The Hindu Business Line : For Timex, time will tell

Wristwatch maker Timex is on a frenetic exercise to shed its ‘single brand, single product’ image. And how! Last year, this iconic US company went in for a substantial rejig in India by adding new brands and consumer categories from its i nternational portfolio. An organisational restructure saw Timex Watches become Timex Group India Ltd. Three business verticals were formed – Timex and fashion brands, luxury brands and jewellery, “sending a signal that Timex is no longer a single brand-single product company,” says Salil Sadanandan, President, Timex and Fashion Brands, Timex Group India.

The restructure in India is really in response to the international vision of being present in multiple segments, explains Sadanandan. Not content with selling mid-priced sporty watches, US-headquartered Timex Corp in the last few years began hobnobbing with the rich and famous. It entered the luxury segment by bagging the global licences for upscale brands such as Versace and Guess. It also acquired the licence for the high-end, hand-crafted watch brand Vincent Berard.

“Internationally, for several years now, we have moved away from just being a company marketing just the Timex brand. Timex Corp realised that to be a significant player, we need to be present across segments and categories. We went aggressive with our licensing programme. We tapped into the luxury watch segment. Parallel to that in India, we realised that having multiple brands is paramount to not only get leverage from trade but also to handle multiple consumer segments and we needed to restructure our company to do justice to that,” says Sadanandan.

While Timex’s ‘Time Factory’ retail showrooms sell only mid-priced and fashion brands like Esprit, DKNY, Fossil and Pierre Cardin, apart from its own brand Timex, Timex Group India is working out the finer details on how best to sell the luxury brands in the country. The company also plans to enter jewellery retailing and is exploring various options in the Indian market, says Sadanandan.

Salil Sadanandan, President, Timex and Fashion Brands, Timex group

But will all this help Timex as a brand gain a stronghold in a market fed by a habit called Titan? Will the likes of Versace and Guess bolster the fortunes of Timex? Can a foray into jewellery make a huge difference to brand preference and imagery?

Says Harish Bijoor, strategy specialist: “I do believe Timex will be Timex. The brand shall remain and represent what it means at large to a set of its users and non-users alike. The brand image of Timex is a given. As for the company managing and selling its licensed-out brands such as Nautica, Guess and Versace, each of these brands will enjoy their individual identities as perceived in the market at large.”

Timex vs Titan

Timex entered India in the early Nineties through a joint venture with Titan, now its rival. In 1998, it broke away to be on its own. Titan still holds sway in the market, even as Timex desperately seeks to woo the Indian consumer. How does Timex view itself vis-À-vis traditional rival Titan? Timex differentiates itself proudly on the technology count. Explains Sadanandan: “Our brand positioning is completely different from Titan. We are focussed on what I might loosely call ‘fashion technology – the marriage of fashion and technology.”

Timex, he says, has made “technology accessible to a wide audience.” Whether it be the E-tide and temperature watch that measures temperature and tide, the heart rate monitor, or the watch which has the provision to change volume or shuffle songs on your iPod, the accent has been on technology.

“We began as a watch company that took time to the masses. Somewhere down the line we realised that the DNA of the brand was technical innovation. Someone back then had this foresight that this brand was future proof. When everyone was obsessed with looks, we patented the Indiglo technology which everyone is now copying,” says Sadanandan.

Titan, for its part, says it is not affected or led by competition. Harish Bhat, COO - Watches, Titan Industries, says Titan quite welcomes the presence of multiple brands in the market place. Bhat says this will increase watch penetration, drive multiple ownership, and help grow the category.

And as for technology, Titan too has plenty of technology offerings, he says. Edge, Fast Track, Neon Disk and Octane to name a few, but the company prefers to position its offerings based on emotions and human insight, rather than technology alone. “Even our technology watches are positioned as watches which offer energy and power – as technology makes one feel in control and energetic. The best brands in the world like Apple or Nike speak to the human insight.”

While this need to cater to the consumer insight has prompted Titan to demarcate its consumer segments with Raga for women, Fast Track for the youth, Sonata for the masses and Titan at the middle-end, Timex’s offerings do not seem clearly segmented.

Well, sports watches don’t have a gender tilt to them, just like there is nothing young or old about embracing technology, defends Sadanandan stoutly. From a media planning point of view, we target the 18-35-year-olds, he says. But really, there is a diffusion of age in the market today, says Sadanandan, referring to a gentleman well over 50 years of age looking for a watch that will come in handy while diving.

Sadanandan does not agree with the popular perception that Timex is a “male watch,” Sadanandan says the male:female ratio of Timex watches sold is the same as the industry average of 65:45. But this is going to go up in the times to come, as more and more women seek sporty watches as they indulge in outdoor activities. Timex watches can be worn by both men and women, says Sadanandan, reiterating their unisex positioning and features. “There is nothing either male or female about being sporty and outdoorsy,” he explains.

Looking for wrist share

In value terms, Timex has a 25 per cent market share in the organised watch sector in India, says Sadanandan, admitting that Titan is still the leader by a large margin (Titan says it has a market share of 65 per cent). However, Sadanandan hastens to add: Timex is not looking for market share but is on the prowl for “wrist share.” “If people were to own five watches, it is unlikely that all five are of the same brand. We are interested in getting Timex and its house brands to be a part of the wrist show.”

Timex today has 59 Time Factory stores and it plans to cross 100 by the end of the year. The ‘point of purchase’ will also see a flurry of below-the-line activities, apart from discount sales and special promos.

Remember Timex’s cheeky response to Titan’s promo last year offering a 25 per cent discount on Titan watches by exchanging old watches? Timex simply announced a 25 per cent discount on its watches – no old watch, no exchange, just a flat discount! They (Titan) did all the work. We just capitalised on it, says Sadanandan candidly. “It was a huge success. Sales during the period (August-September 2007) rose 50 per cent.”

For Timex, the India market is the third largest in terms of volume, after the US and Canada, says Sadanandan. Given India’s importance in the global market, Timex’s India revenues stand at a modest Rs 115 crore for 2006-07. A lot more needs to be done strategically, beyond technology and roping in Brett Lee as brand ambassador, to take the market by storm. Timex is still the Goliath seeking to upset David, says Bijoor.

While Timex is quite happy brandishing its “technical wizardry,” whether that alone will do the trick is a moot point. Bijoor says: “Timex needs to differentiate itself not on design, technology or efficiency. It needs to differentiate on the count of psychographics. In addition to it all, it needs to put together a mass market brand for itself. Unless it does this, it shall always remain a niche player in the large market for watches in India.”

More Stories on : Watches & Accessories | Strategy | Promotions & Offers

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
For Timex, time will tell