Consumer spending is yet to take off, but nothing sells better than aspiration for brands
The luxury watch market in India is living through interesting times. While, on one hand, consumer spending is yet to unleash its full force despite the uptick in market sentiment since the Modi government took over, on the other, electronics giants like Samsung, Sony and LG are attempting to woo Indians with the latest smart watches, which are likely to change the way people look at wearable products.
But despite caution and pessimism sobering the animal spirits in consumer spending, the luxury market grew at a rate of 30 percent in 2013 to reach $8.5 billion. It is also likely to grow at a healthy pace to reach $14 billion by 2016, a recent KPMG luxury report said.
“The aspiration for brands is increasing. India’s luxury watch market is growing at near 15 to 20 percent each year,” says Biren Vaidya (popularly known as Bee-vee), MD of the 30-year-old Rose Group, which sells at least 20 global brands through jewellery and luxury outlets in India. The Rose Group clocked a 15 percent jump in revenues between April and September this year, compared to the same period last year, he says.
Another top Indian retailer, Viraal Rajan, who heads family-owned watch boutique Time Avenue in Mumbai—a popular destination for Bollywood stars—is confident that “everything sells” in India’s luxury watch market. Rajan identifies Bell & Ross, among others, as a brand that is becoming popular with the rich and famous in India.
As we usher in the festive season and put on the best of fineries, keep an eye out for the Jaeger-LeCoultre Unique Travel Time collection and Bulgari’s Lucea range of watches, which are set to hit showrooms in Mumbai soon. Here’s our pick of some of the best watches in the country:
(This story appears in the 14 November, 2014 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)