AN INDIAN HERO IN EUROPE

HERO CYCLES, INDIA’S BIGGEST BICYCLE MAKER, HAS SET ITS EYES ON THE E-BIKE MARKET. BUT IT IS ITS FORAY INTO EUROPE WHICH HOLDS THE KEY TO FUTURE GROWTH

-  KRISHNA GOPALAN

PANKAJ MUNJAL HAS A PREDICTABLE ROUTE TO WORK EACH MORNING. IT IS A SEVEN-MINUTE WALK AND GETS A LITTLE LONGER IF HE DECIDES TO STOP BY TO PICK UP SOME COFFEE AT AN OUTLET EN ROUTE. HE RARELY CALLS FOR A CAR UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.

Just before you start wondering if all this is true, let’s get to the point. The man spends most of his time—at least nine months a year—in London. It is for a strategic reason since it is the prefect locale given his desire to get a large chunk of the European e-bike market. While he walks to work, evenings and weekends are reserved for e-bike rides. That’s how much he loves his own business and what he makes. As Chairman and Managing Director of Hero Cycles, Munjal sees a huge opportunity in the continent since the market is fragmented and most governments are pushing the cause of this more environment-friendly mobility option. “We are already among the top five brands in Europe and there is tremendous room for growth,” he says, over a Zoom call from his Ludhiana factory where he is parked for a couple of days.

For FY21, he reveals (the unlisted Hero Cycles has not filed its numbers yet), exports alone brought in ₹700 crore. Most of that comes from Europe and is up 2X from the previous financial year. “There is no reason why we will not hit €200 million [over ₹1,700 crore] from exports over the next couple of years,” he says, with absolute calmness. If those numbers sound ambitious, it must be borne in mind that Munjal has quietly gone about cracking the European market over at least six years. That perseverance is paying off.

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