The current average annual
domestic demand for bicycles
in India is about 10 million. This
largesse translates into a 25%
increase in annual off take.
Hero Cycles is the industry
leader commanding a whopping
48% market share of the Indian
bicycle market collectively
across all segments (Source:
Nielsen). With a turnover of
Rs. 1450 crore (US$ 302.10
million) and an expanding
product repertoire, the
company is all set to maintain
its position of being not just
India's largest bicycle company
but as also the world's single
largest manufacturer of bicycles.
Achievements
Market
The Indian bicycle industry has become the
second largest in the world with an annual
production of more than 12 million bicycles –
defying the conventional market wisdom that
predicted the bicycle to be the dodo of the
21st century. According to figures from the
Engineering Export Promotion Council, India's
bicycle and components exports were valued at
Rs. 856.30 crore (US$ 178.40 million) in
2005/06 and rose to Rs. 890.02 crore
(US$ 185.40 million) in 2007/08.
The numbers for the industry
continue to be robust in spite of
the global slowdown. Much of
this is attributed to domestic
demand generated by several
state governments who
have, under various social
welfare schemes, placed
orders for 1.5 million
bicycles in 2009
(Source: Medium
Industry Development
Board, Punjab).
According to the
board, in the course of
the present year, the
orders are expected to
increase to 2.5 million units.
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Hero Cycles greatest
achievement is that the
company put the Indian bicycle
industry on steroids when it
muscled its way to the top of
the world's pyramid, more than
20 years ago. It has never
relinquished that spot and
continues to be listed in the
Guinness Book of World
Records.
Anticipating the emerging
sophistication in Indian markets,
Hero Cycles launched a
number of high-end models.
These included a specialised
range of fitness bikes as also
the first Mountain Terrain Bike
(MTB), the first City Bike and the first Racer
Bike in India.
In keeping with its aggressive marketing
strategy Hero Cycles set another landmark: it
became the first manufacturer in the world to
cross the magical production figure of 100
million bicycles in 2006, its Golden Jubilee
year. In the same year it achieved the
proud distinction of becoming the
first company to manufacture
5 million bicycles. With a
powerful history and an envious record, Hero is
also India's largest exporter of cycles. It has a
strong presence in 56 countries, including the
highly evolved and competitive markets of the
US, the UK, Germany, Spain and several other
countries in the European Continent.
Not surprisingly the company has won the
Engineering Export Promotion Council Best
Exporter Award continuously for the last
28 years.
History
In every crisis, says a Chinese proverb, there is
an opportunity. Forced to abandon their lives in
Pakistan by the traumatic fall out of the
partition in 1947, four brothers Dayanand
Munjal, Brijmohan Lall Munjal, Satyanand Munjal
and Om Prakash Munjal did not dwell on the
crisis but looked for the opportunity. They
surmised accurately that people in newly
independent India were in need of a cheap and
convenient means of personal transport. In
1956, they established a modest manufacturing
unit and made an even more modest beginning.
That year they manufactured 639 bicycles. By
1963 – in seven eventful years – they had
become a household name.
To ramp up capacity, the company acquired
Gujarat Cycles Limited in 1987. Renamed Munjal
Auto Industries Limited, the unit was earmarked to manufacture and export state-of-theart bicycles and allied products from its fully
automated plant at Waghodia. The company
further scaled up capacity by establishing a
second unit at Sahibabad, Uttar Pradesh
in 1988.
However, with markets growing rapidly and
the high net worth family looking at the bicycle
with renewed interest, Hero Cycles tied up with
National Bicycle Industries – a part of the
Matsushita Group of Japan – in 2002. The
collaboration was designed to bring together
Hero's distribution and manufacturing might and
National's technical competency to manufacture
the most high-end bicycles in India.
Today, Hero Cycles manufactures more than
18,500 bicycles each day, employs 4800 people
at its three state-of-the-art manufacturing plants
and has a dealer network of 3000 spread across
the country.
Product
Hero Cycles' greatest achievement has been
to put the 'wow' factor into bicycles, long
perceived as machines that were basic, black and boring. Hero has changed all that.
The range it has on offer is truly
breathtaking, cutting across all
socio-economic segments.
Remarkably, within each
such grouping, Hero comes
off making a lifestyle
statement.
Each model serves a
particular customer profile
touching it at a price point
that is at once attractive
and reasonable. It is this
that has allowed Hero the
Recent
Developments
luxury of being able to cut through a massively
cluttered market. But it is at the premium end
of its collection where Hero has made the
most difference.
The men's range includes X Sport Zylo, DTB,
Nitro, Sundancer, Sapphire, Platinum, Razorback,
Cyclone and Street Race – all guaranteed to set
the pulse of every red-blooded male racing. All
these variants are equipped with several special
features such as wider tyres for stunt riding,
special safety caliper brakes and extra rigid
design to cope with hard and often rough
riding. For a less vigorous experience there are
the roadsters, racers and the latest all-terrain
and city bicycles such as Hero Devil Dx, Hero
Neon, Ranger Swing 21, Hero Buzz, Hero
Missile, Hero Terminator, Hero Salsa, Hero
Limbo, Hero Lambada, Hero Jet Gold, Hero
Royal Gold and Powerbike. The Ranger Swing
21 is India's most advanced high-performance
MTB, offering a 21-speed gear system. Hero
Buzz is India's first Y-frame bike. Technologically
advanced, all-aluminium high-end bikes from
Hero under the Octane Range have opened a
new category in the premium segment.
The women's range consists of the recently
launched Miss India Platinum and Miss India
Sapphire, an upgraded Miss India Gold, Emerald
and Ruby, while Hero bikes for kids include
attractively designed, colourful bicycles such as
Sundancer, Blaze, Swirl, Boss, Fairy, Bang, Cherish,
Tango and Chase which incorporate special
safety features for young riders. Brat, another
cycle for kids, is designed with an international
high rise saddle.
Environment and
fitness consciousness
are the new market
mantras and the
bicycle happily fulfils
both demands. This
new twist to
modern, urban living
is gradually filtering
through to all –
including town
planners; there is
now talk of cycle
tracks becoming an
essential part of
cityscapes. In keeping
with the changing
aspirations of the
high-end Indian
consumer, Hero
Cycles has geared
itself to launch an
enhanced range of top-end fun machines.
Four new models targeted at the urban adult,
including the radical Thunder and Octane – the
all-aluminum alloy light-weight all-terrain bikes
have already been unveiled. To establish a
greater connect with
the high spending
urban adult customer,
Hero has reoriented
its market strategy.
The brand has added
a quotient of glamour
to the business of
biking by opening
stores at high footfall
locations such as
malls. Due for launch
are six premium
bicycles developed
to cater to the high
demand in the
fancy children's
bike segment.
In a landmark
technological initiative,
Hero has set up
India's first German
paint plant with the revolutionary extra durable
and shining (EDS) technology. This programme
will ensure that every Hero cycle retains its
lustre and colour brilliance for up to five years.
In the very recent past the company has
entered into a strategic tie-up with ADIDAS to
manufacture bicycles and bicycle components
especially branded for them.
Promotion
Until 1986, Hero
was mainly
perceived as a
manufacturer of the
basic black bicycle.
But evolving market
needs mandated an
image change for
the company so
that it could get
customers out
of the real and
metaphorical
boxes of life and
experience the
romantic abandon
of cycling.
The resulting
promotional
campaigns were
designed to sensitise
people to the
recreational aspects
of this wonderful and healthy sport. The launch
of innovative products and their value as style
statements happened simultaneously. Hero
Cycles was quick off the block and signed up
celebrities to position each product in the
market. Film stars such as Sanjay Dutt, Rani
Mukherjee, Hrithik Roshan and Ameesha
Patel have all appeared in advertisements
for this brand.
Working subliminally are associations that
people either see or experience. To cash in on
this proven belief, the company has strategically
placed its products in feature films, where the
protagonist is seen riding the bicycle. Of special
mileage has been the Mani Ratnam blockbuster,
Guru, in which the stunning Aishwarya Rai is
shown riding a Hero cycle.
In tune with its corporate philosophy and
focus on fitness, Hero Cycles has also been
promoting and patronising various games and
sporting events, including football's prestigious
Federation Cup.
Brand Values
A brand is built when it delivers on its promises.
In the case of Hero Cycles one part of that
promise was commitment to quality, corporate
integrity and customer-centricity. The other part
was defined by the level of social responsibility a
company shoulders and discharges. What has
emerged from the meeting of these personal
philosophies is true success.
Hero's brand values are embodied in its
corporate vision of providing an inexpensive,
durable vehicle of transport at affordable prices.
'Engineering Satisfaction' is the catchphrase
that drives the company, today. Now fully
integrated into its work culture, this slogan is
responsible for the company's environmentfriendly manufacturing processes and to the
brands' initiatives for benefitting the common
man. In every one of these functions – and
everything else in between – Hero Cycles has
demonstrated its willingness to go that extra
mile – just like a true Hero.
www.herocycles.com
Things you didn’t know about
Hero Cycles
Hero Cycles manufactured 25 bicycles a day in
1956
Today the company turns out one bicycle every
5.4 seconds, around-the-clock, around the year
One in every ten Indians has owned a Hero
cycle at sometime in their lives
Hero Cycles manufactures the widest range of
bicycles including multi-speed variants
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