Yamaha? Who Yamaha?

50% dip in sales in Jan ’07; what next...
The sheer mention of the name ‘Yamaha’ induces a feeling of excitement and enthusiasm among the bike-lovers around the world. Yamaha ostentatiously stands at the number two position in the twowheeler segment and number one in the scooter market all across the world. Though Yamaha came into India long back in the mid 80s, it still hasn’t been able to mark a dent in the ever growing Indian markets. It doesn’t come as a matter of surprise that Yamaha’s market share in the country is pitiably low at 3%. The company, whose initial foray with its model RX100 was good, got hit badly in the four-stroke market. According to Ishikawa, MD, Yamaha, “There was a gap between what the Indian customer wanted from us and in turn what we gave them. The company got caught in the volumes game.” Yamaha, after suffering losses since 2001 in India, saw a tremendous dip in its sales figures by 50% in January 2007. Claiming a restructuring drive, Ishikawa asserts, “Our target segment (now) will be niche to begin with... We will position our product as a fun bike, a lifestyle product; not a utility product.” Yamaha’s got John Abraham now for the ‘youth’ punch. Will this see their fortunes reversing? Hmm, let’s not ask John yet!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)