Leading watch company Timex Group said India business is witnessing strong double-digit growth over pre-pandemic levels. This has been aided by a resurgence in the segment and consumers willing to shell out more to buy higher price segments of watches.

The global company produces watches under its own brand Timex and also other premium fashion brands including Versace, Guess, GC, Nautica and Salvatore Ferragamo, among others.

Tobias Reiss Schmidt, Global President & CEO, Timex Group told businessline,“ In the first nine months of FY23 ended December, India business saw a growth of 62 per cent over the previous fiscal. This has been aided with brick and mortar channel opening up and coming back in a bigger way. So, we are nearly 30 per cent ahead of 2019 levels.”

He added that after being the third largest market in pre-pandemic times, India has climbed up the ranks to become its second largest market after the US in terms of revenue.

“Post pandemic, the watch segment has been doing very well. We saw strong revenge-buying trends in the country as was also visible in other markets. Average selling prices have gone up as consumers want to spend more to buy into higher price category. India has been a key focus market for us. It has large base of young consumers.The Indian economy is doing well and disposable incomes of consumers are rising “ Schmidt said.

Expanding capacity

The company has also been ramping up its manufacturing footprint. “ We have been accelerating investments in brand building. Over the past five years, we have doubled the capacity of our Baddi plant. We will continue to expand further. Besides production for the domestic market, exports have also grown significantly from India to other markets,” Schmidt added.

Brand Timex contributes the lion share of the company’s India sales. “Nearly 90 per cent of what we sell in India is made in India. We see a huge headroom for growth in the market for our entire portfolio,” Schmidt added. Ramping up its fashion brand watch portfolio, recently Timex became the distributor of Daniel Wellington watches for several markets including India.

‘Incremental opportunity’

He said while the e-commerce channel has boomed in India, the brick and mortar channel has also seen a strong resurgence post the pandemic. “We expect the overall traditional watch category to grow in India in high single digits and up to 10 per cent per annum. We also expect to gain share in the segment. We see smartwatches as an incremental opportunity,” Schmidt said. 

Timex which is the official timekeeper for Gujarat Titans has also launched “Timex X Gujarat Titans Collection” on Thursday.

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