Setting: 2000. Sales of Royal Enfield motorcycles are sputtering.
What Happened: Eicher Motors, owners of the iconic Royal Enfield, was in a dilemma. Sales of the motorcycles — at around 2,000 bikes a month — were slowly but steadily dipping. Customer complaints and losses were piling up. Reasons enough for Eicher to think that it was time to shutter the motorcycle division, rather than take in more financial hits.
In stepped Siddharth Lal, a 20-something to helm the Enfield affairs and save the brand. The first thing Lal and his team did was to overhaul the bike. Engineering and design aspects were strengthened: the old engine was replaced with a new design that was not only more powerful but also met the exacting emission norms. There were other changes too: the management was restructured, after-sales services were revamped and contracts with suppliers and dealers rewritten.
The turnaround was slow but steady. In 2011-12, Royal Enfield sold nearly 80,000 bikes, a 44% jump over the previous year.
What it Means: Don't just kill an iconic brand. With a bit of business nous, it'll always make money.
