Royal Enfield to have 17 'brand stores'

Kochi, Aug 30: Royal Enfield Motors (REM) will have 17 'brand stores' in different parts of the country by next year, Company Director Anupam Thareja today said.

Talking to reporters here on the inauguration of REM opening its tenth brand store in the country and the first in Kerala, Mr Thareja said two more stores would be opened at Ahmedabad and Kolkata shortly.

''The brand stores bring alive the unique brand values of our products and allows for pre-purchase product intimacy and understanding,'' he said.

Mr Thareja said the brand store here would display all the latest models from Royal Enfield, including Bullet 350, Bullet Electra-4S, Bullet Electra-5S, Bullet Machismo-500cc and the Thunderbird.

It would also serve as a one-stop store for sales, service and spares.

Stating that Royal Enfield, now a unit of Eicher Motors Ltd, was one of the oldest motorcycle brands in the world, Mr Thareja said it focused solely on premium products with a price range of Rs 75,000 to Rs one lakh.

Claiming to be the first company to meet Euro III norms in India, REM exported 3,200 motorcycles from its Chennai plant to 26 countries, including the UK, Germany, US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand last year.

The company sold 32,000 units (including exports) last year and was expecting to sell 40,000 units this year.

Describing Kerala and Punjab as major markets for its products, Mr Thareja said the Southern state accounted for almost ten per cent of its sales.

Stating REM would welcome the entry of brands such as Harley-Davidson into India, he said they would help expand the niche segment of premium motorcycles in the country.

UNI