Timex To Make India Manufacturing Hub

The US-headquartered Timex Watches, following a global recast, has decided to make India one of its manufacturing hubs.

Speaking to Business Standard, Kapil Kapoor, managing director of the Indian subsidiary, said: 'The parent company has identified and decided to make India one of its global manufacturing hubs by integrating the Indian operations into its global supply chain."

The move follows the closing down of the US facility and scaling down of operations in Germany, he added.

Timex currently has five watch manufacturing facilities across the world catering to its global markets.

India will be used as global supply chain for the Timex group of companies for sale in US, Canada, Europe, South East Asia and the Middle East, Kapoor added.

Timex in India has a manufacturing facility at Noida near Delhi manufacturing around 3 million watches annually.

Currently, exports contribute a small per cent to the Timex' turnover of Rs 80 crore, but this is expected to increase in the next two-three years, Kapoor said. The company aims to achieve a turnover of Rs 100 crore by 2003-04.

The parent company has been increasing its stake in the Indian subsidiary since last year through the subscription of equity shares on a preferential basis. At present, the parent company holds close to 80 per cent stake in Timex.

Kapoor said: 'The Indian company is the only subsidiary which is listed on the bourses -- even the parent company is not listed.'

The Indian watch market is estimated to be of about 12 million watches and is growing at about 5 per cent. Timex's growth rate is 40 per cent, Kapoor said.

The Indian company expects to cash profit by next fiscal and then ride into a black bottomline, Kapoor said. The company has managed to cut down its loss by phasing low-margin products (priced up to Rs 500), reducing distribution costs and shutting down three regional offices --Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata -- and operating from the clearing and forwarding offices (CFA).

The company has targeted a market share of 33 per cent within the next three years from the current 22 per cent.