Maruti's Arena will pamper mass buyers
The company knows reimagining existing showrooms won't be easy; so it is working hard to ensure minimum disruptions
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After establishing Nexa as the dominant retail channel for selling premium vehicles, Maruti Suzuki is overhauling its distribution channel for mass market like Alto, WagonR and Swift. Showrooms for these models models will now operate under the brand Arena. The move to revamp its mass distribution network is driven by the need to give a signal to the mass buyer — who continues to drive volumes for the car maker — that she is as important to the company as the Nexa buyer. The company is hoping that a delightful consumer experience will help increase the ticket size for every walk-in.
R.S. Kalsi, senior executive director, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki says that even as the company was rolling out the Nexa network in 2015, it faced questions such as whether the car maker’s existing customer base was not important to the company and why was a superior buying experience being extended to the new-age buyer alone? “Even during the Nexa network launch, we were clear that going forward, we would reinvent our product line and buying experience for customers opting for our mass products. Mass models account for 80 per cent of the company’s total sales – which is critical to sustain volumes. The customers in this segment are as important to us as Nexa buyers,” says Kalsi.
The car maker has unveiled its first Arena showroom at the Indraprastha metro station, Delhi. The company plans to set up another 80 Arena dealerships over the next five months. Currently, Maruti has 2,050 showrooms across 1,683 cities. Depending on the size and space, each Arena dealership would be redesigned or constructed anew at an average cost of Rs 1-1.5 crore. If Nexa was Maruti Suzuki’s gateway to reach out to an evolved and discerning customer who did not consider the car maker while scouting for a premium vehicle, Arena is targeted at first time buyers who are both demanding and value conscious and are willing to pay a premium for a more stylish, feature-rich and technologically advanced product.
R.S. Kalsi, senior executive director, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki says that even as the company was rolling out the Nexa network in 2015, it faced questions such as whether the car maker’s existing customer base was not important to the company and why was a superior buying experience being extended to the new-age buyer alone? “Even during the Nexa network launch, we were clear that going forward, we would reinvent our product line and buying experience for customers opting for our mass products. Mass models account for 80 per cent of the company’s total sales – which is critical to sustain volumes. The customers in this segment are as important to us as Nexa buyers,” says Kalsi.
The car maker has unveiled its first Arena showroom at the Indraprastha metro station, Delhi. The company plans to set up another 80 Arena dealerships over the next five months. Currently, Maruti has 2,050 showrooms across 1,683 cities. Depending on the size and space, each Arena dealership would be redesigned or constructed anew at an average cost of Rs 1-1.5 crore. If Nexa was Maruti Suzuki’s gateway to reach out to an evolved and discerning customer who did not consider the car maker while scouting for a premium vehicle, Arena is targeted at first time buyers who are both demanding and value conscious and are willing to pay a premium for a more stylish, feature-rich and technologically advanced product.