The emerging conditions of meta-modernism: an observation-based interpretivist perspective on the curious case of Royal Enfield

The paper aims to propose the emerging conditions Meta-modernism through an observation based, interpretivist perspective on Royal Enfield, an erstwhile iconic British motorcycle manufacturer from Redditch, England. The company went out of business in the UK, however, what remained of the company was a single functioning manufacturing plant in India, which was established in 1955. The company was saved from disappearing all together in 1994 by Eicher Group (a diverse automotive firm, better known as the manufacturer for Eicher Mitsubishi trucks in India). Fast-forward to 2015, at a time when the entire motorcycle industry in India is struggling (overall motorcycle sales in India were down 4.06 per cent during April to September 2015), Royal Enfield defied the trend by posting over 50 per cent sales growth during the April-September 2015 period (Doval, 2015; economictimes.indiatimes.com, 2015). This paper explores the authors’ perspective over some of the Marketing methods that attempts to propose possible reasons behind Royal Enfield, today, boasting a ‘niche’ bike manufacturer image not just in its home market of India but again: globally. Market segmentation is to understate the cult following the company has in terms of fans and enthusiasts of the brand and the product. Hence the paper unashamedly and in line with the meta-modernist view, revisits the concepts of post-modernism and tribe and seeks to gain insight into phenomena through this lens, attempting to explain and justify the use of culture, heritage, tribes and a disruptive marketing ‘campaign’ by a company which was on the brink of collapse, but has recently raced past Harley Davidson in terms of global sales.

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