Royal Enfield Project Report

CONSUMER PERCEPTION

PART-A 1.INDUSTRY PROFILE THE FIRST MOTORCYCLE We are going to begin by looking at the first bikes. They didn‟t work very well and they were not very fast but moved with being drawn by a horse or being pedalled. When you look at a motorcycle today, have you ever thought what the old bikes were like? Were they easy to ride? How fast did they go? Were they comfortable? To answer all these questions, we have got to go quite a long way back say about 100 years. The world was very different in those days and there must have been a feeling of great excitement. There was a great interest in science and engineering and almost every week, some fantastic new invention appeared. First there were gaslights and then electricity and new cures for many kinds of illnesses were always being announced this was period when people started thinking about how to travel quickly and safely. Before cars and bikes, the quickest mode of travelling was steam trains. And if there was a near to where you wanted to go then the next best thing was a stagecoach or paddle streamer. No one, except the very rich, could get from their own house to where they were going very quickly. Then in 1885, a German called Gottlieb Daimler made a small engine, which ran on a kind of petrol. It wasn‟t a very good engine but it just worked. Daimler fitted the engine to a cycle type frame, which exactly had one wheel at the front and two wheels at the rear. In the following year, another German, Wilhelm Maybach rode the Daimler bike for a few meters- something which everyone thought was very brave. At last, a way of moving people directly from one place to another had been invented. Not everybody thought that this was a good idea. In England there was a law, which said that no vehicle powered by an engine could go faster than 4mph which is about as fast a s you walk. Many of the people were afraid and urged that the bike should be banned. But in 1896 an act was passed that bikes can travel 12mph speed-, which is considered to be a fantastic speed.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION At the same time, a French engineer called De Dion made the first real good engine for motorcycle and soon everyone was having a try at making complete machine. And this was the turning point where bike started getting its actual look many ideas poured in and were given shapes also.

THE BRITISH BIKES Today we won‟t see many British bikes on the road but most of the older bikes were make in Great Britain, which had its name and fame. Now we see very few of British Bikes. What went wrong? In 1900, bikes were not very good. They were hard to start, they had poor brakes and did not have much power but everyone thought they were marvellous. For the first time, person could have his own individual way of getting about. He had personal transport, which he could use the moment he wanted to. Above all else, these first motorcyclists felt the sense of freedom, which a bike gave them. The motorcycle manufacturers felt the same excitement. New designs appeared almost every day. Some were excellent and others silly but each factory learnt from others and bikes got better and better in just a few years. Then the First World War came in1914, and the whole world changed. Bikes made in this first period, from 1885 until the end of 1914 are called veterans and the riders who are reliving how the first motorcyclists rode are still using many today. When the war came, the bikes went with the army. The fastest way to carry an urgent message was to send through a good rider on a bike. Here again a bike had a turning point and during this period bikes got opportunity to claim its stake in the market. It was considered to be best mode of travelling from remote area to urban and from plains to rough terrain. Where a horse rider could not think of moving, their bikes were able to do so. Moreover, a horse rider and horse would take rest after certain interval of travelling, the bikes did not require since it was a machine. One such British Bike, which actually made its appearance in the scenario, was Royal Enfield and was produced in 1931 with four valve system. The name of the bike was given in 1932 with a suitable name of bullet

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION which exactly had a good resemblance of the today‟s bike. In other words t he modern bikes have come into shape shown by Royal Enfield. In 1948, the first 350-bullet roadster was introduced. Although it was a new motorcycle with many design innovations. It was the first British produced, which had a rear swing arm. It also had an oil filter and alloy primary chain case.

THE PROFILE OF TWO WHEELER INDUSTRY IN INDIA Introduction The feeling of freedom and being one with the Nature comes only from riding a two wheeler. Indians prefer the two wheelers because of their small manageable size, low maintenance, and pricing and easy loan repayments. Indian streets are full of people of all age groups riding a two wheeler. Motorized two wheelers are seen as a symbol of status by the populace. Thus, in India, we would see swanky four wheels jostling with our ever reliable and sturdy steed: the 2 wheeler

Recent Economic Developments India is the 2nd largest two-wheeler market in the world with a size of over Rs 100,000 mn. Steps like abolition of licensing, removal of quantitative restrictions and initiatives to bring the policy framework in consonance with WTO requirements have set the industry in a progressive track. Removal of the restrictive environment has helped restructuring, and enabled industry to absorb new technologies, aligning itself with the global development and also to realize its potential in the country. The liberalization policies have led to continuous increase in competition which has ultimately resulted in modernization in line with the global standards as well as in substantial cut in prices. Aggressive marketing by the auto finance companies have also played a significant role in boosting automobile demand, especially from the population in the middle income group.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION Nature of market In the initial years, entry of firms, capacity expansion, choice of products including capacity mix and technology, all critical areas of functioning of an industry, were effectively controlled by the State machinery. However, the major set of reforms was launched in the year 1991 in response to the major macroeconomic crisis faced by the economy. The industrial policies shifted from a regime of regulation and tight control to a more liberalized and competitive era. Two major results of policy changes during these years in two-wheeler industry were that the, weaker players died out giving way to the new entrants and superior products and a sizeable increase in number of brands entered the market that compelled the firms to compete on the basis of product attributes

Key players in the Two-wheeler Industry: There are many two-wheeler manufacturers in India. Major players in the 2-wheeler industry are Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML), Bajaj Auto Ltd (Bajaj Auto) and TVS Motor Company Ltd (TVS). The other key players in the two-wheeler industry are Kinetic Motor Company Ltd (KMCL), Kinetic Engineering Ltd (KEL), LML Ltd (LML), Yamaha Motors India Ltd (Yamaha Scooterettes/Mopeds.), Majestic Auto Ltd (Majestic Auto), Royal Enfield Ltd (REL) and Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (P) Ltd (HMSI). Types of Two-wheelers in India: There are mainly three types of two-wheelers available in India. They are Motorcycles, Scooters and

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION

2.COMPANY PROFILE ROYAL ENFIELD INDIA LTD Classic Bikes with power for leisure riding is what a Royal Enfield bike stands for, and Royal Enfield leads this segment of the market in India by leaps and bounds. Its exquisite range of motorcycles combines distinctive styles with power, riding comfort and ruggedness to deliver a unique motorcycling experience.

THE BEGINNING The Enfield Cycle Company made motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers and stationary engines under the name Royal Enfield out of its works based at Redditch, Worcestershire. The legacy of weapons manufacture is reflected in the logo comprising the cannon, and the motto "Made like a gun". Use of the brand name Royal Enfield was licensed by the Crown in 1890

HISTORY OF THE COMPANY Mid 19th century England The firm of George Townsend & Co. opened its doors in the tiny village of Hunt End, near the Worcestershire town of Redditch. The firm was specialized in sewing needles and machine parts. In the first flush of enterprise, flitting from one opportunity to another, they chanced upon the pedal-cycle trade. Little did they know then that it was the beginning of the making of a legend. Soon, George Townsend & Co. was manufacturing its own brand of bicycles. And in 1893 its products began to sport the name „Enfield‟ under the entity Enfield Manufacturing Company Limited with the trademark ‘Made Like a Gun’. The marquee was born.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION INDUSTRY

Motorcycles, Lawnmowers

SUCCESSOR

Royal Enfield Motors (formerly Enfield of India)

FOUNDED

1893, as Enfield Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

DEFUNCT

1971

HEADQUARTERS

Redditch, Worcestershire, England

KEY PEOPLE

Founders Albert Eadie and Robert Walker Smith

PRODUCTS

Royal Enfield Clipper, Crusader, Bullet, Interceptor.

Profile of the Organization Royal Enfield is the makers of the famous Bullet brand in India. Established in 1955, Royal Enfield (India) is among the oldest bike companies. It stems from the British

manufacturer,

Royal

Enfield

at

Redditch. Royal Enfield has its headquarters at Chennai in India. Bullet bikes are famous for their power, stability and rugged looks. It started in India for the Indian Army 350cc bikes were imported in kits from the UK and assembled in Chennai. After a few years, on the insistence of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the company started producing the bikes in India and added the 500cc Bullet to its line. Within no time, Bullet became popular in India. Bullet

became

known

for

sheer

power,

matchless stability, and rugged looks. It looked tailor-made for Indian roads. Motorcyclists in the country dreamt to drive it. It was particularly a favourite of the Army and Police personnel. In 1990, Royal Enfield ventured into RNS ISTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION collaboration with the Eicher Group, a leading automotive group in India, in 1990, 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 made continuously incorporating new technology and systems in its bikes. In 1996, when the Government of India imposed stringent norms for emission, Royal Enfield was the first motorcycle manufacturer to comply. It was among the few companies in India to obtain the WVTA (Whole Vehicle Type Approval) for meeting the European Community norms. Today, Royal Enfield is considered the oldest motorcycle model in the world still in production and Bullet is the longest production run model.

THE EARLY YEARS In 1909 Royal Enfield surprised the motorcycling world by introducing a small Motorcycle with a 2 HP V twin Motosacoche engine of Swiss origin. In 1911 the next model was powered by a 2 HP engine and boasted of the well known Enfield 2-speed gear. In 1912 came the JAP 6 HP 770 CC V twin with a sidecar combination. It was this motorcycle which made Enfield a household name. 1914 saw the 3 HP motorcycles this time with Enfield own engine which now had the standardized Enfield paint scheme of black enamelled parts and green tank with gold trim

BETWEEN THE WARS At the time of the outbreak of world war I Royal Enfield supplied consignments of their 6 HP sidecar Outfit motorcycles with Stretchers to the Crown. This same motorcycle also came with a Vickers machine Gun sidecar attachment which could also be turned skywards and used against low flying aircraft. Royal Enfield supplied large numbers of motorcycles to the British War Department and also won a motorcycle contract for the Imperial Russian Government. As the factory developed in the 20's the range of models also increased and in 1924 Royal Enfield was offering four versions of the 2 HP two-stroke motorcycle, two new JAP engine 350 cc motorcycles and two versions of the 8 HP Vickers engine RNS ISTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION sidecar combinations. During the great depression of the 30s Royal Enfield was also affected and the demand for motorcycles waxed and waned but the bicycle manufacturing continued at the same pace and the company trudged on. The Cycar, a fully enclosed motorcycle model appeared in the early 30s. During World War II, like other manufacturers of that time Royal Enfield was also called upon by the British authorities to develop and manufacture military motorcycles. The models produced for the military were the WD/C 350 cc SV, WD/CO 350 cc OHV, WD/D 250 cc SV, WD/G 350 cc OHV and WD/L 570 cc SV. One of the most well-known Enfield was the Royal Enfield WD/RE, known as the Flying Flea, a lightweight 125 cc motorcycle designed to be dropped by parachute with airborne troops. After the war the factory continued manufacturing the models developed during the war and the legendary J 2 model appeared which went on to be the ancestor of the legendary Bullet. The same motorcycle which perhaps had the honor of the being the one with the longest production run in the world.

PRODUCTS

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION THE INDIA CONNECTION The grandfather of the bullet was first produced by Royal Enfield in 1931: a four valve single cylinder was introduced, given the name “BULLET” in 1932. it had an inclined engine and exposed valve gear. The 1935-G model was the first that assumed the modern look, with vertical cylinder, cast in pushrod tunnel and eventually fully enclosed valve gear. It has a gear- driven magneto and doubleended eccentric oil pump. Over the next few years the single would sport two, three and four valve cylinder heads. 1948: The first 350-bullet roadster was introduced. Although it was similar in many ways to the 1935-G model bullet, it was a new motorcycle with many design innovations. It was the first British production bike with a rear swing arm. It also had an oil filter (with integral oil tank in the crankcase behind the crank) and alloy primary chain case. It was a two- valve pushrod design in semi unit style, with gearbox bolted to crankcase. Rubber kneep ads were on the gas tank. It had four gears (one up, three down like most British bikes of that era- apparently triumph was the oddity with high gears up). A trials / scrambler model was also introduced. 1949: the sports model had an unsprung front mudguard. 1951: modifications include smaller front mudguard and silencer, alloy speedometer nacelle and modified fork ends. 1952: a crankcase breather was fitted plus a side stands. Trials model gets alloy barrel. Apparently only 16350 bullets made this year. A prototype 500-cc model is shown in an industry motorcycle show. 1953: the 500 cc roadster model is introduced. The 350cc was upgraded to include changes designed for the 500cc improved bottom end with four main bearings, improved lubrication system, modified frame, larger rear brake, single pilot light under headlamp. 1954: a new casquette (nacelle with speedometer, headlight and twin sidelights) replaces headlamp bracket. The exhaust angle and rear spring and shock are changed. The 350 got a frame lug changed. The 350 got a frame lug change. Armstrong units were adopted for suspension, giving 50 percent more movement.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION 1955: camshaft upgrade. The concentric kicks start and gear changes ever on the gearbox, plus the air filter are changed. The front brake gets a twin, full width hub, and brake. The 350 get amonobloc carb. The benchy (dual) seat is now standard, although the single saddle seat was still available. Around this time, the 500cc bullet was also sold in America as the Indian “woodsman” In 1955 the Indian government needed a solid and reliable motorcycle for its police and army, in particular to patrol the rugged border highways. The bullet was chosen as the most suitable bike for the job. The Indian government ordered 800 of the 350cc models beyond the company‟s ability to fill at the time. With more orders from India looming, the company sold its design to Enfield India, a subsidiary firm in madras, India to start manufacturing them. There was some retooling and redesign done at the English plant (Redditch) in 1955 to modernize the bullet (including changes in the gear ratios in 1959). Between 1956 and 1960, the bullet was released in several models, including a 350cc trials “ works replica” version and a 350cc “ clipper” model. Technically the engines and power trains were the same (except for bore size) and the only differences were in exhaust, seating, and instrumentation. Handlebars and gas tank. A lot of technical improvements were also making in that time, including moving to alternator charging (1956) and coil ignition (1960). The 350cc model continued in production, but the 500cc model was dropped in 1961. An “airflow” model was also made briefly, with a fairing. 1956: Both models underwent several improvements in a new frame and air filter housing, battery/ toolkit bow. The engine got a wider floating big-end bush and cylinders head changes (separate rocker boxes retained) and stronger bottom end. The 500 dual seat was introduced by the Modern Indian Enfield which uses the post- 56 (with metric bearing sizes). And even it used the earlier frame. 1956 Saw an all-welded, brazed-lug frame introduced, and also sent to India. 1957: Quick-detach rear wheel was introduced as an option. The air filter was enlarged. The 350cc got an alternator. The bullet is now fully manufactured in India under the license, at Anna Salai; near Chennai. The tooling equipment was also sold to make the 350cc bullet in India in 1958. Later the Indian firm upgraded to make the 500cc model as well (one printed source says tooling for both models was sold to India in 1967 but most agree it was 1957). RNS ISTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION By this time the English company was under different ownership and that year they closed the Redditch factory where bullets were manufactured, and hence all the possible remaining tooling equipments were sold to Chennai at that time, but they certainly had manufacturing equipment in India a decade ago. On source, Peter Snidal, says that there were “Moto Cross”(MX) bullets made in this period. The 350 had a cast aluminium head and the 500 cc an iron barrel. Apparently two 350s and two 500cc were imported into Vancouver by Frank Carr in 1957. Carr succumbed to cancer shortly after they arrived and his business stood down at that time. The entire MX bullet that came into Vancouver in 1957 had Lucas Magdynos on them. They also were equipped with quick-detachable lights and number plates on the rear frame, plus high straight pipes as well. They were very fast bikes. The 350 would blow away just about anything on the street up to 70mph or so. He says they were essentially the bikes that he saw advertised in cycle magazines of the time as the Indian woodsman and warrior-competition models. They were very fast bikes, Snidal writes. “The 350 would blow away just about anything on the street up to 70mph or so. In fact, I not only saw the original owner of one of them to do it to just about all of us, at one time or another, including a 500Velo Venom, which was the 2nd fastest (after that day) in our little pack, but also 350 Vipers, (both of them) and everything else came up again. A few years later, I got hold of it, and Rebuilt/Restored it, and once again blew away TR6‟s with impunity. It had very radical cams (straight up, open a long time, straight down-the ramps were so steep is looked like they‟d just am the camp followers -and the 350‟s came with a 15:1 piston”). 1959: Smaller 17-inch wheels. Coil ignition. Optional Airflow fairing with deeper front mudguard. Forks modified. Oval oil pump cover plates on 500cc. 30cc got larger, re-shaped 3.75-gallon gas tank, chain enclosure and larger, wider seven-inch front brake (the 500 retained its six inch twin drum brake). New stylish gas tank, trials model gets heavier fly wheels, and exhaust is tucked away, but continues with magneto. 1960: huge, one –piece alloy cylinder head (big head) casting plus new, larger „chunky‟ tank for 500. This is also the engine design used for the India Enfield bullet, coil ignition is introduced.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION The Royal Enfield fury, produced at this time for the US market, is essentially the same bike as the Bullet (both 350 and 500cc models), capable of reaching the 100 mph mark (a f 350cc Enfield tuned by Steve Lindsell in the late 1970s reached 95.64 mph). It deferred from the bullet by having a the bullets iron and a higher compression piston (8:9:1 instead of 7:3:1 ). It also had a flange for mounting an optional rev counter, an 18 – inch rear and 19-inch front wheel. Between 1959 and 1963,only 191 machines were made. The 500cc boasted a 40bhp output, up from the UK models production of 27bhp. A 600cc model was also made for a short period. 1961: detachable end – cap fishtail silencer, trials model discontinued except by special order. 1962: deeper rear mudguard. Both 350 and 500 models discontinued. The UK Company was sold in 1962 and the bullet line discontinued. Enfield India continued to churn out bullets just the way they were made in England in 1955. Forty years later they still do, with a few minor modifications (signal lights, a 28m Mikuni card, 12-volt electric‟s a better bench seat and in 1990. twin leading – shoe brakes). While not the largest motorcycle manufacturer in India (they rank about third, producing around 18,500 bikes a year but have plans to increase that to 25,000) they are one of its oldest. Initial attempts to import 350 bullets into the UK in the 1970‟s (by the Slater brother and later Evesham motorcycles – according to one source the actual date of the first re-introduction was 1977), were unsuccessful. The bike wasn‟t up to par and the exchange r ate wasn‟t very good. So they were not as inexpensive as they are today. The Indian company had little interest in making changes the few sales exports could garner. In 1986, Raja Narayanan, a UK civil servant, returned to his home in India and started an export farm for the company to bring the bullet back into England. He got his first 350 into England that year. He was responsible for many of the production change that improved sales and quality over the years. He responsible for many of the production changes that improved sales & quality over the years. It was the prodigal son returning home.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION The bike appeared in UK motorcycle shows in 1989 and at the classic bike show in Stafford in 1990. Canada started importing them three years ago, and the US in 1995. Twenty countries now import them. In late 1995, the Indian firm finally acquired the name Royal Enfield as their own. The Canadian importer started putting the new decals on the tank in early 1996. Recently Swiss engineer fritz Egli has been working with Enfield to improve production for exports models. He also designed performance improvements for his own retail sales bullets and has been discussing a five-speed transmission with the company. He designed a 535cc version, which produces 45bhp and 624cc racer (47c.bhp with a top speed to 160dph, 100 mph neither one has made it to North America….yet).

CLOSEOUT IN UK Royal Enfield UK continued manufacturing motorcycles and came out with some more innovative and powerful machines notably the Royal Enfield Meteor, Constellation and finally the Interceptor 700, before being sold to Norton-TriumphVilliers (NVT) in 1968. Production ceased in 1970 and the company was dissolved in 1971. Remaining tooling and equipment of the Redditch works were auctioned off. Meanwhile the Bullet 350 continued to be manufactured in India and by the 1980ӳ the motorcycles were even exported to Europe out of India. Even after the motorcycle manufacturing closed down the precision engineering division ran for some more time and even bicycles were produced until quite late.

THE EICHER CHAPTER In 1990, Enfield India entered into a strategic alliance with the Eicher Group, and later merged with it in 1994. It was during this merger that the name Enfield India changed to Royal Enfield. The Eicher Group is one of India's leading automotive groups with diversified interests in the manufacture of Tractors, Commercial Vehicles, Automotive Gears, Exports, Garments, Management Consultancy and Motorcycles. Since then, the Company has made considerable investments in modernizing its manufacturing technology and systems.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION In 1996, when the Government decided to impose stringent norms for emission Royal Enfield was the first motorcycle manufacturer to comply, a tradition which has stuck on thus making emission norms being one of the most important factors the company focuses on. Royal Enfield is amongst the first few Indian companies to obtain the WVTA (Whole Vehicle Type Approval) for meeting the European Community norms.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECHNOLOGY To manufacture quality bikes that are well known worldwide for their reliability and toughness state-of-the-art infrastructure is required, and that is just what Royal Enfield has done at their Chennai manufacturing facility. An active in-house Research & Development wing is constantly at work to meet changing customer preferences and the challenges of Indian and International environment standards. When introducing a new product, this team undertakes all related planning which includes a rigorous customer contact program, design, concurrent engineering and testing processes. The Motorcycle Design team at Royal Enfield is well equipped with high-end CAD/CAM workstations and the latest modelling software. Top-notch designers work continuously to come up with innovative bikes designs to meet the market expectations. Continuous rigorous testing of motorcycles and components is carried out in the Product Development testing lab to come up with more improvements in enhancing the customer experience

MANUFACTURING Royal Enfield's manufacturing operations go through a series of modernization and improvement efforts, with a number of automated processes. The Company has put in place modern manufacturing practices like Cellular layouts, Statistical process controls and Flexible manufacturing systems. The Chennai manufacturing facility has received the ISO 9001 certification and for managing its operations in a clean and safe environment, it has obtained the ISO 14001-quality certification and kaizens are implemented to ensure the quality levels are kept at an ever rising pace.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION Royal Enfield ensures that all the components used in the bikes are sourced from the best vendors in the Indian automotive industry, who are geared to supply according to the Company‟s stringent quality standards. The company works closely with all of its suppliers, giving them technical and managerial support while maintaining practices like Direct-On-Line and Vendor SelfCertification.

MARKETING NETWORK You can feel the pulse of your customers, only if you get close to them. This thought process has driven Royal Enfield to set up has a wide network of 11 Brand Stores, 180 dealers in all major cities and towns, and over 100 Authorized Service Centre. The Company also exports motorcycles to 42 countries like the USA, Japan, UAE, Korea, Bahrain, UK, France, Germany, Argentina and many other countries through 40 importers and over 300 dealers across the globe

ROYAL ENFIELD REVVING UP With the finest and brightest of teams in the country, comprising of management professionals and a skilful, committed workforce, the Company has a unique and open culture, making Royal Enfield a vibrant and responsive company. To its customers in India and elsewhere in the world, Royal Enfield means more than just motorcycles; it's a sense of belonging to an exclusive community with unfading passion, emotion and interest. As the only motorcycle manufactured in India synonymous with adventure and leisure riding, Royal Enfield has more recently stayed away from regular mass media advertising and has concentrated more on building its brand around the values that the brand stands for. Having a Cult status the Royal Enfield motorcycle is known for its Versatility, Uniqueness and is built to last. Perceived as a machine in a class of its own and synonymous with Leisure and Adventure; riding and charting up the miles. Royal Enfield strongly promotes leisure motorcycling as a lifestyle and encourages the Royal Enfield riders/owners to keep riding. In this regard, the company organizes annual events and rides such as the Himalayan Odyssey, The Tour of Rann of Kutch, The Tour of NH 17 (Mumbai to Goa) RNS ISTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION The Tour of Rajasthan and the Southern Odyssey. It also organizes the Annual festival of biking, Rider Mania in Goa which attracts Royal Enfield riders from all over.

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES: - Apollo Auto India Awards 2010: Best Brand - Zigwheels.com Viewers Choice Bike of the Year 2009 - Zigwheels.com Bike of the Year above 251cc - NDTV Profit Car & Bike Awards 2010,2012-13: Motorcycle of the Year above 250 cc. - NDTV Profit Car & Bike awards 2010,2012-13: Best PR Communications Team.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION

SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT ANALYSIS of Royal Enfield: SWOT Analysis 1. Size and scale of parent company 2. Effective Advertising Capability 3. High emphasis on R and D 4. Established brand name in the cruiser market

Strength

5. Established market distribution channel 6. Exports motorcycles to 31 countries like the USA, Japan, UAE, Korea, Bahrain, UK, France, Germany, Argentina and many other countries

Weakness

1. Weight of the motor cycle can be an issue for few customers. 2. Mileage of high cc bikes is an issue

Opportunity

1.Two-wheeler segment is one of the most growing industries 2.Export of bikes is limited i.e. untapped international markets

Threats

1. Strong competition from Indian as well as international brands 2. Dependence on government policies and rising fuel prices 3. Better public transport will affect two-wheeler sales Competition

Competitors RNS ISTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

1. Bajaj Auto 2. Hero Motor Corp (Hero Honda) 3.TVS 4.Suzuki 5. Harley Davidson 6. Yamaha 7. Ducati 24

CONSUMER PERCEPTION

COMPETETORS INFORMATION MAJOR PLAYERS IN INDIAN TWO WHEELER MARKET

GROUP

PLAYERS

ATTRIBUTES

COMPETITIVE FORCES

A

Bajaj

Highly diversified

- High buyer power

Hero Moto Corp

Aggressive promotion

- High competitive rivalry - High entry barriers

B

TVS

Selectively diversified Aggressive Promotion

C

Honda Yamaha

Selectively diversified Moderate Promotion

- Low entry barriers - Narrow product lines imply that aggressive promotions can eat into market share -High threat of substitution (Rs 1 lakh car) - Low entry barriers

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION

MCKENSY'S 7S FRAME WORK

STRATEGY: Royal Enfield Motors has started working on a new strategy with less waiting periods, more frequent launches and capacity ramp-up, thereby leading to a significant growth after transferring from its traditional set up to updated engine platform. The company registered a growth of 45 percent in the export region with as many as 3,630 units in 2012 in comparison to 2,953 units in 2011.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION STRUCTURE: ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE GENERAL MANAGER (Proprietor)

Sales Manager

Service Manager

Service Manager

Showroom

Service

In charge

Supervisor

Team

Service

Assistant

Manager

Staffs

Accountant

Accountant

Sales Representative

SYSTEMS: The daily activities and procedures that staff members engage in to get the job done.

SHARED VALUE: These are called “super ordinate goals” when the model was first developed, these are the core values of the company that are evidenced in the corporate culture and the general work ethic.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION STYLE: Royal Enfield Motors, the manufacturer of the Bullet motorcycle and a division of the Rs 1,300 crore Eicher Group, is slated to come out with a radically different street motorcycle, apart from newer versions of the 350cc 'Bullet Machismo' and 'Bullet Thunderbird'. The division of Eicher is also looking at profitability in the next fiscal, whilst working towards offering only two engine options across its product portfolio, according to a senior company official. "The new bike will be radically different in terms of style and usage patterns and the company is hoping for a launch in the next couple of quarters". It is also looking to introduce different variants towards existing models every six to seven months.

STAFF: The training for new staff along with the new systems and processes has begun. The new factory will have a new, state of the art paint shop which is superior to most other manufacturers in India and will be at par with international standards. Many steps are being taken to improve working conditions for workers as well. Also with growing popularity of the brand many passionate riders will join the team for development and production. Also many ladies are joining the company in general functions due to the change in image of Royal Enfield motorcycles.

SKILLS: The actual skills and competencies of the employees working for the company. people at the Royal Enfield possess wide range of skills and are working towards the development of the company

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION

PART-B GENERAL INTRODUCTION Title of the project The project study is "consumer perception towards Royal Enfield bikes"

Statement of the problem The study determines the perception of the consumer towards the Royal Enfield bikes. The study thus seeks to collect the information from the respondents on the usage patterns and preference bike what they feel about the product or if there is any thing that the consumer do not like the product in this respect

Objective of the study The objectives of the study are as follows:  To study the consumer perception towards the Royal Enfield bikes.  To understand the attitude of the consumers towards the Royal Enfield bikes and also to understand the buyer behavior.  To study the brand awareness, brand images and perception of consumers towards various brands.  To study the preference of customers on different varieties of Royal Enfield bikes.  To study consumers expectations in respect to Royal Enfield bikes.  To study the brand loyalty of Royal Enfield customers.  To give suitable conclusions and recommendations for findings.

Scope of the study The study helped in knowing about the awareness and satisfaction and also the perception of consumers towards Royal Enfield. It also helped to analyse the dealer's attitude towards the service and benefits rendered by the company. RNS ISTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION This study also helps the management graduates and fellow researchers who would like to increase their knowledge on the subjects which might be of help in the near future while looking for works.

Limitations of the study 1. The research was confined to Bangalore city only; it represents the customer's perception towards Royal Enfield bikes. 2. The second limitation was the lack of time due to which only 100 questionnaires were distributed. And also 100 questionnaires are very small in number. 3. The third limitation is that assumptions were made that respondents have disclosed the correct information. 4. Even among the 100 consumers some were not so patient to fill the questions given to them due to lack of time. researcher was able to overcome the above limitations in order to collect the useful data for the present study. The above limitations in no way affect quality of the study.

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY The research was carried out through survey method. Fieldwork was carried out in order to collect the data. Data was collected through questionnaire and interview with consumers. The study analysis of the data was done through simple statistical technique such as drawings of percentage for generalization. Construction to tables for tabulating the primary data. The use of bar diagrams, Pie diagrams and base diagrams to have better understanding etc., of the study are also adopted in the study.

AREA OF STUDY Data were collected from three sources for the present study. collection of data 1. Primary data 2. Secondary data 3. Field data RNS ISTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION

1. PRIMARY DATA Primary data assumes a great importance in this type of studies. In this study primary data had been collected from structured questionnaires, observation methods, and interpretation with the executives of the company. In these ways data's are very important and plays a vital role.

2. SECONDARY DATA Secondary data had been gathered from many sources namely.  Company records and reports.  Company website, news papers, magazines and journals.  Standard references and books  purpose of using secondary data was to increase accuracy, interpretation conclusion and recommendations.

3.FIELD WORK The study involved a fieldwork of around 10 days. where in target segments, users were contacted individually, questionnaires were given to them and answers were collected. Field study was conducted in various parts of Bangalore city.

SAMPLING PLAN The term sampling plan refers to the investigation of the part of sole population representing its general qualities as far as possible. Sampling is a tool which enables us to draw conclusion about the characteristics of the population after studying; only these subjects or items are included in the sample. Convenient sampling method was used for the study.

Sampling techniques The sampling techniques used for the purpose of this project report was convenience sampling, which is a non probability sampling. In this kind the respondents are chosen according to the researcher. The respondents were selected according to convenience and care was taken to interview respondents from different parts of Bangalore city. RNS ISTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION Sample size In this project a sample size of 100 individuals was chosen for the study.

Tools and techniques of data collection  The survey was did by distributing the structured questionnaires  Convenient sampling method was used to collect the information

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING Marketing is the process of performing market research, selling products and/or services to customers and promoting them via advertising to further enhance sales. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments. It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for themselves. Marketing is used to identify the customer, to satisfy the customer, and to keep the customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities, it can be concluded that marketing management is one of the major components of business management. Marketing evolved to meet the stasis in developing new markets caused by mature markets and overcapacities in the last 2-3 centuries. The adoption of marketing strategies requires businesses to shift their focus from production to the perceived needs and wants of their customers as the means of staying profitable. The term marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions. It proposes that in order to satisfy its organizational objectives, an organization should anticipate the needs and wants of consumers and satisfy these more effectively than competitors. An orientation, in the marketing context, related to a perception or attitude a firm holds towards its product or service, essentially concerning consumers and end-users. Throughout history, marketing has changed considerably in time with consumer tastes.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION CONSUMER PERCEPTION Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organizes ad interprets information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world. A stimulus is any unit of input to any of the senses. Stimuli include products, packages, brand names, advertisements and commercials. Sensory receptions are the human organs (the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skins) that receive sensory inputs. Their sensory function is to see, hear and smell taste and feel. All of these functions are called into play either singly or in combination in the evaluation and use of the most consumer products. perception has strategy implication for marketers because consumers make decision based on what they perceived rather on the basis of same object because of three perceptual process. They are

1. SELECTIVE ATTENTION: Selective attention means that marketers have to work hard to attract consumer's notice

2. SELECTIVE DISTORTION: Sometimes even noticed stimuli do not always come across in the way the senders intended. Selective distortion is the tendency to twist information into personal meanings and interpret information in a way that will fit our preconceptions. Unfortunately there is not much that marketers can do about selective distortion.

3. SELECTIVE RETENTION: people will tend to forget much that they learn but will tend to retain information that supports their attitudes and beliefs. Because of selective retention, we are likely good points mentioned about a product. Selective retention explains why marketers use drama and repetition in sending messages to their target market.

ATTITUDE An attitude is a person's enduring favorable or unfavorable evaluation, emotional feelings and action tendencies towards some idea or object

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION MEANING OF CONSUMER PERCEPTION Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organizes and interprets information inputs to create a meaningful picture of world. The key word is the definition perception is individual; one person might perceive a fast talking sales person as aggressive, another as intelligent. People can emerge with different perception of the object customers oriented thinking requires the company to define customers needs from of view. Every product involves tradeoffs and management cannot know what they are without talking and researching customers. Thus a car buyer would like a high performance car that never breaks down., that is safe attractively styled and also cheap or affordable for the people. Since all of these virtues cannot be combined in one car, the car designers must make hard choices not on what pleases them but rather on what customers prefer or expect from them or from the product that they are going to buy. As the main aim is after all to make a sale through meeting the customer's needs.

Why is it supremely important to know the perception of the customers because basically a company's sales each period comes from 2 groups? They are 1. New customers 2. old customers Customer retention is more critical than customer attraction and the key to customer's retention is to know the customers perception about the company or product and see to it that the customer is fully satisfied. A company who learns the perception of the consumers is surely going to create loyal customers. Therefore loyal customers: 1. Buys again. 2. Talks favorably to others about the company. 3. Pays less attention to competing brands and advertising. 4. Buys others products also from the same company.

Hence companies should go beyond meeting the mere expectations of the consumers. The companies should keep mind what the consumers feel about the brand or the product and should go on fulfilling their needs and what changes delight a customer, the consumer talks to even more acquaintances about the fine company and their product.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION The delighted and the satisfied consumers are more effective advertisers than the advertisements that are placed or given in the media. Now let us consider what happens when the company is unaware of consumer's perception: As we have pointed out that consumer only do the advertising of the company who are aware of consumers perception and know their expectations and fulfill their needs. A company who is unaware of consumer's perception doesn't survive in the competitive market. Customers will be dissatisfied with their products. In fact in one study, 13% of the people who had a problem with an organization complained about the company to more than 20 people. Suppose each person who told the bad story about the company to eleven people, who told another eleven, and so on. Clearly, bad word of mouth can easily poison public's attitude about the company. Thus a company should be wise enough to regularly be in touch with the consumers. It cannot also rely first on voluntary complaints from the customers when they are dissatisfied. In fact, 96% of unhappy customers never tell the company. Companies should set up suggestion and survey systems to maximize the customer's opportunity to complain. In this way the company will learn how well it is doing. It is also a major way for the company to learn how to do better from before. The company also claims that over two thirds of its innovation ideas come from listening to consumer complaints. Listening is not enough, the company must respond constructively to the complaints of the consumers who register a complaint. Customer who have complained to an organization and had their complaints satisfactorily resolved tell to an average 5 people about the treatment they received. when a company realizes that a loyal customer may account for a substantial sum of revenue over the years. It seems foolish to risk losing the customer by ignoring a grievance or quarrelling over a small matter. For e.g. IBM makes every sales person write a full report on each lost customer and all steps are taken to know the perception of customers, why they lost and try to regain that lost consumer by fulfilling their needs or by improving the products The customer-oriented company should manage to increase consumer needs and loyalty so that they don't have to worry even if its profits are down in a particular year. But if on the other hand the profits rises but its customers keep falling than the company is on wrong track. RNS ISTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION Profits could go up and down in a particular year for many reasons including rising costs, falling prices, major new investments etc., but the ultimate sign of a healthy company is that its customers are loyal. Consumer perception is the best means for the company's future profits and growth.

UNDERSTANDING PERCEPTION Information processing involves a series activity by which stimuli are perceived, transformation into meaningful information are stored. As shown in the following figure the first three steps constitute perception and fourth represents storage of information (memory). Reality to an individual's perception, a personal phenomenon, on the basis of which the individuals acts or reacts and not on the basis of objectives reality. For this reason, marketers are particularly interested in consumers perception than their knowledge of objectives reality. Simply put, perception is how see the world around us. different individuals may be exposed to the same stimuli under the same conditions but how each individual recognizes the stimuli, selects them, organizes them and interprets them is unique in case of each person and depends on his needs, wants, values, benefits, personal experiences, moods and expectations. Perception is also influenced by characteristics of the stimuli, such as size, color, intensity etc. And the context in which it is seen or heard. Some of the basic concepts associated with the perception are as follows.

DEFINITION Schiffman and kanuk have defined perception as "The process by which an individual selects, organizes and interprets into a meaningful and coherent picture of the world". A stimulus is the unit of input to a sensory reception. In a marketing context, the stimuli include brand names, advertisements, colors, sounds, and packages etc.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION STIMULUS FACTORS These are attempts at different and often merit the attention of consumers. Expectations People generally see what they expect to see and this expectations is based on familiarity and previous experience. Consumers often perceive production and produce attributes as per their expectations. Motives Consumers tend to perceive those things that are top most in the most in their need are want list. They are highly perceptive of stimuli that are relevant to their needs and interests, thus, stronger the felt need, greater is the tendency to notice motive related things and ignore unrelated stimuli in the environment. selective exposure Exposure occurs when consumer's senses are activated by stimulus. Consumers are attentive to stimuli, which are relevant, pleasure, or towards which they may be sympathetic and ignore unpleasant and painful ones. selective attention Attention is the momentary focusing of a consumer's cognitive capacity on a particular stimulus. Consumers have increased awareness of stimuli that are relevant to their felt needs or interests and decreased awareness of irrelevant stimuli. Adaptation Adaptation refers to gradual adjustment to stimuli to which consumers are exposed for prolonged period. Because of adaptation, consumers do not notice stimuli to which they have become adjusted. Perceptual vigilance and defense Perceptual defense is more likely in anxiety-production stimulus. Because of this reason, unpleasant, damaging, or threatening stimuli have less of a chance to be perceived compared to neutral stimuli at the same level of exposure.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION Proceeding chapters were addressed to the varied techniques of data collection and the methodological rational underlying them. The question that naturally follows is; what is to be done with data that are collected? In this chapter we shall deal with that question. Analysis of data involves a number of closely related operations that are performed with the purpose of summarizing the collected data and organizing these in such manner that they will yield answer to the research question.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-1 TABLE SHOWING THE RESPONDENTS OCCUPATION Sl no

Occupation

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Student

34

34%

2

Businessman

32

32%

3

Professionals

34

34%

4

Others

12

12%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION The above table's shows that majority of the respondents who ride Royal Enfield bikes were emerged as students and professionals compared to that of businessman and others. It is clear from the table that researcher has covered all types of users for the study.

Occupation 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 No of respondents

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Student 34

Businessman Professionals 32 34

Others 12

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-2 TABLE SHOWING AGE GROUP OF RESPONDENTS Sl no

Age group

No of respondents

Percentage

1

20-30 Years

62

62%

2

30-50 Years

30

30%

3

50 Years and above

8

8%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION The above table shows that the majority of the customers who ride Royal Enfield bike were in the age group of 20-30 who are mostly students compared to the age group of 30-50 and 50 and above who were mostly comprised of professionals and others. It is clear from the table that researcher has covered all the age groups for study.

70 60 50 40 No of respondents

30 20 10 0 20-30 Years

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30-50 Years

50 Years and above

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-3

TABLE SHOWING THE ANNUAL INCOME GROUP OF RESPONDENTS

Sl no

Income group

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Less than 1,20,000

28

28%

2

1,20,000-3,60,000

24

24%

3

3,60,000-7,20,000

38

38%

4

7,20,000 and above

10

10%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION The survey so conducted assesses the objectives of the research. From the above table it is evident that majority of the respondents belong to the annual income group of 3,60,000-7,20,000 compared to that of 1,20,000-3,60,000 and less than 1,20,000 who are little less. We can also see that the income group of 7,20,000 and above are very few in number.

Annual Income 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Less than 1,20,000

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1,20,000-3,60,000

3,60,000-7,20,000

7,20,000 and above

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-4 TABLE SHOWING THE MODEL OF BIKES USED BY THE RESPONDENTS Sl no

Model

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Classic 350

26

26%

2

Classic 500

16

16%

3

Electra

32

32%

4

Thunderbird

14

14%

5

Others

12

12%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION Here the table shows the type of vehicles used by the respondents. We can see that majority of respondents that is 32 of them use Electra compared to that of all the remaining models. The model classic 350 is highly popular among youth especially

No of respondents Classic 350

Classic 500

12%

Electra

Thunderbird

Others

26%

14%

16% 32%

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-5 TABLE SHOWING THE ATTRIBUTES PREFFERED BY THE RESPONDENTS BEFORE PURCHASING THE BIKE

Sl no

Attributes

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Style

46

46%

2

Status symbol

26

26%

3

Maintenance

10

10%

4

Power of bike

18

18%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION The above table shows the attributes preferred by respondents before purchasing the bike. Majority of the respondents prefer the bike because of its style and status symbol and only few of them prefer it looking at the maintenance and power of bike.

Attributes 50 40 30 20 10

No of respondents

0 Style

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Status symbol

power of bike

Maintenance

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-6 TABLE SHOWING HOW THE RESPONDENTS CAME TO KNOW ABOUT ROYAL ENFIELD BIKE

Sl no

Attributes

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Newspaper

16

16%

2

Advertisement

30

30%

3

Friends/Relatives

54

54%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION From the above table it is revealed that majority of the customers of Royal Enfield came to know about the bikes through friends and relatives, rather than by advertisement or newspapers. so it can be concluded that more and more customers are knowing about the product through friends and relatives.

No of respondents 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Newspapers

Advertisement

Friends/Relative

Attributes

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-7 TABLE SHOWING THE PURPOSE OF RESPONDENTS FOR USING THE BIKE

Sl no

Attributes

No of respondents

Percentage

1

College

22

22%

2

Style

20

20%

3

Office

42

42%

4

Others

16

16%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION The above table shows the purpose for which the respondents use the bike. It is found that majority of respondents use the bike for going to office compared to college and style. It is also seen that few of hardcore Royal Enfield riders use the bike for other purpose such as tripping or expeditions.

No of respondents College

16%

Style

Office

others

22%

20% 42%

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-8 TABLE SHOWING HOW THE ATTRIBUTES WHICH MAKES THE RESPONDENTS EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH RESPECT TO BIKE

Sl no

Attributes

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Style

22

22%

2

Power of bike

50

50%

3

Mileage

14

14%

4

Maintenance

6

6%

5

Others

8

8%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION In the above table it is shown the attributes of the bike which makes the respondents extremely happy. It has been found out that majority of respondents are happy with the power of bike, style also plays an important part for the riders whereas mileage, maintenance and some other attributes are less considered.

Attributes No of respondents 50

22 14 6

Style

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Power of bike

Mileage

Maintenance

8

Others

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-9 TABLE SHOWING THE PERCEPTION OF THE RESPONDENTS TOWARDS ROYAL ENFIELD WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER BIKES Sl no

Attributes

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Excellent

56

56%

2

Good

26

26%

3

Average

10

10%

4

Poor

8

8%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION Here from the above table it is shown that majority of the respondents feel that their bike is excellent and good when compared to other bikes which is available in the market, whereas there are very few to believe that it is poor.

No of respondents Average

Good

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Poor

Excellent

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-10 TABLE SHOWING CUSTOMER'S SATISFACTION WITH RESPECT TO MILEAGE OF THE BIKE Sl no

Response

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Yes

38

38%

2

No

62

62%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION From the above table it is evident that majority of the customers are not happy with the mileage of the bike, though it is very much clear that the bike is preferred only because of its power and status symbol and not because of its mileage.

No of respondents Yes

No

38%

62%

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-11 TABLE SHOWING PERCEPTION OF THE CUSTOMERS TOWARDS MAINTENANCE OF ROYAL ENFIELD BIKE

Sl no

Perception

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Expensive

52

52%

2

Affordable

34

34%

3

Cheap

14

14%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION The above table shows that majority of the customers feel that it is too expensive to maintain the bike and some customers also feel that it is affordable, whereas very few think that it is cheap.

60 50 40 30 20 No of respondents

10 0 Expensive Affordable Cheap

Perception

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-12 TABLE SHOWING SUITABILITY OF ROYAL ENFIELD BIKES FOR ALL TYPES OF ROADS

Sl no

Suitability

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Yes

76

76%

2

No

24

24%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION From the above table it is evident that majority of the customers feel that it is suitable for all kinds of roads compared to very few who feel it doesn't. Therefore it is clear that the bike suits almost all kinds of roads.

Suitability 24%

Yes No 76%

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-13 TABLE SHOWING PERCEPTION OF THE RESPONDENTS TOWARDS THE APPEARENCE OF THE BIKE Sl no

Attributes

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Excellent

47

47%

2

Good

40

40%

3

Average

10

10%

4

Poor

3

3%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION Here from the above table it can be seen that majority of the customers who ride Royal Enfield bike feel that the appearance is excellent and good compared to very few who feel that it is average or poor .

Attributes 50 40 30 20 10 0 Excellent

Good Average Poor

No of respondents

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Excellent 47

Good 40

Average 10

Poor 3

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-14 TABLE SHOWING PERCEPTION OF THE RESPONDENTS TOWARDS PRICE OF THE BIKE Sl no

Attributes

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Costly

42

42%

2

Standard

51

51%

3

Economical

7

7%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION From the above table it is clear that majority of the respondents are of the opinion that price of the Royal Enfield bike is standard and also costly compared to very few who feel it is economical.

Attributes 60 50 40 30

No of respondents

20 10 0 Costly

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Standard

Economical

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-15 TABLE SHOWING THE PERCEPTION OF THE RESPONDENTS TOWARDS THE VARIATION OF THE BIKE Sl no

Attributes

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Price

22

22%

2

Quality

17

17%

3

Service

43

43%

4

Mileage

18

18%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION Here from the above table it is shown that the majority of the respondents feel that there is variation in the service of the bike after it is purchased from the outlet, compared to very few of them who feel that there is variation in the price, quality and mileage.

Attributes 45 40 35 30 25

No of respondents

20 15 10 5 0 Price

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Quality

Service

Mileage

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-16 TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE CUSTOMERS ARE COMFORTABLE WITH ROYAL ENFIELD BIKES

Sl no

Response

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Yes

98

98%

2

No

2

2%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION From the above table it is clear that almost all the customers are comfortable with their bikes [98%]. Thus we can conclude that majority of the customers are satisfied with their bikes when it comes to comfort.

Response 2%

Yes No 98%

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-17 TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE CUSTOMERS RECOMMEND THE PRODUCT TO THIER FRIENDS AND RELATIVES Sl no

Response

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Yes

96

96%

2

No

4

4%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION From the above table it is evident that the majority of the customers recommend their product to their friends and relatives compared to very few who doesn't want to recommend.

Response 4%

Yes No 96%

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-18 TABLE SHOWING PERCEPTION OF THE RESPONDENTS TOWARDS THE AVAILABILITY OF SPARE PARTS Sl no

Availability

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Readily available

23

23%

2

Don't get them

37

37%

10

10%

Major headache

8

8%

Total

100

readily 3

Don't have good spares supply

4

INTERPRETATION From the above it can be seen that majority of the customers think that they don't get good spares supply at proper time in service outlets or in the showroom, and there are also customers who feel they get them readily. Customers who have witnessed some problems because of non availability of spare parts are very few in number.

Availabilty No of respondents

47

23

22 8

Readily available

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don't get them readily

don't have good spares supply

major headache

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-19 TABLE SHOWING PERCEPTION OF THE RESPONDENTS ABOUT THE RESALE VALUE OF THE ROYAL ENFIELD BIKE

Sl no

Attributes

No of respondents

Percentage

1

Excellent

48

48%

2

Good

37

36%

3

Average

10

10%

4

Poor

5

5%

Total

100

INTERPRETATION The above table indicates that majority of the customers are of the opinion that they will get excellent and good resale value of their bike compared to very few who think that it is average or poor.

Attributes 50 45 40 35 30 No of respondents

25 20 15 10 5 0 Excellent

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Good

Average

Poor

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-20 TABLE SHOWING CUSTOMERS DEGREE OF SATISFACTION WITH RESPECT TO FEATURES OF ROYAL ENFIELD BIKE Sl no

Features

Excellent

Good

Average

Below

Not

average

satisfied

1

Ignition

22%

46%

24%

6%

2%

2

Disc brakes

46%

36%

11%

-

7%

3

Pickup

36%

46%

12%

2%

4%

4

Fuel

14%

24%

48%

12%

2%

efficiency

INTERPRETATION From the above table it is evident that, In case of ignition majority of the respondents think that it is good. In case of disk brakes many are of the opinion that it is excellent. In case of pickup respondents feel it is good and lastly in case of fuel efficiency riders have average thinking. 60 50 40

Excellent Good

30

Average Below average

20

Not satisfied

10 0 Ignition

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Disk brakes

Pickup

Fuel Efficiency

Features

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION TABLE-20 TABLE SHOWING PERCEPTION LEVEL OF CUSTOMERS WITH RESPECT TO COMPANY IMAGE OF ROYAL ENFIELD LTD Sl no

Company

Excellent

Good

Average

prospects 1

Technological

Below

Not

average

satisfied

10%

24%

38%

22%

6%

12%

28%

52%

6%

2%

advancements 2

Range of products

3

Advertisements

12%

8%

30%

46%

4%

4

Dealer network

8%

24%

30%

32%

6%

INTERPRETATION The above table shows that majority of the customers hold average perception level when it comes to company's technological advancements and range of products, whereas number of riders also feel that the company's advertisements and dealership network is lacking and it is below average.

Chart Title 60 50 40 Excellent 30

Good Average

20

Below average

10

Not satisfied

0 Technological advancements

Range of products Advertisements

Dealer Network

Company prospects

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION FINDINGS The sample picked from the population of users of two wheelers of Royal Enfield has thrown a new look into perception of consumers. The findings are as follows

1) The study has shown that businessman and the students are the crunch followed by the professionals. 2) The Royal Enfield is having a young appeal as the 62% of the consumers are found to be below the age group of 20-30 years followed by 30-50 years. 3) Royal Enfield is placing their products in the appropriate price range. As the people of this income bracket less than 3,60,000-7,20,000 can easily afford this Bike. 4) Customers are not attracted to only one particular model due to the variants available and because the Thunderbird 500/350 is the newly released models they are fast moving now. 5) Majority of the customers directly chose Royal Enfield as their bike and didn't even have a look at the nearest alternative bike and this shows the loyalty of the customers towards the brand Royal Enfield. 6) Advertisements are rarely recalled and are highly ineffective amongst nonBullet riders. It‟s clear that Royal Enfield should concentrate on its advertising campaign to reach the customers. 7) It clearly shows that mileage of the Royal Enfield bikes is economical & mileage between 35 and 40 that too on Indian roads with heavy traffic is a great deal. 8) It is clear that majority of the respondents are satisfied with spare parts availability and we can say that Royal Enfield has good distribution channel for spare parts in the city. 9) It is clear that majority of the people who choose Royal Enfield as their bike doesn‟t have any problems or issues with their bike‟s performance.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION SUGGESTIONS  Promotional campaign- The Royal Enfield ads seen on electronic and print media are absolutely out of touch with the Indian culture and thought process. An Indian consumer irrespective of their income level has a soft corner for traditions and culture of India. Hence, all companies including market leaders like Hero Honda and Bajaj capitalize on this behavior of customers and design their ad campaigns keeping India in mind.  Weak follow up from dealerships- It was observed during the study that Royal Enfield was quite weak in following up with prospective customers.  Measures should be taken to improve its dealership- Showrooms are very small in size and do not reflect the quality and scale of Royal Enfield in the market.  Should improve the after sales service- During the survey it was found that Royal Enfield is not satisfying all their customers in after sales services, employees at dealership sometimes use harsh words and become rude to the customers, parts of the bike are not easily available in the market. This is the major drawback in capturing the market share so Royal Enfield should take some better steps to satisfy and retain their customers.  Increase in customer query response- During the study it was found that dealers are not satisfying the queries of customers and so suggested to increase customer query response by dealers.  Youth oriented promotion- Company should focus more on younger generation as it can increase sales and market share in Bangalore.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION CONCLUSION The study has helped Royal Enfield dealers to understand whether the customers are satisfied or not. If not what are main reasons for dissatisfaction of customer towards the dealer and what are the ways of improving the satisfaction level of customer towards dealer. We can conclude younger generation and middle age are more interested in Royal Enfield, the buying behaviour is governed predominantly by the need for Power and respect for the iconic Brand and users are mostly Professional Males, 20-35 years of age, including some students. Most of the customers are attracted to newly released Classic 350/500, also customers are easily affording the price of Royal Enfield bikes and customers are very loyal towards the brand Royal Enfield. Royal Enfield should concentrate on its advertising campaign to reach the customers, mileage of the Royal Enfield bikes is very economical and most of them prefer to buy their bike brand new from showroom with the spare parts available in market easily. Royal Enfield has an excellent satisfaction level within the customer for its power, pick up, comfort, safety and with after sales service. It is clear that Royal Enfield checks at the complaints registered by their customers on regular basis to maintain its brand value and entire Royal Enfield owner are passionate Royal Enfield fans.

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION ANNEXURE

QUESTIONNAIRE Respected sir /madam, I Harshith.V, A student of MBA IV Sem of RNS institute of technology, BANGALORE, doing a project entitled 'Consumer perception towards Royal Enfield bikes ' in partial fulfilment for the award of master of business administration. I therefore request you to spare a few minutes with me to fill up this questionnaire. Any information collected during the course of survey will be kept confidential Name

:

Contact No: Email id: Gender:

Male

Occupation

Female

:

a. Student

b. Professional

c. Businessman

d. others

Age : a. 20-30 years

b. 30-50 years

c. 50 and above

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION Annual income : a. Less than 1,20,000

b. 1,20,000-3,60,000

c.3,60,000-7,20,000

d.7,20,000 and above

1. Which model of Royal Enfield do you presently own? a. Classic 350

b. Classic 500

c. Electra

d. Thunderbird d. Others

2. What made you to buy this model? a. Style

b. Status Symbol

c. Maintenance

d. Power of bike

3. How did you come to know about it? a. News paper

b. Advertisements

c. Friends/Relatives 4. For what purpose you use your bike? a. College

b. Style

c. Office

d. Others (specify)

5. What do you like most in your bike? a. Style

b. Power of bike

c. Mileage

d. Maintenance

e. Others 6. How do you rate your bike among other bikes which is available? a. Excellent

b. Good

c. Average

d. Poor

7. Are you satisfied with the mileage of your bike? a. Yes RNS ISTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION 8. What do you say about the maintenance of your bike? a. Expensive

b. Affordable

c. Cheap 10. Is Royal Enfield bike good on all roads? a. Yes

b. No

11. How is the appearance of your bike? a. Excellent

b. Good

c. Average

d. Poor

12. What is your comment on the price of your Royal Enfield bike? a. Costly

b. Standard

c. Economical 13. Is there any variation in what you expected? a. Price

b. Service

c. Quality

d. Mileage

14. Are you comfortable with your bike? a. Yes

b. No

15. Will you recommend this product to your friends and relatives? a. Yes

b. No

16.What do you think about the availability of spare parts? a. Readily available

b. don‟t get them readily

c. Don‟t have good spares supply

d. Major headache

17. What do you think about the resale value of your Royal Enfield bike? a. Excellent

b. Good

c. Average

d. Poor

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION 18. Please indicate your degree of satisfaction level with the features of your 'Royal Enfield Bullet'? Excellent

Good

Average

1

2

3

Below Average 4

Not satisfied 5

a. Ignition : b. Disc Brakes: c. Pickup: d. Fuel Efficiency: 19.Please indicate your perception level with respect to company image of 'Royal Enfield Ltd'? Excellent

Good

Average

1

2

3

Below Average 4

Not satisfied 5

a. Technological Advancements: b. Range of products: c. Advertisements: d. Dealer Network: 20. Given a chance which Royal Enfield bike will you purchase?

21. Do you like to give any suggestions regarding Royal Enfield bike?

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CONSUMER PERCEPTION BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books Referred 

Marketing Management, 13th edition

 Survey Research Methods

- Philip Kotler - Charles Babbie

Magazines Referred  The Bullet-In, The Magazine For All Royal Enfield Bullet Enthusiasts.  Royal Enfield Magazine, The BEAT.

Websites Referred  www.royalenfield.com  www.wikipedia.org  www.enfieldmotorcycles.com

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