This barely 30-year-old company has hardly ever seen a downturn since inception in 1987. Madhus Garage Equipments Pvt. Ltd. is the brain-child of Mr. Ravi B.M., now its Managing Director, his wife Mrs. Meera Ravi and a technician friend Mr. Anthony.
In the late 1980s when imports were banned Madhus had to treat each sale as a project – right from getting a customer, acquiring a licence for him, making a project report and filing it with the concerned Ministry, buying the equipment and installing it at the customers to training his personnel.
Times have changed now, and the GST which is soon coming into force is going to further ease business for Madhus, as well as for the industry.
Steadfast goal
For Mr. Ravi, Madhus’ vision is the same – be it 1987 or 2020. It remains closing the technological gap between the garage equipment used in India and the advanced Western world. His strategy is to cater to all brand segments in the country – be it Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Toyota, Mahindra and Tatas.
Mr. Ravi shares: “Our aim is to percolate down to the bottom of the pyramid so that our turnover goes up and we grow vertically. We want everyone to buy from Madhus.” Eyeing a turnover of Rs. 135 crores by 2020, Mr. Ravi is well aware of the tough challenges ahead.
Cost vs. Quality
Making customers understand the value of investing in quality products as against cheaper but low quality products has been a major concern for Madhus.
Mr. Ravi observes: “In India, the market is huge but people hesitate to invest and earn profits. The initial investment is considered a wasteful expenditure. Good quality equipment gives the owner repeatability, and customer satisfaction and good profits. But our customers also need to think the same.”
Though retaining roughly 70 per cent marketshare in the top segment, Madhus is faced with the challenge of reaching out to the untapped market with the latest technology.
Another challenge is the fluctuating foreign exchange rates since Madhus is mainly into importing equipment. Mr. Ravi admits: “Calculating the fluctuating cost into our price and assuring our customers of price stability is tough.”
Rolling with the punches is what Madhus does well. He accepts: We are sourcing locally to substitute import of certain non-performing components like trolley for the wheel aligners and computers and monitors for easy serviceability in the country. But nothing can be done about importing the actual equipment because the technology is totally different.”
For Madhus, the best strategy is to continue to offer top-notch servicing and maintain the quality of imports. “We are clear that we shall not dilute the quality by importing from countries like China or Taiwan. We have burnt our fingers before. The second focus area is to devise ways to service our 9,000-strong customer base because everyone wants servicing done yesterday,” he quips smilingly.
Madhus is also focused on selling more of the products already on board rather than adding to the bouquet.
All in all, Madhus Garage Equipments comes across as a determined youngster with an eye on vertical growth and becoming robust.
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