Time becomes expensive

After luxury cars went into a price spiral, is it time now for watch makers to see how much India will pay to tell the time?

How much would you pay for a watch? Rs 500? Rs 5,000? Or Rs 5 lakh?

At the recent India International Watch and Clock Fair in New Delhi, participants must have been asking pretty much the same thing, except that for them the answer was probably a foregone conclusion. No wonder there was such a dominance of luxury watch manufacturers "" Cartier and Tissots at every other stall, and impressive international labels dominating proceedings.

Over the past years, avid shoppers have got used to seeing luxury watch brands like Rado, Omega, Longines, Corum, Jaeger LeCoultre, Baume & Mercier, Tag Heuer, Christian Dior, Bvlgari, Technomarine and Raymond Weil in the stores. But is there really a market for these brands in India?

Yes, says Ravi Thakran, managing director, Tag Heuer India. "The demand for luxury watches is growing by the day, and the way the market has boomed in the last few years is a clear indication of the direction in which it is going," he says.

The market for luxury watches is currently around Rs 450 crore and growing at the rate of 20 per cent, while the overall watch market in India is pegged around Rs 1,500 crore.

Luxury, of course, means different things to different people. But generally, if it's upwards of Rs 1 lakh, it fits the bandwidth of luxury. For instance, the Swatch group (with brands like Rado, Omega, Longines) has watches priced between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 15 lakh.

Says a company spokesperson, "We believe there is a market for high-end watches in India and our products cater to their needs." Tag Heuer and Longines watches start from Rs 1.5 lakh and go up to Rs 8 lakh.

Not that all is hunky-dory. The 65 per cent import surcharge on luxury watches is definitely a deterrent, though the recent announcement of allowing 51 per cent FDI in single brand outlets could go a long way in pushing the market by way of standalone stores.

With limited sales to an extremely discerning audience, most manufacturers have avoided high decibel ad campaigns. Says a Swatch spokesperson, "These watches sell by themselves, so we release ads only to create awareness and a buzz around the product."

Brand ambassadors too help, and Longines has Aishwarya Rai endorsing it, while Tag Heuer has Shah Rukh Khan and Sushmita Sen lending it weight.