'India really stands out': Timex CEO Tobia Reiss-Schmidt on watch maker's expansion plans

Piggybacking on the IPL frenzy, the Timex Group has launched a series of new watches in association with the Gujarat Titans. The special edition watches will be available at all 5,000 points of sale in India for the company. “India is the second largest market in terms of revenues for the Timex Group. We have been seeing strong double-digit growth in the past few years except the pandemic years,” says Tobias Reiss-Schmidt, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Timex Group. 

For the first nine months of the fiscal year which ended in December 2022, the company saw a growth of over 60 per cent. “We are 30 per cent ahead of pre-pandemic levels,” says Reiss-Schmidt.  

“When we look at India from a growth opportunity, the fact is it really stands out. India is the most populous country in the world. The demographic is really young. The watch ownership levels in India are very low compared to other markets we are operating in. Only around 15 per cent actually own a watch. The number of people who own multiple watches is miniscule. So, there is a lot of catch-up opportunity there,” says Reiss-Schmidt.  

While the US is the largest market for the company, the consumer base in India is ever expanding. “It’s no longer only about Tier-1, even Tier-2 and Tier-3 are growing. We are also developing a product portfolio because the pricing expectations are different in smaller towns, the styling and the aesthetics are also sometimes a bit more traditional. So, we are making sure we have the right product for consumers in different segments,” says Reiss-Schmidt.    

Timex has a large manufacturing facility in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh and nearly all watches sold in the country are made in India. “We have doubled our manufacturing capacity in the last five years. There is still further room for growth and we have plans in place to increase capacity further at our current site,” says Reiss-Schmidt.  

Reiss-Schmidt says that while the introduction of smartwatches, particularly, the Apple Watch impacted sales of traditional watches in the US, which has the highest penetration of Apple Watches, the traditional watch market globally has not been impacted. “On a global scale traditional watches have been growing all along. In India, for instance, traditional watches have been growing in the range of 7-10 per cent year-on-year and on top of that we were lucky enough to gain market share. Smart watches are growing faster than traditional watches but from our perspective these are two separate markets. We don’t see smartwatches replacing traditional watches,” says Reiss-Schmidt. 

He says the purchase consideration -- the reason to buy a smartwatch -- for a consumer is very different. “Watches have not been bought to tell time for 15 years or more, much longer than since smartwatches have been around. Watches are a fashion accessory. They are like a piece of jewellery,” says Reiss-Schmidt. “Smartwatches are an incremental opportunity for us. But our strategic focus will remain traditional watches. We are confident that we will continue to grow in the traditional watch market,” he adds.  

In terms of trends, Reiss-Schmidt says that people across segments are upgrading and are willing to pay a higher price for better quality. There is also globalisation of styling and trends. While previously in India, the aesthetics of the watches were different from those in US and Europe, now they are more or less the same.  

Regarding the special edition watches that have been just been launched, Reiss-Schmidt says that they expect sales to be high during the IPL season. “Globally we have tie-ups with sporting events. We do the Superbowl watches in the US. It’s the first time we are doing it in India where we have a watch specifically for this partnership. It introduces the brand to new consumers. We don’t have any specific plans but I am sure it is not the last time we are doing it in India,” he says.  

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