[rookieraj]

I wonder if Mr Munjal's personal equation with Tiger has anything to do with this deal. Last year he supposedly paid a miilion dollars to Tiger to play 18 holes with him in the Delhi Golf Course. While Mr Munjal was a constant fixture in the four ball, celebrities, politicians and other pro golfers were rotated every three holes.

[libranof1987]

What baffles me most about this is, golf isn't even seen so much as a macho sport. It is more for businessmen to strike deals and the "been-there-done-it-all" to laze around.

If they're looking at Tiger Woods to help them make Hero popular in the US, that'll probably do more harm than good.

[Nithesh_M]

The only thing that i am still pissed about is Hero's lack of ability to setup local R&D facility and hire young engineers for its own future. This jump from Honda to EBR still leaves a big void in the local context. But then again, major R&Ds for all Indian automotive brands come from Japan or Italy. I've never managed to grasp my head around this disparity, despite this country shelling out so many engineers in design, analysis and assembly divisions annually.

[amit_purohit20]

Originally Posted by GTO

Must say, Hero MotoCorp sure is pushing all the right buttons in terms of publicity. They're on a roll ever since the divorce with Honda. Lets not forget that, in 2013 WITHOUT Honda, Hero recorded its best ever annual sales.

Agree

They showcased a wide range of bikes at the Expo, is beefing up its export presence, just announced two new plants internationally, acquired a good stake in Buell motorcycles etc. etc. And now, they get one of the biggest sports celebrities as their brand ambassador.

I think they should have their bikes lined up first and then based on the time when the products are ready and in market chosen the right person to advertise.

Munjals are known to spend a lot on sponsoring golf. They are not famous for sponsoring andy Automotive events or sports.

Our favourite Dilip Bam has also pointed this out repeatedly and sponsoring golf has not helped them sell a single additional Hero bike.

Their bikes are selling like hot cakes because of the good will earned through Durability of Hero-Honda products in the last few decades.

I do not think Tiger Woods gels with their automotive portfolio.Neither is golf considered to be a sport which pump ones adrenaline rush nor does the sport symbolize Power or speed. Hmm just my two cents.

If we are talking about how nicely Munjals could squeeze a deal with Tiger Woods after his infamous scandals then its a different topic altogether.

Post the separation from Honda, Hero is doing a lot, lot better than most people predicted they would. Good show!

Agree but too early to conclude. The right thing which they have done is by getting into partnerships with Eric Buell and Magneti Marelli thus having access to engine know how and also complex electronics to assist modern engines.

I sincerely hope Hero can bring up low to medium end products with high quality and engineering and gain substantial market share in international market.

[ashwin.terminat]

After Tiger Woods, TOI reported that Hero plans on roping in Cristiano Ronaldo or James Rodriguez as global ambassadors!

Hero is on a roll in the marketing domain, but they really, really need some new designers!

[rookieraj]

Let us look at it this way. Hero currently exports to 20 odd countries and by 2020 plans to export to 50 countries. It plans to enter the European market next year followed by the US and Brazil by 2016. Its entry in Brazil will coincide with the 2016 Rio Olympics in which Golf is being introduced as a competitive sport. Tiger has made no bones about his ambition of playing at Rio for his country. If he does manage to represent the US at Rio, it will bring Hero a lot of eyeballs. Even if he doesn't win, he will grab enough headlines.

For those of us who enjoy our rounds of golf and follow the sport, know better than to write off Tiger. He has had a wretched 2014 but 2013 was super - 5 wins and 3 top-10s out of 16 events played on the PGA Tour and he was adjudged the PGA Tour Player that year. He is big. Really big - especially in the US and Europe. Consider this, Fort Worth in Texas alone has half a million active golfers, the same number that play in the whole of India!

When Hero split from Honda a few years ago, many were predicting doom for the company. A few years hence, Hero outsells its more illustrious former partner in India. Mr Munjal surely knows his business. He is even sponsoring the golf tournament which Tiger hosts annually and which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. At approximately 50 crores a year for the next four years Hero has got a good deal with Tiger. Now only if they made some motorcycles which wouldn't make a 40 year old look vain.

[rajneeesh]

I once met Senior guy from Hero Motors professionally ( since the company I work for has the advertising rights at the Delhi & Mumbai airports and asked them about advertising at the Airports.

The response was " humara customer by air travel nahi karta hai" .
Well a Hero customer does not travel by air but can relate to Tiger Woods and Golf. I find it a bit strange. Mabye its Mr. Munjal's interest in Golf which has made them sign up Tiger Woods.

[kumarshah]

Originally Posted by rookieraj

Let us look at it this way. Hero currently exports to 20 odd countries and by 2020 plans to export to 50 countries. It plans to enter the European market next year followed by the US and Brazil by 2016. Its entry in Brazil will coincide with the 2016 Rio Olympics in which Golf is being introduced as a competitive sport. Tiger has made no bones about his ambition of playing at Rio for his country. If he does manage to represent the US at Rio, it will bring Hero a lot of eyeballs. Even if he doesn't win, he will grab enough headlines.

For those of us who enjoy our rounds of golf and follow the sport, know better than to write off Tiger. He has had a wretched 2014 but 2013 was super - 5 wins and 3 top-10s out of 16 events played on the PGA Tour and he was adjudged the PGA Tour Player that year. He is big. Really big - especially in the US and Europe. Consider this, Fort Worth in Texas alone has half a million active golfers, the same number that play in the whole of India!

When Hero split from Honda a few years ago, many were predicting doom for the company. A few years hence, Hero outsells its more illustrious former partner in India. Mr Munjal surely knows his business. He is even sponsoring the golf tournament which Tiger hosts annually and which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. At approximately 50 crores a year for the next four years Hero has got a good deal with Tiger. Now only if they made some motorcycles which wouldn't make a 40 year old look vain.

Let me just say that not all the Hero dealers would agree. While Tiger might be good for the global brand, golf players are not Hero customers in India. If you compare just the major urban areas in India, Honda has a larger market share than Hero. Hero's strength right now comes on the back of their rural network which now Honda has also started building out.

I am pretty sure Mr. Munjal spends most of his time outside India now. There has been no replacement for Anil Dua (Sr. VP of Sales and Marketing) yet. The next two years are the most important years for Hero. If they can focus and get through that whle affecting Honda's hold on the Scooter segment, their position in India is firm. On the flip side, if the focus is lost Honda will be creeping up to Hero very quickly.

[Mafia]

Why!?

Golf - Tiger Woods - Scandal - India -Motorcycles

Not a great mix. Lets hope whatever it is works for Hero. Expect Tiger limited edition sticker jobs to be released soon

[Ricci]

Given that golf has very little following in India and the minuscule number of golf players by percentage or numbers across India, and few of them would be customers for Hero , this can only hint at global - but I suspect more toward South America and perhaps Latin/East European aspirations.

Maybe Hero predicts worse economic conditions will bring more Europeans to adopt two wheels of lower displacement that Hero makes, or will make based on their concepts and tie-ups with foreign partners.