For watchmakers, the timing for launching their ultra-luxe pieces looks perfect. So when Swiss watch company Audemars Piguet debuted in India last month, it was just one among many such launches.
Piguet, one of the most exclusive brands among luxury watches, will be opening two boutiques in Delhi and Mumbai. Audemars Piguet’s Managing Director Oliviero Bottinelli says with Sachin Tendulkar as the brand ambassador, the brand plans to release in the market six limited edition watches. Only 300 pieces will be sold in retail, and the price tag is Rs 72 lakh to Rs 2 crore.
Indian watchmakers are also catching up in the ultra-luxe game. Timex, for example, has tied up with designer Tarun Tahiliani to launch luxury timepieces. “Creating these jewelled timepieces was a natural progression. These watches are above premium and one can say its accessible luxury,” says Tahiliani. The watches will be available in all Tarun Tahiliani stores, multi-brand stores like Ensemble and select Timex point of sales. The launch collection will have 14 timepieces. Tahiliani says “We would like to take this creation to West Asia and beyond.”
The likes of Bottinelli and Tahiliani have reasons to feel encouraged. Luxury timepieces have become a big avenue of growth in India where the Rs 1,300 crore luxury watch segment has shown a healthy growth.
An AT Kearney report last year states that premium watches grew at a much faster pace of 55 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) compared to the 19 per cent CAGR in jewellery market over the last four years. This segment of the watches is dominated by imported brands that constitute 77.1 per cent while local brands account for 22.9 per cent.
And ultra-luxe watch brands like Rolex, Breitling, A. Lange & Sohne, Chopard, Hublot, Rado and Gianni Versace, who are already present in India are all vouching for that. Lange & Sohne, which entered the Indian market in January 2008, has expanded its retail network to Delhi, Chennai. Hyderabad will be the next destination by the year-end. Matthieu Dupont, brand manager (West Asia & India), says “most of the iconic timepieces are pre-sold due to their exclusivity and a deep client understanding of the product. Certain product lines such as the Lange 1, Turbograph or even Zeitwerks have a waiting list of many months, even a year.” Indian consumers are willing to pay for high end, hand-made and exclusive watchmaking, he adds.
Luxury Swiss watch brand Raymond Weil too set up an Indian subsidiary, Raymond Weil India, earlier this year. The company expects India to contribute up to 7 per cent to the company’s global sales by 2010 end. Oliver Bernheim, CEO and president, Raymond Weil Watches says India is a market that doesn’t stop being interested by new developments.
Dupont of A. Lange & Sohne agrees: “Indians are meticulous when it comes to purchasing a luxury timepiece. They are as aware of the new technical innovations we have, as well as value timeless designs,” he says. A.Lange & Sohne’s watches, where price tags run into crores, are known to have a sapphire-crystal case at the back of its watches. “We invite every client to carefully look through an eye-glass for every detail of the watch, from movement to the metal finish. Every detail is thought through,” Dupont says.
Ajoy Chawla, VP and global business head, Titan Watches, estimates that India’s luxury watch market has grown about 30 per cent this year and includes over 80 international brands. Titan too is expanding with Helios – a multi brand format for premium brands – trading in over 40 brands. There are three pilot stores in Bangalore and Chandigarh.
“We find customers are seeking value but at a higher price – and this could come from brand image, design sophistication, mechanical movements or technology,” Chawla adds. No wonder, Titan Nebula, its 18 carat solid gold watch brand, has seen a growth of 35 per cent this year alone.
