'Indian luxury market is quite evolved'

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: Swiss watch brand Tissot was born in 1853 in a small town called Le Locle in the Jura mountains on the French border. What started off as a local creation is today a global player having roots in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The brand has over 1,000 models globally. However, it defines a set of core watches specifically suited for every market. Ulrich Fischer, vice-president (sales) of Tissot who has been with the company for over a decade spoke to FE’s Kavitha Venkatraman on varied subjects including Indian watch industry, product line up and distribution network. Excerpts:

•How do you size up the Indian watch industry? What has been the growth pattern so far?

The overall watch industry in India, as per our estimates, is about 50 million pieces per year. This is irrespective of the segments. We cannot put an exact value for the market. In India, we have numerous international and domestic brands. And Titan is the most dominant player in the market. Of the overall market, nearly 30% could account for the premium and luxury segment and the balance could be shared between the low and mid-segments. Indian consumers are much more knowledgeable as they travel quite a bit. They are sophisticated and they know what to get where and at what cost.

For Tissot as a brand and Swatch as a group, India is a very promising market. In fact, within the Swatch group, there are about 19 brands. Out of this, 14 brands are present in India. Growth has been fantastic in the Indian market since 2001-02. We have been growing every year at the rate of about 30%-40%.

In 1997-98, when the market was liberated, several international players came into the market. Till that time, even for Tissot and its other sister brands, there was no presence in the country. We came in 1998 and our sales started in 1999.

Over the last ten years, the Indian market is quite evolved and developed especially for the premium and luxury segment. Now, with the increasing purchasing power, this market is growing very rapidly in the country. We expect the market to grow by huge steps. The economy has indeed faced slight setback owing to the slowdown but we expect it to leap back during the second half of the year.