Almost 70% of luxury watch market in India is for men: Olivier Bernheim

Interview with Global CEO & president, Raymond Weil

India is a 'private hunting' place for global CEO & president of Raymond Weil, Olivier Bernheim, who doubles up as the sales director only for this country. In an interview with Digbijay Mishra, he talks about how the Indian market has changed from being a ladies' watch market, and is growing at a healthy rate, though there is a lot of catching up to do. Edited Excerpts:

How has India fared in a slowing global market?
It has done quite well. India is on top of our list. It is the only market where I am also the sales director. This is my own private hunting place and plans are afoot to take it to the next level. We have been very careful about our price point. The range is between Rs 45,000 to Rs 8,00,000 and the Indian population is price-sensitive. They would not understand why one should spend so much extra for luxury. So I have been trying to offer the best products at the best possible price

How are you planning to expand in India?

We have a total of six boutiques in India and one of them is in Kolkata, which is doing exceedingly well. We also sell through a mix of shop-in-shops and retail point of sales. The total number is 52. Going forward, it will be more of shop-in-shops because a substantial growth would come from tier II and III cities, where it would be hard to afford your own store at least for the time being. We are aiming for a 25 per cent growth this calendar year.

India is perceived to be a luxury watch market primarily for women. Has it changed?

This was absolutely true till 2005, but there has been a drastic change and now close to 70 per cent of the market is for men and the rest is for women. Also, the fact that ladies get attracted by other luxury things as well like necklace, bags etc while men in India prefer luxury watches. So the expansion for more in men will be quite interesting.

How have you adapted to this change and how are you going to take it to the next level?
First of all, I have learnt from my father-in-law, who founded this company, that human relation is the key thing and hence I look to improve ties with my retailers. The more sophisticated the boutiques are, the experience is that much nicer. We need to teach the Indian customer and we need our own staff who can explain and justify the price. We will thus go for more dedicated staff.

How does India rank when compared to China?
India is doing well, but it would not be right to compare India and China. These are two different cultures and the whole background is different. China is far bigger and expanding at a faster pace. China is number one and is doing extremely well, and we have little slowdown there due to politics.

You are among the few luxury watch makers who are active on social networking sites. Does it translate into sales?
Yes, it does. We have unveiled many lines on the web first. In metros, more young people are going for luxury watches so we must tap them on Facebook and Twitter. My two sons, whom I consider shrewd businessmen, are in charge of all social media activities. We are planning to launch a brand, which will be available only through the web for the Indian consumers.

Is the European market still under pressure and what would be your outlook for the same?
Europe is still not doing well and in fact the outlook remains the same for the US. The US is saturated and the European market has been gloomy for a long time and I think, the worst is yet to be seen.