In Conversation With Anoop Prakash, MD, Harley Davidson India: Harley Davidson Is The Preferred Premium Bike In India

We recently got a chance to have a face to face with the person responsible for a rather radical movement in India. Anoop Prakash, MD, Harley Davidson India tells us the story of Harley Davidson’s Indian chapter and how the road to success here has been so far.

Q. Is India a tough market? How has the journey been so far?

I think India if anything is an exciting and dynamic market. It is always changing and I think the last five years since we have been here, it has just changed tremendously. Just look at the number of not only automotive and motorcycling brands, but also premium non-Indian brands that have come here in the last five years. The preferences and expectations of customers are also changing. In the beginning, five years ago, it was a brand new market — kind of an open market. Today’s consumers have developed high expectations; they have a preference for premier global brands and I think that trend is here to stay. We had two challenges: one was to establish Harley-Davidson as a brand of lifestyle and culture; secondly, we had to establish leisure motorcycling as an activity and a great investment of people’s time and money. I think, (touchwood) it has gone in the right direction. We have captured the imagination of the customers.

Q. How hard was it to build a less expensive Harley for developing markets?

I think there were two really fundamental strategies we had when we entered the market. One, we had to deliver the world-class customer experience that every customer expects. That got enabled by hiring great employees and dealers, delivering all the merchandise and accessories along with the motorcycles, having a full line up of motorcycles etc. The second big challenge was making the lifestyle experience accessible to as many people as we could. Like the young urban riders who were riding their way to life, or the well-off middle class, mid-aged folks who were coming into biking for the first time. Accessibility started with our investment in CKD. In 2011, we set up our plant. We didn’t wait for the market to prove itself. We opened our first dealer in 2010, and started assembling in 2011. And again in 2012, we added three more models in the assembly line up. And then in 2013, we added three more to the assembly line up.

So in 2014, a natural progression was to launch the Street 750. Street 750 and Street 500 came out of a global effort to develop the next-generation motorcycle, the younger urban professionals who wanted a good ride, who are into the leisure motorcycling culture, who appreciated a Harley but didn’t see a bike that was made for them in that stage of life. So now, they have something that has the right styling, the dark custom styling, the very urban edge to the design, and it’s designed for the environment. That is where the Street came from, and to be able to build it in two places, in US and in India, is really a testament to Harley-Davidson becoming more global and being close to where the customers are. You know when you are building it in both Eastern and Western hemispheres, you can serve customers better by being closer to where they are and that also keeps the India price and the US price more or less the same.

Q. Can we expect another not-so-expensive motor bike coming from Harley-Davidson?

We are always thinking about ‘what is next’. We don’t talk much about the future launches or products. We have multiple models within a family of bike. If it takes off in the right direction and the indication is positive, we will hopefully develop a new variant in the Street family. There is a lot of imagination already around what can be done with Street.

Q. How has the feedback been, till now?

The feedback has been phenomenal. The first reviews from customers as well as journalists who have ridden the bike have been really positive. They have told us how fun the motorcycle is and how perfect it is for all travelling conditions. They have also given us some things to work on; we have taken a note of all this and we are working to improve on them.

Q. What kind of market share is Harley looking at now, in India?

We have been the first ones to come out and start manufacturing in India, and obviously the first ones to start assembling. I think when you look at the first-mover advantage that we have, our market share reflects that today. We have a dominant market share in the above 600 cc bikes.

The key thing here however is not that we target market share, we are actually trying to build the experience for the riders and the accessibility. We are hoping that the market continues to grow though. We want more interests to come in and offer more choice for the customers so it’s a better experience for them overall. We have seen the companies that have come over the last year or two, and there are some other companies that are planning to. I guess in the next several years, customers will have lots of choices.

Q. Can we say that Harley-Davidson wants to be the dominant player in India?

I think it is the dominant player and we hope that we continue to lead the market. We enjoy being the leaders of the market because we feel like we deliver a pure and leisure motorcycling experience and it gives other brands an opportunity to pick up in the same direction.

Q. We have heard about the strict procedures Harley-Davidson follows to pick a dealer. Can you in brief tell us how does Harley-Davidson come to a point that yes, this is the right guy for our dealership?

Our dealer network is a critical part of our strategy. As I said, customer experience is the focal point for our company, and we can deliver this experience up to a point. Customers finally interact with the dealers, so that is very important for us to be careful in selecting them. First of all, the dealer must have a great business record (that goes without saying). The business acumen and the ability to succeed in the market should be impeccable.

Two, they have to have the values that are a good match to Harley, as our company is a very transparent. It’s a 110-year-old company built on ethics and values. We have to find partners who appreciate that. Last, but not the least, they really have to understand the brand. Brand has to be something that they just intuitively appreciate and understand because if you don’t understand the brand, you don’t appreciate the lifestyle that we are trying to develop and deliver, there is no way you can translate that into your team. I am really happy to say that a lot of our dealers are riders as well, and that makes a big difference. When you can put yourself in the shoes of the customers, you can really understand what a customer needs.

Q. What’s next for Harley-Davidson in India? Can we see some fine dining restaurants café’s in India?

There is no plan for that as such. It was a rumour that started sometime back. Right now the only café in the world is in Las Vegas so, I am not sure if India is second on the list but I can tell you that there are a number of ‘larger’ plans for the dealer network. We have just opened a very impressive facility in Navi Mumbai. It has a kiosk facility, it is a 12,000 square feet space where customers and enthusiasts can come in and experience the brand. A similar facility is opening here, in Gurgaon next month and then we will also be targeting a similar facility in Bangalore before the end of the year.

We will also be opening new locations in Gauhati, Surat and Coimbatore. Further investment in our quad-metro markets is happening. We look forward to introduce new products in the market down the road and we will make those announcements in the due course.

Q. How is the riders’ programme going? Something new coming in?

For the Harley owners, yes, of course we have the H.O.G rally that we have been doing. We just did our second national H.O.G rally in Goa. Over 1,200 owners came together from all over the country; it was tremendous. We also have our zonal rides, which are western, southern, northern, eastern hog rallies. We just did the western one and 450 owners came for the weekend. Next up is the northern and southern rallies that are happening around September. So, we have these big rallies coming up; and of course they will continue. They keep getting better and better and they have to keep meeting the customers’ experience and be more interesting for riders keep coming back every year.

Q. Is there any other way that you stay in touch with the Harley Owners? Is there any other programme that is also running?

We stay in touch with the Harley owners via many touch points. We offer a lot of benefits to them because again, it’s not just about a bike — it’s a lifestyle to experience. We have large national and zonal rallies, but we also have weekly rallies that are run by the local dealers. Programmes are being offered to our owners that run in every city with our dealership. We have several bike rides/nights and other activities related to bikes, where people come together and spend time together. Beyond that touch point, we are also about to launch an automobile app, which is a smartphone app that is going to allow the riders to connect with each other and us as well, so we can serve them better. We also have our Facebook pages and a closed group for Harley owners that give us a lot of connection with the customers.


Q. On a personal note, what does Anoop like to ride? Your favourite Indian road stretch to ride on?

The most epic ride I did was across Rajasthan. I went all the way through Jaipur and Jaisalmer. The roads and people of Rajasthan, the overall environment just makes you feel that you are in another world. And then recently, we rode Pune to Goa, which is a great ride because you get to go up the hill (and you get some great views) and then you get down to the beaches. The whole journey can be done in hours and that’s a great ride for one day. I rode a Fat Boy for both occasions and that is my favourite bike.