Indonesia's Motor Vehicles Sales Attract Sticker Producer Classic Stripes
Along with the increasing purchasing power of Indonesian people, purchases of motor vehicles (such as motorcycles and cars) in Indonesia, continue to grow. However, based on data from the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (AISI), motorcycle sales fell by 12 percent in 2012, from 8.01 million units in 2011 to 7.06 million units in 2012. One reason behind this fall was the implementation of new government policy regarding down payment requirements (which have been imposed on vehicle loans since mid-2012).
In early August 2013, the AISI predicted that sales of motorcycles in 2013 could be about 7.1 million units. A number that is not much different from last year's result. There are a few reasons behind this projection, including higher down payment requirements for motor purchases in Islamic financing, as well as the country's current high inflation rate (8.79 percent in August year-on-year).
Meanwhile, in the automotive sector of Indonesia, the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo) targets a car sales figure of 1.1 million car units in 2013. That number is also more or less the same as realized sales in 2012.
Despite a slight decrease in sales of motorcycles, Indonesia's domestic market potential for the sales of motorcycles and cars is still good. And this is why a sticker accessories manufacturer from India, Classic Stripes, has come to invest in Indonesia. Classic Stripes already has established markets in the Middle East, the United States, and Great Britain where it produces stickers for cars, motorcycles, and others.
The company set up a sticker factory in Bekasi, just outside Jakarta, with a size of 7,500 square meters. The company firmly believes that the high motor vehicle sales in Indonesia is a big market opportunity for them. The more motor vehicles are sold, the more stickers are produced.
The company has invested USD $5 million for the establishment of a sticker factory. In total, Classic Stripes is planning to increase its investments in Indonesia to more than USD $25 million. The sticker factory, which has already started production, uses the majority of its output (about 90 percent) to supply Japanese companies. For the last 25 years, Classic Stripes has been able to meet the standards set by Japanese companies such as Honda and Suzuki.
About 95 percent of its production figure of 2 million stickers per year is used for two-wheeled vehicles. This is not surprising as most motorcycles in Indonesia are Japanese brands. The remaining five percent of production is for four-wheeled vehicles or components. The company expects production capacity to reach 7 to 8 million stickers per year.
Even though the Indonesian domestic market has huge market potential, not all of Classic Stripes' production will be supplied to this market. Commissioner & Managing Director of Classic Stripes Kishore Musale said, in the next three years, the company will export about 50 percent of its total production. Export destination countries include Thailand and Vietnam, and perhaps Japan and the USA (despite the fact that the company already owns a sticker plant in the USA).
Based on information on their official website, Classic Stripes Private Limited (CSPL), established in 1987, is one of the largest manufacturers of automotive graphics in the world, with a production capacity of over 15 million automotive graphic sets per annum. Today, CSPL has a significant market share within the Indian automotive OEM printing industry.