| International tyre brands & the Indian market
Came across some very informative articles on how & why international tyre brands are struggling in the Indian marketplace. Thought of sharing them as we don't usually come across such information. Obviously compiled by someone with deep knowledge of the industry, but the author name isn't shared. Whoever you are, thanks! 10 mistakes which international tyre brands commit while entering the Indian market Quote: Following the same distribution model: Tyre brands have tried entering the Indian market by appointing couple of distributors in India expecting them to churn out numbers for them. It may look good on an excel sheet but it has never worked in the past and there is no reason why it will work in future. However brand after brand entering into India tend to follow the same model.
Appointing retailers as distributors: We agree that it is not easy to find distributors for a new tyre brand in India. However that does not explain why brands end up appointing retailers as distributors. Distribution is simply not in their DNA. Retailers may be excellent sales guys but they do not want to leave their store's sales counter. They have never travelled seeking retail partnerships, talking about and building the brand. They can at the best be ?order fulfillers".
One dealer-One city: In a bid to rope in a dealer to sell their brand, brands give exclusivity to one dealer in one city. This goes against the very grain of marketing principals. Just imagine squeezing your brand viability at a time when it needs the most. This sets a brand on a path of limited scalability. No brand in India following this model has been able to cross sales of 10000 tyres per month in India. However brand after brand tend to follow the similar model to rope in dealers into their network.
|
There's more: 5 challenges for international tyre brands Quote: | BIS certification: Mandatory BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification for tyres especially in PCR has turned out to be an effective non - tariff barrier for the international tyre brands wanting to enter into the Indian market. BIS certification for tyres mandates not only testing of tyres at accredited Indian labs but also regular annual plant audits by Indian BIS inspectors.
| 6 reasons why Chinese Tyre companies are finding it easy in the Indian TBR tyre market
TBR = Truck & Bus Radial Tire
TBB = Truck Bus Bias (non-radial) Quote: | Indian tyre companies were betting on TBB: For reasons best known to them, Indian tyre companies felt that although the entire world has moved to TBR, Indian market will remain a TBB market for years to come. They were perhaps banking on Indian roads remaining in poor condition & overloading to be in Indian truckers DNA forever. These are the very conditions where TBB scores well over TBR tyres. However, some unexpected but firm political & official decision making led to an accelerated change in consumer preferences. When the Chinese came knocking with TBR tyres in their arsenal, they found Indian Tyre companies looking the other way & Indians practically gave walkover to their neighboring competitors.
| | 
7th January 2016, 15:38
(5)
Thanks
