Taking its marketing cue from luxury car maker BMW and mass market players Maruti Suzuki India and Fiat, tyre maker Apollo is starting its own signature stores to showcase and sell its range in the country. Car companies are starting their signature stores in order to showcase their brand prowess and the $1.2-billion Apollo has adopted the same format.
Its pan-India stores will cater to different segments— Apollo Radial World (ARW) will focus on passenger cars while Apollo Trust (AT) will meet the needs of commercial vehicle owners. The company has started its first ARW store in Patiala and plans to roll out 10 more this fiscal. It plans to launch 100 AT stores during the same period.
Apollo vice-chairman Neeraj RS Kanwar told ET, “The new chain of branded stores are part of our endeavour to offer personalised premium service to our customers. Under the new marketing strategy we are taking our products closer to customers. We have launched new age V&H-rated and tubeless tyres, which are being offered exclusively through these stores.”
The retail experience will also be replicated in Europe, where the company plans to start operations in the next two years. It has planned to invest e200 million in Eastern Europe for an annual 7 million tyres capacity facility. “Our new retail marketing strategy is based on our experience in South Africa after we acquired Dunlop Tyres, two years ago. We have more than 200 signature stores called ‘Dunlop Zone’ which has helped us to roll out a similar marketing concept in India ,” he said.
The company currently makes four tyre brands --- Apollo, Dunlop, Regal and Kaizen -- for the domestic and international markets.
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