With 7-yr turnaround plan, Skoda to focus on brand-building in India - Financial Express

Home Corporates & Markets Roudra Bhattacharya | Updated: Sep 10 2013, 03:40 IST SummaryPlans to concentrate on premium segment, no small cars on horizon Czech car maker Skoda has adopted a major seven-year �turnaround� plan in India, under which it has decided not to look at volume growth till 2016 and focus on the premium car segment instead of the mass market of small cars. The idea is to concentrate on brand-building in order to improve its reputation of poor after-sales support, which is believed to have contributed to a sharp drop in sales over the last year � in FY13, Skoda's domestic volumes had dipped 15% (to 29,067 units) while sales in April-July FY14 are already down 46% (6,989 units). Sudhir Rao, MD, Skoda Auto India, told FE that in the past year the company had been evaluating its strengths and weaknesses and has now devised a plan for the short and medium term. �Our strengths are our products, our weakness is the often-stated customer service and after-sales. Our strong focus is now on eliminating that weakness. That will put us back in a very strong position from a brand perspective, which then sets the foundation for growth. So the sequence has reversed, its now about focussing on products, eliminating weaknesses and going for growth,� he said. �This strategy will play itself out over the next seven years, till 2020. There are obviously milestones in between. To fix (the weaknesses) is a two-three journey. The message I want to send out to the market is that we have strong products and that we are turning this company around in terms of all its negatives,� he added. The start of this new strategy will see Skoda, a Volkswagen group brand, bring back the 'Octavia' brand in the next few weeks in the form of a new mid-size sedan. The brand is important, since the Octavia sedan was the first brand for the company when it entered India 12 years ago and still has strong recall with consumers, but it was later replaced with the Laura. Incidentally, this development comes a few weeks after the company decided to �temporarily pause� the production of the Fabia hatch at the Chakan plant near Pune. The Fabia was the More from Corporates & Markets Play safe on power co stocks: After the market battering, valuations lookDelays in tariff hike and lower coal prices have taken a toll on Tata Power. IT services: Rupee booster for $ revenueRajan effect on banks: 'Cautious' rating to banking sector Editor´s Pick Hero MotoCorp's Haridwar labour pain spreads to Gurgaon 2009 redux: In another poll year, IPL 7 may move to Bangla, Lanka With 7-yr turnaround plan, Skoda to focus on brand-building in India Copyright © The Indian Express ltd. All Rights Reserved. via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHydO1yTJnuforSoh7MMi_egOcB0g&url=http://www.financialexpress.com/news/with-7yr-turnaround-plan-skoda-to-focus-on-brandbuilding-in-india/1166800

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