Royal Enfield might have grown to be a big brand in India, but in terms of its international presence and brand appeal, it’s a business managed like a small family enterprise, which needs to increase its appeal and service to international markets. In the Indian motorcycle market, Royal Enfield is expanding from the traditional Bullet model - and in now offering the Classic, will open an new plant.

The plan is to increase production from 52,000 units in 2010, to 70,000 units in 2011, with a particular focus on quality improvements. Bike Advice India (via Motorbiker) reports that Royal Enfield needs to put an end to such issues as paint rust, mechanical squeaks and long waiting periods for delivery times. While most Indian customers probably deserve to demand better, ironing out problems such as these is a no-brainer if Royal Enfield is to go international.

The company apparently runs its international operations out of an office with just a few people who deal with placing and taking orders. Royal Enfield CEO Dr Venki Padmanabhan says: “The purpose of the company was to cater to the Indian market, but the bikes are international, and the faster we do that, the better it is. We have been constrained by our own initiative and need to be more engaged with international markets.”

The brand certainly has a long history and tradition to work with, but no-one’s going to buy a Royal Enfield if it rusts in the short term. In a rather poetic way of describing where the brand is going, Padmanabhan says:

Act 1 is to make the brand worthy of customers’ love. Act 2 is making the product worthy of the brand. When you fix the brand and quality, you give them what they want which is Act 3. At the moment, we are somewhere in the middle of Act 2 and getting ready for Act 3.

Translating that into a successful business is no easy task.

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