According to the company, the early indications of Macho sales augers well. While the production in April '99 was 5,000 units, the company claims that it has already sold about 7,500 units in June, and plans to ramp up production to 10,000 by July. By the end of this year, it plans to take the production up to 20,000 per month.

``We see a boom happening in the youth segment and anticipate a growth of more than 25 per cent per annum in the segment this year,'' says Rajiv Kapur, deputy vice-president, Atlas. The youth or fancy cycle segment as it is called, constitutes about 35 per cent of the total cycle market and is considered to be the fastest growing segment. TI Cycles, is leading the segment with a 50 per cent market share, followed by Hero Cycles andAtlas who both have 25 per cent market share in this segment. With the launch of Macho, Atlas expects to take its marketshare to 30-35 per cent in this segment, by the end of the current financial year.

Launched in April this year, Macho is positioned as the `first bike with power brakes' and boasts of some `first-ever' features such as a specially designed linear pull `V'-brakes for enhanced braking efficiency, thick oversize tubing for rugged endurance riding and ergonomically designed multi-position handle.

Priced at Rs 1,965, Macho is being sold through the company's strong 3,000-dealer network. ``It's a high potential product and competition is lagging far behind in any of the features in the bike,'' says Kapur. Atlas expects the product to take the company's turnover to Rs 350 crore from the current Rs 320 crore.

``Subsequently we are increasing our capacity and putting three shifts to produce these bikes,'' says Kapur. Next month, Atlas will launch a revised version of the same bike with 15gears, in addition to a deluxe model with advanced features. Apart from the Macho range, the company is planning to introduce three more cycles in the youth and children segment by the end of 1999. While one will be a trainer wheeler for three-year-old girls (launch: September 1999), the other two will cater to teenagers.

Meanwhile, competitor Hero Cycles, which claims to have a 52 per cent market share of the total cycle market, does not intend to bring a power brake cycle in the market. ``We don't think such a product is suitable in India given the condition of roads and very high maintenance costs,'' says P Khanna, DGM, co-ordination, Hero Cycles.

The company had launched a multi-speed cycle branded Ranger in October 1998 which is currently being endorsed by the teenage heart throb Rani Mukherjee. Atlas, which has earmarked an ad-budget of Rs 1 crore for Macho does not intend to go for celebrity-endorsements immediately. It, however, is studying that option and has commissioned research in this regard.It ran a national campaign created by Amirati Puris Lintas-which hinged mainly on youth attitude and created aspiration-both in print and on TV in April and May 1999. It now plans to repeat the campaign from July 1, 1999 on major channels like MTV, Channel V, Sun TV, and Sony.

Atlas is also increasing its annual ad budget outlay from the current Rs 5 crore to Rs 8 crore. Of this, 65 per cent is spent on black cycle segment the growth of which has remained steady at the rate of five to six per cent during the last two years. Of Atlas' total production, 80 per cent constitutes black cycles, while only 20 per cent is in the fancy segment.

The company, is currently revamping its black cycle segment and plans to launch a new black cycle range in the coming winter season. Research for this project has already been commissioned to its ad agency Amirati Puris Lintas. The company has its cycle production units at Sonepat in Haryana (ISO 90002 certified) and Malanpur in MP. It also has a steel tubes manufacturingplant at Gurgaon in Haryana and a components divisions at Sahibabad in UP and Ludhiana. It exports to almost 40 countries and claims to be the only company to have a R&D wing recognised by the government.