Timex to continue betting big on analog watches; eyes India to become its biggest market, ET Retail

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<p>Tobias Reiss-Schmidt, president and CEO, Timex Group</p> — Tobias Reiss-Schmidt, president and CEO, Timex Group

Timex, the 170-year-old watch brand that entered India 35 years ago, will continue to bet big on analog watches as at present, the watch penetration in India stands at around 10 per cent and less than 5 per cent own more than one watch, and appreciation for traditional watches is high, Tobias Reiss-Schmidt, president and CEO, Timex Group told ETRetail in an interaction.

The company believes that smartwatches is a completely different market from analog watches.

“Our focus will always be on analog traditional watches. We do not have a plan to make smartwatches the core of our strategy. Globally also, consumers are not moving towards smartwatches. We do not see smartwatches to be an evolution of traditional watches,” he said.

“Consumers that buy a smartwatch maybe wear a smartwatch when they travel, during work, etc, but then at night when they go out, they wear an analog watch. That is the behavior that we are observing,” he further added.

By May 2024, the company is also planning to launch its entire global collection in India.

“By May onwards, our entire global collection will be available in India as well. The taste for watches has been completely globalized in the past eight years. Since I’ve been in the watch industry, I have seen a huge evolution in the Indian market and we feel the Indian consumer is now ready for our global collection,” he explained.

India continues to be the 2nd biggest market for Timex after North America.

“Going ahead, we expect that the population of India is going to increase and a large number of consumers will be able to afford Timex watches, so India has the potential to become the largest market,” he stated.

The company plans to continue making strong investments in India. In the last 5 years, the company has expanded its production capacity from 1. 5 million to 3. 5 million. Right now, it is at a steady state, but the company will keep on constantly adjusting as the business grows.

“We peaked at over 3 million watches made in India. Apart from this, we are also buying a lot of material from India that we are then exporting for watch production in other factories that are then sold in the global markets. So, India is an essential part of our global supply chain,” he said.

“Going ahead, there is indeed a plan to make some of the global products that are currently not made in India to make them here in India, at least for the Indian market and then later potentially also for export.” he further added.

The company is also working with vendors in India to develop their capabilities in making stainless steel cases.

“Currently, we are not using any Indian-made stainless steel cases for our global production but we are working with our vendors to develop the capabilities to make India an even more important global sourcing hub,” he asserted.

At present, smartwatches is a very small part of its business and contribute in single digits towards the revenue of the company.

“In India, watches with higher price points are growing faster than watches with lower price points. So, Timex will continue to expand into higher price points, but we will also continue to serve and create collections at the entry price points,” he stated.

The company, which is present at 5,000 touchpoints, operates 16 EBOs of JustWatches, and 29 EBOs of Timex World.

In the next 2-3 years, it plans to double the number of stores.