Royal Enfield: Revival of a Cult Brand

The case is about the revival of the iconic Royal Enfield motorcycle brand. Since the brand
was introduced in the Indian market during the mid-nineteenth century, it was highly
preferred by rural customers and government departments like the police and the armed
forces. During the late nineties, however, the sales of the brand declined due to a number of
factors like poor quality, lack of a proper sales and service network, and weakening of the
brand image. By the year 2000, the sales had declined to a low of 2,000 units per month. The
company's top management decided that selling or closing down its two-wheeler segment
was the only solution as it was becoming a drag on the company's performance. However,
Siddhartha Lal (Siddhartha), a young member of the Lal family which controlled the Eicher
Group, opined that the fortunes of the brand could be reversed. The company's board agreed
to Siddhartha's proposal and made him the CEO of the two-wheeler segment. Siddhartha took
a number of initiatives to revive the fortunes of the brand. A new lightweight engine made of
aluminum was developed to replace the Royal Enfield motorcycles' old cast iron engine. The
new engine had higher fuel efficiency and a longer life than the older engine. Royal Enfield
took the help of an Austrian design firm called AVL to design the new engine. Changes were
also made to ensure the motorcycles looked contemporary. In order to improve the quality of
the motorcycles, the management made the quality standards for its component suppliers
stringent. A new cruiser model called the Thunderbird was introduced in the year 2002 to
attract new younger customers. Enhanced quality and new models improved the sales by the
year 2005. Within a short period of initiating quality enhancement measures, the warranty
claims went down. With most of the quality issues having been addressed, the management
turned its attention to improving customers' experience with the brand while buying and
owning its products. The company improved the look of its dealer outlets and expanded the
number of outlets to reach customers in smaller cities and towns. As part of the turnaround
strategy for the brand, it launched two advertising campaigns called 'Trip' and 'Leave Home'
in the years 2008 and 2010. In order to make it easy for the customers to identify themselves
with the brand, it started organizing periodic 'Riding Events'. The official riding events
involved customers of Royal Enfield going on travel tours and sharing their travel
experiences. Some of the other initiatives included the launch of motorcycling gear, the
introduction of a new brand logo in the year 2014, and the launch of a new lightweight model
called the Continental GT. The management was also aiming to aggressively expand in
international markets by increasing its overseas dealership network and by reducing prices.
By the year 2014, the sales of Royal Enfield exceeded the worldwide sales of Harley
Davidson. Despite the strong turnaround achieved by the brand, some analysts were still
skeptical about its performance due to the increased competition in the Indian market from
international players like Harley Davidson and Indian.
Answer the following questions
1. Do SWOT analysis.
2. Discuss value proposition (functional, emotional, existential & appropriation) of Royal
Enfield.
3. Let’s talk about brand positioning.
a. What is it? b. Why is it done?
4. How is brand positioning done? How did Royal Enfield do it?
5. How Brand Managers Can use brand mantra concept to Improve Branding Campaign
Results.