestic market compared with 4,002 units last year.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) saw its first positive month this calendar year, backed by normalcy in its production and two new launches — Etios Cross and the all new Altis—last month.

The company sold 13,230 units in May (12,502 units a year ago), registering a growth of 6 per cent.

“We have received a good response for the new launches. We started dispatching the new models in May and have registered sales of 555 units and 548 units of Etios Cross and Corolla Altis, respectively,” said N Raja, Director and Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, TKM.

However, General Motors India and two home-grown companies – Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra – continued to see fall in sales.

While GM’s sales declined 43 per cent, Tata and Mahindra saw 17 per cent and 19 per cent drop in sales, respectively.

Commercial vehicles sales of Tata and Mahindra were also in the negative spot.
Two-wheelers

In the two-wheeler segment, while Hero MotoCorp sold 6.02 lakh units last month (5.58 lakh in May 2013), Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India sold around 3.56 lakh units (2.29 lakh units).

Pulsar maker Bajaj Auto’s sales rose 3 per cent to 3.13 lakh units in May (3.04 lakh units). Similarly, TVS Motor, Suzuki Motorcycle India, and Yamaha Motor India saw growth in sales 

TVS eyes bigger pie

Two-wheeler manufacturer, TVS Motor Co Ltd today expressed the hope that double digit growth in two-wheelers would continue at least for another 3-4 months.

"In the last few months two-wheeler segment was growing at double digit and the trend will continue at least for another 3-4 months," TVS vice-president, sales J S Srinivasan said here.

Most auto companies had registered sharp growth in sales in May. Replicating the trend TVS also registered 27 per cent jump in sales over the corresponding month last year.

Srinivasan said the company was trying to increase market share in commuter or economy segment motorcycles from six per cent to double digit.

"Our market share in premium motorcycles and scooters is 13-14 per cent so we have immense scope to increase our share in the commuter segment of two wheelers." he said.

The company was aiming high with its new Star City plus that would replace the existing Star City model.

Star City and Sport, were in the commuter segment (up to 110cc).

"We are aiming to increase our sales to 45000 from 33,000 units per month in the next few months," Srinivsan said.

"We want to promote these two models and not propose any more models in this segment at least for the next two years," Srinivisan said.

TVS, claimed it commanded a market share of 13 per cent in the two-wheeler category in the country.