CEAT Kelani Holdings has begun the rollout of two new retail concepts in Sri Lanka for the CEAT brand, already the strongest and most valuable tyre brand in the country according to Brand Finance.
Part of a three-year distribution channel expansion strategy designed to drive brand exclusivity and premiumisation and enhance customer experience at partner outlets in tandem with product improvements, these new retail concepts arebranded ‘Shop in Shop’ (SIS) and ‘Company Invested Dealer Operated’ (CIDO) business models, the company said. They were developed in consultation with CEAT India and shadow the CEAT ‘Shoppe’retail concept already launched in the subcontinent.
The CEAT Shop in Shop concept entails demarcating a dedicated area for CEAT branded tyres within existing multi-brand dealer premises. CEAT will furnish the floor, customer lobby and reception areas of this private space to augment customer comfort. Additionally, the Company will also invest in interior branding, signage and innovative product display racks to emphasise the tyre offerings available with the channel partner.Besides enhancing the visibility and positioning of the brand, this model will also increase the channel partners’ share of wallet, the Company said.
CEAT has already launched two SIS retail outfits in Colombo and plans to complete four morebefore the close of 2023.
Meanwhile, the Company Invested Dealer Operatedor CIDO outlets are essentially CEAT flagship stores established around the island to create an exclusive space for the brand. CEAT CIDOs are designed to significantly enhance brand visibility, customer engagement, and crucially, the customer experience. As the name suggests, CEAT will invest in these outlets by providing tyre changing equipment in addition to the branding suite,the furniture and fixtures for these outlets.
CEAT Kelani Managing Director Ravi Dadlani said, “CEAT’s emergence as the top brand in Sri Lanka’s tyre sector is the result of substantial investments over several years that have seen not just exponential increases in volumes but expansion of the product range, the deployment of new technology and quantum improvements in quality.
It is therefore important that the visibility of the brand at the retail end as well as the customer experience, keep pace with, and do justice to, the brand’s growth. The SIS and CIDO concepts are part of that process.”
The joint venture’s cumulative investment in Sri Lanka to date exceeds Rs 8 billion, and another Rs 3.2 billion has been committed in 2022 for expansion of volumes, technology upgrades and new product development. The company’s manufacturing operations in Sri Lanka encompass tyres in the radial (passenger cars, vans and SUVs), commercial (nylon and radial), motorcycle, three-wheeler and agricultural vehicle segments.
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