Royal Enfield and the art of leisure biking

“Royal Enfield has come a long way and we are now moving into a space of being much more of a leisure brand,” says Mr Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Eicher Motors, which owns the Chennai-based motorcycle company.

He hastens to add that leisure has nothing to do with luxury since Royal Enfield bikes are largely used on a daily basis to work and back. “It has become a practical leisure bike and that is our position as a result,” he told Business Line in a recent interview.

The foundation for leisure biking was laid at Royal Enfield a little over a decade ago when Mr Lal and his team were trying to figure out what the company was all about. They looked at commuters, different sizes/categories of bikes and finally realised that there was no point competing with the (then) Indo-Japanese bikes but, instead, creating an individual space for Enfield.

“Even though a number of aspects of the brand such as ride quality and fit and finish were not in the leisure realm, the basic DNA of commuting long distances was there all along. We took that DNA and expanded the scope, which meant everything else had to fit in right,” Mr Lal says.

He believes the leisure concept, which is equally true for watches, books or furniture, will take up at least five per cent of the market. “For a large chunk of riders, they should aspire to own a Royal Enfield someday, which means it is up to us to make it an aspiration,” Mr Lal adds.

There have also been some interesting trends in the sales pattern. Earlier, the company was dependent upon semi-urban markets such as Punjab or Kerala, which dominated sales. Today, in the last six-eight years, while volumes continue to be strong in these two States, 60-80 per cent of sales come from the cities, including tier-2 metros.

In addition, the Royal Enfield customer base is a lot more youthful today than what it has been in the recent past when middle-aged men were in the driver's seat.

“Today, we are a brand that anyone should aspire for and be able to get his hands on, which is why I stressed that leisure is not luxury. Anyone who enjoys biking, regardless of his socioeconomic background, and gives it top priority, is the person who should come to us,” Mr Lal says.

According to him, some of the recent riding initiatives such as the Himalayan rally have been huge brand-building efforts. “It gets people to really enjoy the type of motorcycling which is part of our culture. This is the starting point of our branding efforts, which is all about rides,” he says.

Regional rides are next on the radar, which involves a day/weekend trip organised by Royal Enfield dealers and is displayed on the Web site. The idea is to integrate with the community and these end up becoming regular friends' circles.

“We do not have sports personalities or actors to endorse our bikes. I would rather flush my head down a loo than have someone who does not know how to ride a bike pose for my motorcycle. We do not want to build our brand this way,” Mr Lal reiterates.