Although Indians are fascinated by the beauty, precision and heritage of Swiss watches, this fascination hasn’t translated into higher growth for the Swiss watchmakers in the country. Yet, they continue to remain hopeful.

Breitling, Kolkata

 A few months ago, Breitling launched its first standalone boutique store in Quest mall, in Kolkata. For the Swiss watchmaker, it was a step towards establishing its presence in the Indian market, which most watchmakers consider larger enough to warrant a presence.

According to Aed Adwan, Area Sales Manager of Breitling, Middle East and India, Kolkata plays a crucial role in the brand’s plans for India. “When we open a boutique, we seek the right location and the right partner. In Kolkata, the process of finding the right location proved to be really rapid. But we will soon be in Mumbai and New Delhi.”

Breitling SuperOcean Heritage

Breitling, known for its chronograph watches, believes that India, with its large population, offers a captive market for luxury watchmakers. “The high-income group is growing, so we see great potential. There is significant brand awareness about Breitling. We want to build visibility for the brand, which is why it is important to have stand-alone stores,” says Adwan.

The brand claims that the prices at which their watches are available in India, matches their international pricing. Among the product range on offer, is the Exospace B55 Connected watch, a smartwatch of sorts, which can be linked to a smartphone.

While most Swiss watch brands are eyeing India, it isn’t easy for them to break through the Indian market. Brands like Rado, Longines and Omega have performed very well in the sub-continent. While high-end timepieces from Breguet have also done well, most other luxury players are struggling.

 

Omega, Globemaster

While the export value of Swiss watches to India has more than tripled over the past ten years (Switzerland exported slightly more than CHF123 million worth of watches to India in 2015), India continues to be the 26th largest market for the Swiss watch industry. Even countries like Hong Kong are far ahead.  According to the Global Wealth Report 2015 published by Credit Suisse, India is home to 185,000 dollar millionaires – six times more than in 2000. It also boasts 2,100 Ultra High Net Worth (UNHW) individuals (worth in excess of $50 million), the 11^th highest in the world. Yet, countries like Thailand and Mexico are bigger markets for Swiss watches.

Credit Suisse qualifies any Indian with at least $13,700 in assets as a member of the middle class, one of the lowest thresholds for any country. For comparison, the middle class threshold is $18,000 for Thailand, $28,000 for China and $72,900 for Switzerland. This simply means the purchasing power of even upper middle class Indians, doesn’t match their counterpart in Thailand and China. Besides this upper middle class forms just 3 per cent of the Indian population, not enough for the Swiss brands to show sustained growth.

However, brands like Breitling say that the Indian market will continue to be crucial. And that’s because Indians are, quite clearly, impresses by Swiss watches and among the big luxury purchases that the aspiring Indians pencil in, in their diary of must-have luxury brands, Swiss watches rank the highest.