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NEPAL
Bishnu Hari Acharya, Executive Director, Kantipur Cold Retread (Pvt) Ltd
Rameshwar Pokharel, Managing Director, New Gandakey Tyre & Tread at Pokhara
Annapurna and Manaslu are within approximately 35 miles of the valley. Currently, the retreading market is down due to demonetisation of high value currency notes in India, as Nepalese economic fortunes are closely tied with India. “We are now retreading around 200 tyres each month. We used to retread around 500 tyres in this plant in the period from 1995 -2000, when few retreaders were around and tyres came from as far as 60 km away from areas like Gorkha, Dumari, Damauli, Baglung etc,” he stated. “But now retread shops have opened in these areas. Even now few tyres comes from outside and the majority of them come from the Pokhara market.’
New Gandakey is a market leader in Pokhara in terms of volume and price. “We are the one doing quality retreading with the best rubber and equipment. Therefore, our prices are also high,” he claimed. The company retreads a 900/20 tyre size for 9,300 Nepalese Rupees whereas the closest competitor charges 8,500 Nepalese Rupees for the same size. There are others who even charge less. “We are expensive and still survive in a low volume price sensitive market, which indicates people are willing to pay good prices for a quality product,” he stressed.
The Gandakey Group has aggressive marketing plans to improve volumes that are planned to be introduced after the Nepali New Year starting from April 13. “We will soon launching different schemes with scratch coupons, so if a tyre is retreaded with us once, the second retread will be discounted by 5, 10 , 15 per cent or even with a free retread service,” he explained. The company is also planning to distribute promotional materials such as t-shirts, calendars, key chains and posters at various locations to attract new clients and for the benefit of existing clients. Recently, Gandakey has carried out a pan-Nepal road show in which an SUV with retreaded tyres mounted on it was moved through-out the country and displayed at key transport hubs to convince fleet owners to retread at one of its nearest retread plants. The company is
planning a second road show later this year.
The retreader is expecting a jump in sales with the planned marketing drive. “We are expecting a 15-20 per cent improvement in volumes, which would be a conservative figure considering the small Nepalese market,” he said. Gandakey Group
has 12 plants in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Pokhara, Hetauda, Dang, Narayanghat, Butwal, Bardibas,
Banke, Dhangadhi, Itahari and Birtamod respectively. Each of the 12 plants produces in the region of 2,500 tyres each month and consumes about 25 tonnes of tread
rubber monthly.
The Group has recently shifted its Kathmandu plant to a new location. “We have shifted to a location on the Prithvi Highway that connects
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