India will make up 15% of our turnover in 5 years: Tonino Lamborghini CEO

No longer associated with the iconic car, Ferrucio Lamborghini and family are focussing on lifestyle products instead. But he still has one foot in auto and has set up a JV to make electric golf carts

Although the name Lamborghini is associated with the iconic car, the successors of the brand-maker Ferruccio Lamborghini, have quit that business and are focussing on lifestyle and other verticals instead. In a conversation with Avishek Rakshit, CEO & vice president of Tonino Lamborghini Company, Ferrucio Lamborghini, the namesake grandson of the founder, said he has his hopes set high for the Indian market. Edited excerpts.

Currently, there is a slowdown in India. The core sector is down and GDP has been revised downward. Is it a good time to enter the country?

We think that with the right approach, we can achieve the results we are looking for. We want to enter and establish a long-term presence in India, which is a priority market for us.

You are stepping into India first with a beverage line. What kind of presence are you looking at?

The distribution will be through HoReCa (Hotels, restaurants and cafes) channels, but we are also thinking of a presence in some marts, particularly for the energy drink and coffee. Our strategy is to promote our brand as a luxury, offering available at an affordable price.

I think both the channels are very easy to approach. For vodka, we know that the mart is not as easy as HoReCa, but we are not afraid of it. We are the only brand that can deliver both vodka and energy drinks under the same banner. So, using our marketing tool, we can build on this strength.

We have not yet finalised the place of the initial launch but will target mature markets like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Pune. Hyderabad is also in the radar.

What’s your India strategy for such niche luxury brands?

The strategy which we have globally is also being applied in India. With energy drink and coffee, and our luxury proposition, we want to enter the houses and lives of several customers. We want to create more fans of the brand who will then reach out to our other products, which are not as affordable as the coffee or the energy drink.

You aren't part of Automobili Lamborghini anymore. What are your plans for cars?

We, as Tonino Lamborghini Company, are nowadays not involved with the Lamborghini car company; we are a separate entity and Lamborghini cars is now owned by the Volkswagen Group. We know that many customers associate us with cars even though we are not there anymore.

In India, we have already signed the agreement with Kinetic Group to set up a joint venture for manufacturing electric golf carts and sometime in 2020, we will disclose the way forward. Within the first six months of 2020, we will be ready with the first range. We have a 25 per cent stake in that joint venture.

For the golf carts business, I think India can be 10-15 per cent of our turnover from the first year of operations itself.

What other branded products are you planning to introduce to India?

I cannot disclose much at the moment, but watches are coming very soon.

Do you intend to introduce your entire brand portfolio in India?

That’s the aim. Some of the products will be more attractive to the Indian consumer, others may take some time to be introduced. We aim to have as big a portfolio in India as possible. Our goal is that India will contribute 15 per cent to our total turnover in the next five years.

Do you intend to build a team for India and appoint a CEO here?

At this stage, I am not keen of creating a sister company of Tonino Lamborghini in India.