Royal Enfield institutes sales subsidiary in the U.S
The ace bike-making company, Royal Enfield has established a direct distribution subsidiary in the U.S to cater to the North-American market. The subsidiary will directly sell to dealers and customers and conduct market-development and support activities. It will be the company's first foray outside India. The company has grand plans to open its retail stores that will sell its product line-up in the U.S.
The genealogy of Royal Enfield
The Enfield Cycle company was a British company founded in 1893 to manufacture bicycles under the brand name of Royal Enfield. After it experimented with heavy bicycles, it produced its first motorcycle in 1901. During the First and the Second World War, it supplied motorcycles to the British War Department, manufacturing various military motorcycles. The legacy of war manufacture is clear in its logo.
The roots in India!
In 1955, Royal-Enfield collaborated with Madras Motors in India to form 'Enfield of India' to assemble motocycles at Chennai. Enfield of India acquired the machines to build all the components in India by 1962. The original British company dissolved but Enfield of India continued and bought the rights to use the name "Royal Enfield". Headquartered in Chennai, it is one of the oldest companies.
Association with parent group: Eicher
In 1990, Royal Enfield collaborated with the Eicher Group, an automotive company in India, and merged with it in 1994. Apart from bikes, Eicher Group is involved in the production and sales of tractors, commercial vehicles and automotive gears.
Royal Enfield gives excellent returns to parent group
Eicher Motors' shares outperformed the stock market, attributing to the company's motorcycle sales. It sold almost 1.75 lakh Royal Enfield motorcycles in 2013, leaping 55% over 2012 sales of 1.13 lakhs. Eicher's Enfield motorcycle sales were growing at the rate of more than 50% for three years previously. Analysts ratified that the launch of Enfield's Continental GT proved to be highly beneficial.
Royal Enfield's biggest milestone
Though Royal Enfield produces smaller capacity models, it still managed to surpass the global sales of motorcycle giant Harley-Davidson, which manufactures motorcycles with engine-displacements over 700cc. Royal Enfield sold over 3 lakh bikes in 2014, overtaking 2.67 lakh units sold by Harley-Davidson. Post the success, MD & CEO Siddhartha Lal had expressed the company's plan to establish a strong hold on the western-front.
New adventure bike to be released in November!
Royal Enfield is all set to release its new adventure motorcycle, the 'Himalayan' in November 2015 at a price range of between Rs.1.65-1.85 lakhs.
The reason as quoted by Company President
Royal Enfield President, Rudratej Singh stated, "North America is a key international market for Royal Enfield with a rich history of riding enthusiasts. Given the lack of attractive options in the mid-size segment, we are well poised to fill the gap and serve potential customers at a close, intimate level by localising our operations in North America."
Details about the subsidiary
Royal Enfield has been exporting bikes to North-America for almost 15 years. The company's current distributor in the U.S, Classic Motor Works (CMW) will be discontinuing distribution by end of 2015. Its first fully branded retail-store in the U.S is set to be launched at Milwaukee. Its current product line-up includes Bullet 500cc, Classic 500cc and the Continental GT 535cc cafe racer.
