Tyre sales up slightly in four Asean capital cities
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FOUR KEY CAPITALS across developing Asean countries saw marginal growth in car-tyre sales last year, according to market-research firm GfK.
The replacement tyre market for the capitals of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines increased slightly, by 2 per cent in volume, but decreased by 5 per cent in value, largely as a result of lower pricing due to the challenging market situation.
Indonesia’s performance was robust with an 11-per-cent surge in volume, but the other three markets sustained marginal improvement of less than 1 per cent.
“About 16 car-tyre brands entered the four tracked Asean countries last year, bringing the total to 106 from 90 in 2013,” Jasmine Lim, account director at the research house in Asia, said yesterday.
“The situation in the Philippines was most intense as the market saw the [entry] of over 10 brands competing for a piece of the pie that was not growing in size.”
An interesting observation was the rising focus and complexity within the 16-inch segment, which was already occupied by 60 brands.
There were seven new players last year, bringing with them more than 400 new model offerings for this particular diameter alone.
More than 6,000 automobile outlets across the tracked markets are facing the same challenging predicament stemming from this influx of contenders.
“At the end of the day, the beneficiaries are the consumers in these regions who got to purchase their 16-inch tyres for less, since average selling prices fell from US$123 [Bt4,010] to $115,” Lim said.
Auto retail outlets include tyre specialists, car-accessory shops, fast fitters and garages.
GfK also conducts retail audit tracking of replacement car tyres in key cities across other Asia-Pacific markets including China, Japan, India, Taiwan and South Korea.
The aggressive market means dealers have to be very vigilant and always prepared to cater to unexpected demand such as selectively stocking up on brands and stock-keeping units, allocating more storage space and expediting stock delivery times to avoid missing out on valuable opportunities.
“With such a competitive environment, it is essential for brands to monitor and understand consumer preferences when selecting car tyres, on top of effectively communicating their unique selling points – the key to maintaining and attracting new customers,” Lim said.
