According to a top corporate official, Bridgestone intends to increase its retail footprint in India by 20-25 per cent this year. Additionally, the Japanese tyre maker wants to grow faster than the industry’s growth. At the moment, Bridgestone India has over 3,200 dealerships located in a total of 1,300 cities and towns throughout the country of India.
The well-diversified portfolio of Bridgestone India, which is a part of the Japanese multinational tyre manufacturer Bridgestone Corporation, consists primarily of radial tyres and serves both the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and the replacement market sectors. Over the past few years, Bridgestone India has been extending its market penetration significantly. As a result, our retail presence was enlarged by 11 per cent in 2022, and we expanded into 218 new municipalities as a result of this growth. We are looking to expand our overall retail network by 20-25 per cent this year, Bridgestone India Managing Director Stefano Sanchini said in a conversation with PTI.
According to him, the business is now working to broaden its distribution network in order to improve its coverage throughout tier-III and tier-IV cities, which will give it a more significant presence in the aftermarket for automobile tyres, which currently account for more than 25 million tyres.
“We intend to maintain our position as the market leader in this area. The OE market had signs of a rebound in the previous year and is anticipated to continue growing in 2023.” Sanchini, who has been in charge of the company’s operations in India since the beginning of 2023, stated that the company’s efforts towards greater capacities and capabilities would assist them in meeting the requirements of the market. “We hope to increase our share in the coming year further,” he remarked. “We are looking forward to the coming year.”
Noting that the firm saw extraordinary development in both volume and revenue during the preceding year, with overall revenue up 37 per cent year-on-year while the total volumes grew 17 per cent during the period. He stated that the passenger tyre industry has been thriving in maintaining its position as the market leader.
“Our performance for the first quarter of this year (January – March) has also been encouraging and on the same lines as our performance in 2022,” Sanchini remarked.
He expressed optimism about the future of the local tyre business. He stated that the expenditure that the government is making on mobility infrastructure is boosting the efficiency of the logistic sector, which in turn would stimulate the growth of the tyre industry. He said that the domestic tyre industry is expected to grow 6% in line with economic growth as another motivator, citing India’s automotive sector, which is anticipated to maintain growth momentum in 2023.
Sanchini emphasised that this is optimistic when considering the possibility that the world economy is now experiencing a slowdown due to geopolitical events and disruptions to global supply networks. Furthermore, he stated that the firm receives favourable customer feedback across all product categories.
Our goal is always to be one step ahead of the competition. According to what Sanchini had to say, “We are confident that 2023 will be a good year in terms of both deeper market penetration as well as performance.” He stated that to further strengthen Bridgestone India’s leadership in the passenger car market, we are constantly working towards meeting the evolving consumer needs by enhancing our product portfolio as well as our after-sales services and increasing our retail footprint. He said this while sounding optimistic about the prospect of further strengthening Bridgestone India’s leading position.
Sanchini also stated that the company’s ambitions to launch tyres for the electric vehicle segment in India would continue to be in line with the OEM’s electrification pushes for the country. “We already have the product for electric vehicles, and we are collaborating with original equipment manufacturers in India to develop new products.” According to him, “As the volume of electric vehicles grows, our EV-compatible tyres will also be available in the aftermarket.”
The combined production capacity of Bridgestone India’s two factories is 30,000 tyres per day. These factories are located in Chakan (Pune) and Pithampur (Indore). The corporation disclosed the investment of Rs 600 crore in February, which would be used to expand its capacity and skills. In addition, he mentioned that the company’s solutions business, which operates on the “Pay As You Go” model, has increased by a factor of two over the course of the past year.
“As the market evolves, we hope to strengthen this business further. That is a win-win situation for all stakeholders,” he remarked.” “This business is already a win-win situation.”
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