Apollo Tyres is expecting 50 per cent increase in export revenue from Asia Pacific, West Asia and North African markets in this fiscal, according to President Satish Sharma.
The region contributes around 11 per cent of the company’s turnover of ₹8,507 crore (2012-13). “Our spade work for nearly two years in these markets will start yielding results from this quarter,” Sharma said.
He is particularly bullish about the company’s prospects in the developed tyre markets of West Asia and the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries, where realisation is higher than the Indian markets due to higher prices and lower cost of distribution. Having put up a sales outfit in Thailand last year, Apollo has now set up its own dealership network with 18 people on ground. The marketing structure is the same as in India and does not involve any intermediary, Sharma said referring it as a breakthrough.
While the company nurtures a long term dream of setting up manufacturing base in ASEAN, so as to further reduce the cost of distribution, Apollo claims its competitively priced truck bus radials, are doing “exceedingly well” in the Philippines. “We developed specific product for these competitive markets. They are used in riding a Volvo, Mercedes or Hino,” Sharma said to underscore that his export strategy is independent of sales of Indian commercial vehicles in these markets.