For luxury watch companies, it is time to foray into Indian markets

Country emerging as a lucrative market for premium timepieces, a trend led by the young generation

“Maybe next year, I will create some special watches just for the Indian market,” Italo Fontana, founder and owner of Italian luxury watchmaker U-Boat, said during the brand’s debut in India last month.

Fontana’s statement is a nod to the country’s growing appetite for luxury watches, as China — the world’s biggest luxury consumer market — continues to witness a downturn.

According to a recent Deloitte report, India is emerging as a lucrative market for premium watches, a trend primarily led by the young generation who prefer discretionary spending.

About 78 per cent of Indian consumers said they would like to buy a watch for themselves, the report titled ‘Deloitte Swiss Watch Industry Insights 2024: Spotlight on India’ stated.

This has prompted a flurry of global luxury watchmakers to make a beeline for India in the last few months.

“We are excited to introduce our watches to this vibrant market through this partnership. Among our priority markets, we see India coming in the top three after the United States and West Asia, in some years. It will be a major player within our strategy for the future,” Fontana said at the brand’s launch, which has tied up with Helios from the house of Titan to retail in India.

The September launch was the third such launch by Helios this year.

In June, the company had announced a partnership with Swiss luxury watchmaker Charriol followed by a tie up with French watchmaker Herbelin earlier this month.

Rahul Shukla, vice-president and chief sales and marketing officer, watches and wearables, Titan Company, said it will be adding as many as 10 new international brands to its portfolio in 12-18 months.

Among the long list of global brands making inroads into the country, Swiss brands have a significant advantage.

The report highlighted that the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), signed in March this year, has strengthened consumer sentiment and created a wave of opportunities for Switzerland’s export-oriented sectors.

“Swiss watches are expected to have better market access as TEPA is set to reduce Customs duties over the next seven years. This presents an immediate and compelling investment prospect for Swiss watch brands. India’s improved business climate adds to this favourable climate, providing Swiss firms a timely and promising avenue for expanding their footprint,” the report, which came out in July, stated.

In a recent conversation with Business Standard, Adrian Bosshard, global chief executive officer (CEO) at Swiss luxury giant Rado, said the brand has seen a high double-digit growth in 2023. It expects the momentum to sustain.

India emerged as Rado’s top market worldwide in 2023 as the Chinese downturn started emerging.

Bosshard now believes that even when China bounces back, “India could remain Rado’s top market for the next few years.”

Rado, the market leader in the Rs 100,000 to 700,000 category, also plans to launch a new timepiece at the India Art Fair to be held in February next year.

Luxury watch retailer Ethos, which retails over 65 global luxury brands and listed on the bourses in 2022, has seen 26.7 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) rise, with revenues increasing from Rs 577.3 crore in FY22, to Rs 788.5 crore in FY23 and Rs 999 crore in FY24.

“As India’s GDP and per capita income rise, it is inevitable that consumption will grow, including in the luxury sector. With this financial growth, the understanding and appreciation of horology will deepen. I anticipate that this will result in increased investments from both brands and retailers. For luxury brands, India is becoming an increasingly exciting and lucrative market. I believe that in the coming years, we will see many more global names entering the Indian market, eager to serve this growing base of discerning consumers,” said Pranav Saboo, CEO and managing director, Ethos Limited.

Premiumisation sweeps Indian brands

This wave in luxury consumption has made Indian brands sit up and take note too.

Titan from Tata will be launching two new collections: Raga Memoirs – priced up to Rs 23,000 and Stellar 2 – across diverse price points that go up to Rs 1.3 lakh – both a first for the brand. “The products at the high end are limited edition and have a story, some emotional value behind them, which is an important part of premiumisation,” said Mahendra Chauhan, head of design at Titan Watches.

Jaipur Watch Company, a micro-luxury watch brand, recently launched a line of intricately-crafted women’s jewellery watches, priced between Rs 30,000 and Rs 53,000.

1. Watches made up 12% of non-gold exports to India in 2023

Source:  Deloitte Swiss Watch Industry Insights 2024 | Spotlight on India

2. Watch exports to India:

Jan-Aug 2024: 164.2 mn Swiss Francs

Jan- Aug 2023: 133.3 mn Swiss Francs

Increase: 23.2%

Meanwhile, exports to China fell 21.1% in the same period

Source: Federation of Swiss watch industry

3. Helios to launch 10 new international brands in 12-16 months