About 35 to 50 Swiss and European watch brands are present in India. Few among them, if any at all, are making any money for the moment. However, those companies that are working to slowly build up their presence will be the major players of tomorrow in this potentially lucrative market. The efforts by various watch brands to establish themselves here are sometimes quite considerable as shown by the example of TAG Heuer, a company that seems determined to develop its presence in the subcontinent.
Today, there are three brands that are well established in India and enjoy a solid recognition - Omega, Rado and Raymond Weil. Their accomplishment is the result of an historical presence combined with diligent efforts conducted over the many years. In the case of Raymond Weil, for example, this brand was a pioneer that set up shop directly in India in 1974, assembling the component parts into finished watches in order to avoid import interdictions and excessive duties that were the norm at the time.
Today, the Indian market is in a period of rapid evolution. The game is wide open and the hierarchies can be upset very quickly, with major positions going to the most ‘unexpected’ brands. The Indian industry is currently talking about the totally surprising success story of the German brand Montblanc, with sales in its Taj Hotel boutique said to be nothing short of ‘phenomenal’ by an attentive observer of this market.
India is a large subcontinent, but the haut de gamme market remains relatively small. An estimated seven to ten million people have the disposable income necessary to shop in this sector. Therefore, places in the rarefied air of this segment are expensive and highly coveted. When taken in the context of the active grey market, accounting for 80% of sales, and the number of watches purchased abroad, it is difficult to get an accurate assessment of the actual situation in the prestige marketplace.
The means of distribution and its networks are also in full transformation. Compared to the situation two years ago, distribution is much more organized than it was and new ideas are seeing the light of day, such as mono-brand boutiques, shopping malls, and national chains.
In this lively environment, Indian retailers are increasing the stakes. Faced with large groups or independent brands that are ready to try their luck in India, even to the point of actually losing money in the interim, Indian retailers are raising the bar higher and higher, demanding corners, credits and advertising. The watch retail market is also attracting an increasing number of new players, often coming from other sectors.
On a national level, distribution is also somewhat perplexing. In the haut de gamme, there are three large independent distributors, who take care of, respectively, Cartier, Piaget and Raymond Weil, and Breitling. Richemont does not have a central structure, contrary to the LVMH group that manages its Indian business from Singapore and the Swatch Group that created its own Indian subsidiary.
To look again at the very recent example of Montblanc, its seems that the strategy has been to select a distributor, give him the financial and other means to carry out his activities, and then to take an approach oriented in the very haut de gamme. The method employed by Breitling, on the other hand, is one of prudence, proceeding step by step, with a first sales point serving as a test situation.
In this general context, we can easily imagine that India offers a very attractive potential for watch manufacturers. The positions are up for grabs and the race can begin. Everything is still possible.


TO BE CONTINUED...
In the forthcoming days, the rest of this lenghty survey will be added to our europastar website.

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