Swatch will unveil new products
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Mumbai-The international watch maker, which grossed 4.497 billion Swiss francs in 2005, plans to introduce four additional brands in the Indian market.
Further details — the new brands and the time frame identified by the company for launching these in the country — were not disclosed. With the introduction of new brands, the Swatch Group's product offerings in India will increase to 10 brands.
Catering to a variety of customers, the Swiss watchmaker currently offers six brands including Rado, Omega, Tissot, Swatch, Breguet and Longines.
Growing consistently at 40% year on year (YoY), Swatch currently retails through 140 points of sales (PoS) across 53 towns in the country. The company also plans to enhance its Rado exclusive boutique network to 12 outlets across various locations by end of 2007.
The points of sales will be increased to over 150 in the same time span.
Christian Leiggener, regional sales manager for Rado Watch Co Ltd, told DNA Money: “We currently have two such Rado boutiques in the country — one each in Delhi and Chennai. New boutiques will come up in high net worth cities like Mumbai, Chandigarh, Ludhiana among others. In fact, Mumbai will have four such boutiques.”
Spread across 60 - 70 sq m, the exclusive Rado boutiques will be set up in partnership with the local retailers wherein the latter will own the real estate and will be responsible for managing the store.
“Our participation will be in the area of furniture, stock, training and marketing support,” said Leiggener.
Not disclosing the financials of the company, Leiggener estimates Rado's contribution to under 50% of the retail set-up cost.
On an average, setting up such an exclusive boutique requires an investment ranging between Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 crore.
The watchmaker recently unveiled the new Rado.True range comprising four variants in Mumbai.
The Rado.True has been priced upwards of Rs 42,000 and will be made available through a mix of exclusive Rado boutiques and multi-brand outlets.
Ashish K Tiwari
