Yamaha has lined up an organisational restructuring in its India operations to rein in costs.
NEW DELHI: Yamaha has lined up an organisational restructuring in its India operations to rein in costs. This could see its two separate operations of manufacturing (India Yamaha Motor) and sales & marketing (Yamaha Motor India) being merged into a single entity.
Pankaj Dubey, division head (sales and marketing) of India Yamaha Motor, declined comment on the organisational restructuring and the recent exodus of senior company executives.
But he did confirm that several steps are being taken to bring Yamaha back into consumer focus. “We have identified many problems and are trying to take quick and effective corrective steps”.
Despite its globally acclaimed bikes, Yamaha has not had a great time in India so far. It has faced consistently low sales because of high product pricing, rampant discounting and a weak sales and distribution network.
The departure of turnaround poster boy Tomotaka Ishikawa earlier this year prompted industry watchers to virtually give up on Yamaha’s Indian saga.
But, Yamaha says it is playing a long-term game and is trying its best to mend matters.
In a first, the company has completely stopped discounting of its bikes since this practice led to a fall in the bikes’ resale value. The product portfolio is also being spruced up: two versions of the 125cc Gladiator were introduced in March, followed by the 150cc YZR15 in June and the 150cc FZ is scheduled for launch in September.
The Gladiator variants are priced around Rs 47,000 but the YZR15 is pretty steep at Rs 97,425 (ex-showroom Delhi). Dubey said, if anything, the price of YZR15 will be increased soon! He acknowledged that the bike, which was being seen as the company’s single most important launch in its quest for a turnaround, does not enjoy high margins.
“Yes, margins are not very good……but we are looking to gain market share at this point and don’t mind sacrificing margins for a while,” Dubey said. The company is eyeing sales of 50,000 units of the YZR15 by June next year.
Then, Yamaha has begun opening company-owned, company-operated showrooms across Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, besides improving its overall dealer network.
b_sindhu@dnaindia.net
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