Meet the 66 year old Italian Classic Icon – “The Vespa. Of Italy. Now in India”.
The Italian two- and three-wheeler maker Piaggio, is known in India mainly for its three-wheeler passenger and goods carriers and four-wheeler light trucks prominently seen in rural and semi-rural areas.
Taking a complete U turn, Piaggio has re-entered the fiercely competitive Indian two-wheeler segment with the Vespa 125. How does it position itself among the best-sellers like Honda Activa, Dio and Suzuki Access? More so, how does it sell itself with a price tag of nearly 40 % more than its nearest rival scooter? Really speaking, are there any takers for the retro style as expensive as Vespa?
Piaggio’s marketing strategy has put together the classic ageless iconic style with today’s functionality. It is trying to rejenuate the brand Vespa in India by making Indian customers take pride in its history and heritage. It is trying to build on the iconic status that Vespa enjoys worldwide. Vespa is being portrayed as a synonym of lifestyle. Not only all its ads talk about the ageless fashion and style of Vespa, but its promotional campaign “Once upon a Vespa” actually takes you through the entire journey of this Italian make. http://www.onceuponavespa.com/. The contest that it is running under this campaign is an example of high level interactive version of web we are living in. The creativity has touched yet another high. The extent of customer engagement that it attracts, I must say, is as good as compelling a customer to go through the brand heritage and successfully imbibe in him the essence of the brand.
However, I am doubtful how much it will sell only on its style quotient which is all built up and not really contemporary, although Vespa is being positioned historic as well as futuristic.
The company has set up a 150,000 units per annum capacity at Baramati, Maharashtra for the Vespa. It hopes to hit 12,000 units per month by October and also hopes to double the sales in its near future.
So, let’s wait and watch the retro rebirth!
