If there’s one thing in the world whose craze never goes out of fashion, it has to be the craze of motorbikes. And when it comes to bikes, the fandom of a particular brand of motorcycles is beyond anyone’s imagination. It’s the brand of Royal Enfield. And why not? There’s hardly anything as stylish as a Royal Enfield climbing up a mountain top in harsh weather conditions.
Royal Enfield is the oldest surviving motorcycle brand in the world. A brand wholly owned by Chennai’s Eicher Motors Ltd., Royal Enfield has been in India since 1949. It launched its first motorcycle fitted with a 239-cc engine in 1909. After that, launching bikes in 1911, 1912, and 1914, it surprised the motorcycling world with the kind of engines it was able to make and fit in the small motorbikes.
In 1949, intending to expand the business in global markets, Royal Enfield started selling motorcycles in Indian markets to serve the needs of the Indian Army. Making it an ideal choice for the Army patrolling the borders, the Indian government placed an order of 800 350-cc bikes in 1955.
The legendary “Bullet” motorbike was born in 1932 in 3 versions: 250-cc., 350-cc, and 500-cc engines. In 1997, Royal Enfield motorcycles climbed to Khardung La, the world’s highest motorable pass, setting a precedent for epic rides across some of the world’s most challenging terrain and creating a blueprint for the annual Himalayan Odyssey ride. In 2018, the company launched its most awaited 650cc bikes, namely The Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650.
Fast-forwarding to today, Bullet knows no bounds when it comes to popularity. It has become a darling of Indian youth, arguably the most admired motorbike in the eyes of the youth of one of the youngest population of the world. The oldest bike and yet popular among young folks.
Royal Enfield’s Business
The company has three manufacturing plants, all of them located in Chennai, selling and exporting the bikes domestically and to over 42 countries. Some of the exporting nations are Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Thailand, the US, UK, and Japan. The company is performing exceptionally well in these countries, with growth rates as high as 60% to 100%. India continues to be a significant market for the company, where it clocks more than 90% of its total sales.
It currently sells six major models, which range from 350-cc to 650-cc engines.
It has a vast network of Royal Enfield bike showrooms in India. They are spread across 31 states and 239 cities and over 200 authorized service centers.
In recent years, Royal Enfield has tried to diversify its business by providing riders with some of the purpose-built riding wear and well-crafted leisurewear. This is, in turn, to offer a pure motorcycling experience to the riders. It opened its first-of-its-kind exclusive gear store at Khan Market, New Delhi, to provide retail experience to riders.
According to news reports, the non-core business for Royal Enfield crossed 10% of its total market in FY2018, and the company expects to generate around 20% to 25% from it, in the coming years. The data show that the company sold about 8 lakh helmets in FY18 and more than 1 lakh riding gears. Thus, the non-core business has immense possibilities in terms of driving revenues. The company also lists its merchandise on e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and others to drive sales. This accounts for more than 15% of total non-motorcycle business sales. This is in line with the concept of Ferrari, Harley Davidson, or Triumph motorcycles, where these companies raise around a quarter of their total revenues from non-vehicle segments.
The Marketing Around The Brand
Segmenting the Brand as a Style Statement
Royal Enfield caters to a niche market where buyers are bike connoisseurs, and Enfield is a style statement. It has always resonated with the youth because of the brand communication that associates the brand with independence, self-expression, power, and passion. Even the marketing campaigns such as ‘Leaving Home’ focused on the same concept when it showed a boy cutting his umbilical cord to ride his dream bike.
But it was not always the same. Earlier in the 1980s, the brand communication was more about power and authority. But during 2000, the Royal Enfield changed its communication as it realized the need for targeting the youth instead of the people above the age of 30 years. The brands then started communicating the values of self-respect, independence, power, and adventure.
Bike Riding Adventures
Royal Enfield organizes events throughout the country that keep the customers thrilled and engaged. Events like Unroad Maharashtra 2020. Scramble Karnataka 2020, Escapade 2019, Reunion South, Rider Mania, and many more keep the rider community engaged. The Enfield community organizes many other national events like Ridermania, Himalayan Odyssey, REUnion, and international events like Tour of Tibet. This creates a massive social media presence/buzz and keeps the customers engaged. No other brand in India engages with the customers like Royal Enfield.
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Royal Enfield Communities
Taking the inspiration from Harley Davidson brand of marketing communication, the Royal Enfield also promotes the club culture heavily among its rider communities. The first Royal Enfield Club was started in 1955, and since then, a lot of other associated clubs of the brand have been evolved around the country. These clubs not only promote the feeling of unity and brotherhood among the bullet riders but also organize a lot of field trips, adventure tours, training sessions, etc. for the brethren.
This club culture has made the Royal Enfield into a cult brand. It adds to another reason why people want to own a Royal Enfield motorbike. Some of the oldest and notable clubs are Roadshakers, Indie-thumpers, Shimoga Bulls, etc.
Promoting Through Bollywood
Royal Enfield has always been a hero’s ride. Be it the Jai-Veeru’s ride in Sholay’s iconic song – ‘Ye Dosti,’ or Ajay Devgn’s ride in Singham, or Shah Rukh Khan’s ride in Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Royal Enfield has been there on the screen. It has a huge role to play in making this brand a cult bike.
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One of the biggest fan of royal enfield since childhood and love to read more about the company nice work done by the brandhoppers
This is really good piece of writing. Good work Brandhopper team. I was unaware of the fact that it’s an Indian brand
Brilliant Work Praveen Bhaiya….It will help me a lot in RC