New, Smaller Royal Enfield Showrooms In The Pipeline

The brand plans to target semi-urban markets with 350 such smaller dealerships

Royal Enfield is planning to be present in 1,100 towns in India. The bike maker is also planning to add 80 large-format dealerships by the end of 2019. Royal Enfield currently has 825 dealerships in India and 42 stores globally.

In a bid to boost its sales, Royal Enfield is aiming to expand its dealer network in India. Earlier this month at an investor meeting, the company revealed that it’s planning to penetrate rural market with 350 studio outlets. The bike maker also said its larger goal is to touch 1,100 towns in India through 1,350 outlets.

“These (outlets) will be one-sixth the size of a typical Royal Enfield showroom in a metro. We don’t expect these small stores to sell more than 12-20 bikes per month,” said Lalit Malik, Chief Financial Officer, Eicher Motors. The company also stated that it will be adding another 80 large-format dealerships in India by the end of this year. Currently, Royal Enfield has 825 dealerships in India and 42 stores globally.

Royal Enfield’s sales have been plunging for the past few months. Last month, the bike maker sold 62,371 units, compared to 74,697 units sold during the same time last year. As of now, Royal Enfield doesn’t have an all-new product in its range. The last new motorcycles that the company launched were the 650 twins, in November 2018. Even though it has been more than six months since the launch, the demand for the motorcycles doesn’t seem to taper off. In fact, currently, the waiting periods for the 650 twins range from two-five months in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru! Also, Royal Enfield is planning to revamp its cash cow, the Classic 350 and the 2020 iteration has already been spotted a couple of times. 

Things do seem positive for the bike maker after a sluggish first half of 2019 as its new manufacturing plant in Chennai is already operational. Also, with the launch of the new Classic 350 slated for next year and the high demand for the 650 twins, it does seem to be on the right track.

Source: livemint