Triumphant return of Brit heritage

Thailand News - Motoring - Friday December 07, 2007

INTERVIEW / DOM HETRAKUL

Triumphant return of Brit heritage

British motorcycle Triumph is comfortably positioned to win sales over its pricier counterparts from Italy and Germany. Brit Bike, the authorised and sole distributor, is convinced it can win hearts of city-car drivers in the near future

ALFRED THA HLA

Dom Hetrakul is the managing director of Brit Bike which is the official distributing arm of British-made Triumph motorcycles in Thailand.

And the man believes that he just might be able to compete with the automobile industry by converting city-car drivers to the 124-year heritage of Triumph motorcycles.

Yes, the same Dom as in movie star, scion of the well-known Hetrakul family which owns the second-largest Thai newspaper called Daily News, and presumably your typical spoilt rich kid with money to burn.

This interview could be rough. Well, at least I have veteran Bangkok Post photographer Kosol on my side in case things turn ugly.

We park at RCA off Rama IX Road upon seeing a blue Triumph logo which is the headquarters of Brit Bike. Nice two-storey setup with a handful of Triumph motorcycles and accessories parked in its showroom sitting next to an aftersales service shop.

Dom's on time to the dot as he breezes in with his big bike. Ignores the writer and Kosol as he answers his mobile. So we wait.

But the initial impressions of what I thought Dom would turn out to be just disappeared in an instant.

He greets all older employees with a traditional wai gesture. Managing directors who initiate the wai are far and few in between, it's usually the other way around. Still waiting.

After the necessary schmoozing and talking to employees, Dom scrambled right back in to the showroom to apologise for the misunderstanding. He thought yours truly and Kosol were customers. Cool dude!

The self-effacing Dom is seriously in touch with the real world and knows his bikes as he explained Triumph in Thailand:

"Triumph motorcycles [of the new era] were sold in Thailand since 1996, but the original showroom was in front of the Supachalasai National Sports Stadium. But the 1997 economic crisis forced Triumph out of business."

Before Brit Bike, Dom was approached by Apichat Leenuthapong (Motoring, Sept 29, 2006) in 2003 to become a shareholder in a joint venture called Ducatisti which is the official distributor of Ducati motorcycles.

On the issue of conflict of interest between Triumph and Ducati, the latter usually referred to as the Ferrari of motorcycles, Dom said:

"Triumph is positioned lower than Ducati. It doesn't compete because of the price difference. Among Harley Davidsons, BMW or Ducati, I am the price leader in terms of pricing stability and we are cheaper by 15 to 50%."

Initially Brit Bike was to include Dom's father, Pracha Hetrakul the longest serving editor of Daily News and chairman of the Executive Committee of the Si Phya Publishing, as an investor. But a change of plans saw Dom take on this project by himself.

"I sold my Harley Davidson to establish Brit Bike," he recalled as he nonchalantly dismissed the rich kid image. "I didn't have enough funds. The last time I received pocket money from my father was the day I received my bachelor's degree at Mahidol University in 1998."

Brit Bike is a turn-key operation which means it is an integrated business prepped to handle sales, aftersales service and appointment of dealerships.

Brit Bike officially opened for business on Apr 9 this year and will appoint eight dealerships by 2012. Registered sales are expected to be 36 units on estimated revenue of B22m by year's end.

Regarding the visible Triumph factory on the right side of the motorway heading to Chon Buri, Dom said: "One Triumph factory (UK) burned down in 2002, so assembly lines were relocated to Thailand for export only."

Current Triumph line-up for Thailand includes:

- Price range of B510,000-585,000 for 900cc air-ventilated double-exhaust Classic models such as the Bonneville, Scrambler, America, Thruxton and Speed Master.

- The Urban Sports range or superbikes which have a three-cylinder configuration EFI with water-cooled radiator and over 100hp such as the 675cc and 1,050cc variants of the Daytona priced at B580,000 to B780,000.

- The range topper is the Cruiser segment with 2,300cc 140hp three-cylinder liquid-cooled inline called the Rocket III (parked in Chiang Mai).

Triumph customer profile is mid- to high-end which ranges from managers to supervisors, thanks to an in-house leasing programme.

Dom's image as a biker has remained since his teens right up to the mature age of a 31-year-old married man. He still ride bikes.

"I bring experience and knowledge of a consumer (I learnt a lot from Apichat who gave me the opportunity to serve on the board of Ducatisti) and this is what I bring to Brit Bike," pausing as he noted that sales exclusivity is not an issue for Triumph. "I compete with Japanese brands so the more sales the better."

So how did Dom get in touch with his first motorbike?

"I was 14 and noticed how motorcycle taxis negotiated their way around traffic. Nice. But then one day at the intersection I saw this big bike which looked really nice and that was all it took.

"My driver's motorcycle. Popped the clutch, accelerate, get a feel for it. Fell all the time. People say you have to fall down to drive a motorcycle, but it's not true. I was extremely lucky. Some fall down and never come back. You can be good by training and understanding the concept of proper riding."

Sources claim that Dom's parents pleaded with Dom and tried bribing him with a car in exchange for the Harley Davidson he purchased with his own money. Didn't work.

So Dom's the perfect brand ambassador for Triumph motorcycles and wants to bring back a certain classic sensation in order to create brand loyalty, and sales naturally.

But will he ever get the call from his father or Daily News to perform his duty, so to speak?

"No. I don't see it. My generation is more than capable of working and steering Daily News into the future. My grandfather (Saeng Hetrakul) founded it in 1964 and he literally did everything."

But if Dom wants to prove anything to the world, then it's probably to his father, as he admited:

"I live in my own house with my family. I don't want an opulent lifestyle, but I want my father to see that I can do it. Before he came to where he is right now, he drove around 73 provinces to visit the market and distributors. He came from grass roots as well. Why can't I do what he did?"

So what does Dom want to achieve with Triumph?

"People either stereotype big bikes as a rich man's toy or motorcyclists who have no money. I want to erase these two stereotypes. It's not a toy, but my personal mode of transportation."

And stealing market share from city-cars?

He was dead serious because in 4-5 years time once Triumph population grows, Brit Bike will introduce a trade-in motorcycle programme and woo city-car drivers.

Bangkok Post