Juli Ann M. Sibi
UP Cebu Intern
CHINESE motorcycle brand Skygo is opening 20 more branches in the Visayas and Mindanao before the year ends as part of its aggressive expansion program.
Skygo Philippines is also opening a new assembly factory in Mindanao. Its expansion will bring its network to over 100 branches nationwide, said president and chief executive officer David King.
He said they will strengthen their independent business partners (IBPs) to support the expansion.
“The key to this expansion is really empowering our IBPs because they are the main reason for the growth of the company in the past two years,” King said during the launching of the IBP Summit 2015 last July 15.
As of this year, there are over 6,000 agents in the Visayas and Mindanao. By the end of the year, Skygo is expecting 4,000 more agents, with an increase of 20 percent in national sales.
Kheneth Habel, agency development manager for IBP, said that IBPs comprise the core of the company’s strategy. The IBP program made roughly 50 percent of the company’s total sales in the first half of 2015.
“With this, we aim to strengthen the IBP program by creating more incentives for our IBPs and allowing them to manage their own branches,” said Habel.
She added that the IBP program allows Skygo to sell their motorcycles through individuals who serve as agents. The agents will then sell Skygo motorcycles and also aim to gather more recruits to gain more of the new incentives.
Among the incentives, aside from a high pay, are having their own motorcycle and being able to manage their own branch.
King said developing the IBP program is part of its inclusive growth strategy.
He added that this is in line with their observations that the country’s motorcycle market is leaning towards a personalized motorcycle experience, as the Philippines has a growing middle class.
“Our Pony is the most customizable bike, a bike that was proposed by IBPs and it is selling very fast, especially among the IBPs. This means that our IBPs truly know what our market needs,” said Ryan Tan Yu, product development officer of Skygo.
Yu added that this is an effect of prioritizing inclusive growth. Inclusive growth is one of the four core strategies that Skygo is employing to sustain the company up to the year 2020.
“Aside from inclusive growth, by 2020, we aim to make Skygo sustainable by aligning our brand with over 80 Skygo brands in the world, creating a commitment to providing spare parts and better services, and most of all, creating unique models truly designed for the Filipino market,” said King.