Anand automotive group looks to double retail revenue

CHENNAI - The Rs.4,200 crore automotive component group Anand is planning to double its retail sales to Rs.700 crores within two years, a company official said.

“It is part of overall group strategy of doubling the turnover, investing Rs.1,400 crore. We will grow both organically and inorganically to add more products so that the after market (retail) sales also doubles to Rs.700 crore in two years time,” Anand Automotive Systems Ltd’s vice president (Marketing), Sachin Puri, told IANS.

The group is in discussions with various parties to add new product lines, he said, declining to specify the product segments.

“Some of our companies are growing 100 percent in the after market segment, and some are logging slow growth. Some of our products are supplied only to automobile makers and not in the retail market,” Puri said.

Puri said the basic challenge for automotive ancillaries is accessing small towns, where the market is growing.

“Depth of coverage and logistics are going to be major challenges for companies,” he said.

He said the group will also be investing a sizeable sum in information technology, including mobile technology, to track retail sales as well as employee performance.

The automotive ancillary retailers will get a boost from the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Puri said.

“The industry will see consolidation,” he added.

Organised players will also get into the remanufactured/refurbishing of old components which can be certified by the company as a ‘near new’ product, Puri said.

The Anand group comprises of 19 companies, many of which are joint ventures with foreign companies. It supplies auto components like shock absorbers, front forks, struts, air filters, exhaust systems, catalytic converters and manual break adjustors, among others.