Classic Legends Looks To Expand Presence In Smaller Towns, Cities

Classic Legends plans to expand its sales network in smaller cities and towns as it looks to cater to the rising demand for mid-sized bikes from these regions, according to its CEO Ashish Singh Joshi.

The company, a unit of Mahindra & Mahindra, brought back the Jawa motorcycle brand in the domestic market in 2018 and Yezdi earlier this year.

It currently offers four motorcycles - Jawa, Jawa forty two, Perak and the recently introduced Jawa 42 Bobber - under the Jawa portfolio, and three models -- Adventure, Scrambler and Roadster -- under the Yezdi brand.

"We are well represented in all the A, B and probably the C category towns in the country. As we move along, we are now going deeper, we are going into smaller places," Joshi told PTI in an interaction.

The company is opening smaller format outlets in such places, enabling the probable customers to shop locally and avoid going to bigger towns to make the purchase, he noted.

"From the dealership perspective, we have been expanding constantly...around July 2020, we were at 100 dealerships and now at 378 dealerships and not expecting to end the financial year at around 500 dealerships," Joshi said.

In 2016, Mahindra & Mahindra struck a deal with the bike maker, allowing Classic Legends to launch and market bikes under the Jawa brand name in the country and east Asian markets.

While Mahindra has a 60 per cent stake in Classic Legends, the balance of 40 per cent is held by Anupam Thareja, founder of Classic Legends; and Boman Irani, chairman and MD at Rustomjee Group.

When asked if the company is looking to get into the electric segment, Joshi said the two-wheeler maker is working on electric motorcycles at a newly established design and development centre in Coventry, UK.

"Our electric programme is being done there..having said that electric is still a few years away as it will first come into scooters and then into bikes. By then, we would be well prepared," he said.

On the market situation, Joshi said that the mid-size bike segment continues to do well in terms of sales and it was the entry-level bikes which were struggling at the moment.

He noted that the company continues to invest in product development with plans to introduce more models in the market.

He, however, did not share product details.