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Despite e-commerce being touted as the next big wave in retail, luxury watchmaker Rado India said it is keeping its focus on brick and mortar retail as fakes in the e-commerce channel may hamper its brand equity.
The watch brand, from the Swatch stable, said that prices of its watches in India have become highly competitive due to rupee stabilisation.
“India is witnessing an e-commerce boom. We have started a pilot in the US market.
“But for the Indian market we will have to go rather cautiously as there are issues related to fakes and things can go wrong if we move too fast,” Matthias Breschan, CEO and brand president of Swiss luxury watchmaker Rado Watch Co told BusinessLine .
Breschan said that Swatch group on its own has also taken initiatives to mitigate fake watches being sold online.
Expanding client base He said the legislations in India were favourable for expanding into tier 2 and 3 cities as the growing middle-class was emerging as a client base for its watches.
Rado has Bollywood actor Hritik Roshan as its brand ambassador.
The brand set up its first distributor in the country in 1999, and in 2003, set up its own subsidiary to address the need of the burgeoning market.
The company has 20 mono-brands stores in India, besides is available at various multi-brand retailer points.
Breschan said that its retail expansion is largely through the franchise route.
He said the company has been witnessing high double digit growth in India especially at its own retail points as the average ticket size was higher.
Estimated at over ₹1,000 crore, the premium and luxury watch market makes up nearly a third of the ₹2,750-crore luxury products market.
Personal statement “Even though the Swiss watch imports to India have declined, Rado is growing backed by a distinctive customer base in India. Indians don’t wear watch just a timepiece. It is more of a personal statement. We have made changes in technology and designs to cater to this clientele,” he said.
Rado watches are priced at ₹50,000 to over ₹3 lakh.
Breschan, however, pointed out that the right retail ambience and high duty structure are a still a challenge for brands.
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