Over the years, Nigerians have battled with the issue of bad roads but thanks to the birth of Asahi Brands by Kelwaram Chanrai and Fareast Mercantile in Nigeria, vehicle owners can now heave a sigh of relief.

In a chat with Ajit Tyagi, Managing Director of Asahi Brands, he explained that the Japanese came with new business model as a one-stop shop that will sell vehicle accessories in Nigeria, particularly tyres that can survive the weather. Princewill Ekwujuru reports.

What informed Japan’s decision to bring its businesses under one roof?

The two companies were existing as competitors before, but have come together to get a wider reach and offer solutions to the transport market.  Asahi Brands started operations in October 2011. We know the potential of the Nigerian market as far as automobile accessories are concerned which include tyres and we acknowledge that quality matters to Nigerian consumers.

Coming from the same company, we will now do justice to the needs of consumers with these two brands. We will attempt to increase our reach by using the two different distribution networks previously managed by the company, to give consumers the best. We want to be a one-stop shop for the haulage companies and transporters. This will equally expose other products which people do not know.

What confidence do you have in the Nigerian business environment?

Both groups have been in Nigeria for many years dealing in different products. The management team understands the Nigerian environment very well. We understand that Nigerian consumers require quality. If customers understand quality, then the brands have to improve further to be at par with requirement.

*Ajit Tyagi

The demand for quality is good for the customers and the brands. The clients have to be on their toes to satisfy the customers or the clients lose out.

Do you have the intention of establishing a tyre manufacturing plant here?

It is possible to establish a plant in Nigeria for tyre manufacturing. But looking at the infrastructure situation, it is not adequate for Firestone or Bridgestone to bring manufacturing facility to Nigeria now because it is not a small project.

Though the demand for tyre in Nigeria is huge, but the infrastructure is not adequate to support manufacturing. Considering the technology of tyre manufacturing, it is not easy to set up a plant for tyre manufacturing very fast. Bridgestone is not new here. We have been representing the brand since 1976. It is improving its products worldwide which requires research and development.

What are your marketing strategies for surviving the Nigerian market?

To protect our business environment, Bridgestone is very supportive and they support us in terms of different requirements such as vehicle usage. Nigeria is hot and tyres have to be rugged and strong to survive the weather. Bridgestone expertise has been producing tyres for the environment.

As a motorist, you want to be sure that you are safe with tyres and we are confident that Bridgestone provides strong tyres that meet customers’ expectations. When the consumers see the quality of our products, they will patronise us and we will survive in the market.

Today, the customer is becoming quite choosy. We do not want to use many shopping places; we want to use one shop where customers can pick up entire vehicle needs. So we want to be that shop where the transporters, the construction companies choose as their one-stop shop.

We are supported by eight branches and the redistribution network  throughout the country within eight big towns including Lagos and we have about 15 tyre service centres dedicated to Bridgestone only within Nigeria and we cover more than 175 key customers who take deliveries from our companies directly within Nigeria.

We also have key transport institutions taking supplies directly from us and we take care of their haulage.

How supportive is your company to federal agencies to check the influx second-hand tyres?

We have always partnered with SON to ensure that second-hand tyres do not come into this country because of the dangers they pose. Our prices are affordable for motorists. Though affordability is fine but durability, strong and safety of the tyres are more important to us.

Our tyres are aligned to Nigerian weather.  Those who buy cheap and second-hand tyres should know that cheap is costly. We want to be committed to our customers. The merger between Firestone and Bridgestone gives me the option to serve the customers better.