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INDIA
Balaji Traders have been operating as a Midas distributor for the last two decades and are responsible for marketing the Midas range in the Delhi market, with walk-in customers pouring in from neighboring North Indian states.
“We are selling 50 tons of tread rubber per month in the Delhi area and in adjoining states bordering Delhi. We used to sell around 100 tons of tread rubber per month but post GST introduction in the country, volumes dropped to half in last few years,” informed D Shyam of Sri Balaji Traders.
According to him around 40,000 tyres are being retreaded in Delhi and satellite towns adjoining the country’s Capital and about 200 tons of tread rubber is consumed in this market.
The drop in sales post GST was due to earlier sales tax differentials in various states. Delhi enjoyed the lowest sales tax of 5% at that time, and a lot of customers from other states where sales tax was high sourced product from Delhi based distributors, thus leading to high volumes at that time.
“Now post-GST implementation the tax structure is now unified and there is no difference in tax rates in any market, therefore those customers are lost,” explained Shyam. Sri Balaji Traders also sells bonding gum, cushion gum, solutions, accessories and patches.
Midas carries good brand recall value in the market as customers regularly ask for the Midas brand. “The product is very good, people are aware of Midas quality and there is no after sales claims with the whole Midas range,” he said.
Improving road infrastructure and strict loading norms, impacting the retreading sector positively, are increasing the life cycle of tyres. “New tyres give a mileage of 100,000 km, whereas, Midas tread performs like new tyre and offers mileage of in between 80,000 to 100,000 km,” claimed Shyam. “Therefore, the trend is now increasingly shifting towards buying tyres that can be retreaded multiple times instead of low-priced new tyres.” Meanwhile, another Delhi-based distributor Prem Chaddha of V R Enterprises has almost 16-years
association with Midas
and is also marketing the Kottayam headquartered company’s product range
in the Delhi market. It
also operates a parallel distribution named Midas Corporation based in
Chandigarh to market the
range in the Northern
state of Himachal Pradesh
and around Chandigarh.
“We are maintaining a
monthly average of in-
between 45-50 tons
depending on the
demand from the market. Though the competition is tough, with almost all the major brands having clientele in our market, Midas has quality and supports us every way,” said Prem Chaddha of V R Enterprises.
When asked how Midas supports the distributor and customer, the only woman functioning as tread rubber distributor in North India explained; “Midas offers a wide product range suited to all kinds of clients, maintains strict quality control measures, and customises products as per requirements. If there is a
D Shyam of Sri Balaji Traders
complaint, it resolved as a priority, and the product is replaced.”
V R Enterprises markets the whole range of Midas Tread including Midas Mileage (popular Range), Panam (competitive range) and hi-end ranges such as Midas Arcus, Midas Green and Midas Double Green. The company also markets Midas cushion gum, solutions, curing bags and envelopes.