AgenciesIndia's largest luxury watch retailer, Ethos, will open 30-35 new stores over the next three years as the company looks to expand its retail network at a time when the luxury watch segment has experienced a sharp rebound after the Covid-19 curbs hit sales twice in 2021.
The company will enter 11 new cities and also open more stores in a few cities where it is already present.
"We will be in Indore, Raipur, Surat and possibly even Dehradun in the next six months," said Yashovardhan Saboo, chairman & MD, Ethos. "In the last two years, the internet has given us a rich stream of data that offers us leads on places with a high interest in luxury watches. Based on that data, we will be entering new cities."
Every month, the company's website gets more than 2 million visitors looking for watches.
Ethos currently has 50 stores in India in 17 cities.
Saboo said the Ethos' expansion drive is driven by three market trends: wealth and income levels in India are reaching a threshold and the growth is disproportionate in the higher income groups; people are now discovering that it is much better to buy in India because watch prices and breadth of range are now comparable to other global cities, plus there is the added advantage of local after-sales service; and third, his company's ability to offer a strong digital presence along with the biggest physical network gives it an edge over competitors.
In India, over the last few years, consumers have cultivated a healthy appetite for luxury, but luxury retailers like Ethos are also observing a shift in consumer behaviour after the Covid-19 pandemic-people now want to enjoy more material comfort.
"It's a combination of 2-3 things. People believe that because life is unpredictable, why not enjoy it? Secondly, social media has spread information about watches as collectible items and investment items," said Saboo. "We have added a lot of iconic brands in our portfolio to cater to a wide range of personal preferences of HNIs and also executives and professionals who now want to buy luxury watches."
He added that Ethos was now selling more higher-priced watches than it had done earlier.
"Our average selling price has gone up from Rs 75,000 to more than Rs 1.5 lakh in the last three-and-a-half years," said Saboo. "The fastest growing segment in our portfolio of 60 brands was the Rs 10 lakh plus price point. In the last four years, it has grown by 400%."
Saboo said that the prices of luxury watches have gone up largely in the last two years largely due to the downward slide of the Indian rupee, but a correction was in the offing due to high inflation in Europe. "I believe another round of some price revision by 4-5% may be around the corner. But price revisions don't impact demand for the high-end watches," he said.
Given the robust growth of the luxury watch market-34% in the first eight months of 2022-Ethos is set to bring the prestigious Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG) to India with an exhibition of the finalists for the 2022 Awards.
The company will enter 11 new cities and also open more stores in a few cities where it is already present.
"We will be in Indore, Raipur, Surat and possibly even Dehradun in the next six months," said Yashovardhan Saboo, chairman & MD, Ethos. "In the last two years, the internet has given us a rich stream of data that offers us leads on places with a high interest in luxury watches. Based on that data, we will be entering new cities."
Every month, the company's website gets more than 2 million visitors looking for watches.
Ethos currently has 50 stores in India in 17 cities.
Saboo said the Ethos' expansion drive is driven by three market trends: wealth and income levels in India are reaching a threshold and the growth is disproportionate in the higher income groups; people are now discovering that it is much better to buy in India because watch prices and breadth of range are now comparable to other global cities, plus there is the added advantage of local after-sales service; and third, his company's ability to offer a strong digital presence along with the biggest physical network gives it an edge over competitors.
In India, over the last few years, consumers have cultivated a healthy appetite for luxury, but luxury retailers like Ethos are also observing a shift in consumer behaviour after the Covid-19 pandemic-people now want to enjoy more material comfort.
"It's a combination of 2-3 things. People believe that because life is unpredictable, why not enjoy it? Secondly, social media has spread information about watches as collectible items and investment items," said Saboo. "We have added a lot of iconic brands in our portfolio to cater to a wide range of personal preferences of HNIs and also executives and professionals who now want to buy luxury watches."
He added that Ethos was now selling more higher-priced watches than it had done earlier.
"Our average selling price has gone up from Rs 75,000 to more than Rs 1.5 lakh in the last three-and-a-half years," said Saboo. "The fastest growing segment in our portfolio of 60 brands was the Rs 10 lakh plus price point. In the last four years, it has grown by 400%."
Saboo said that the prices of luxury watches have gone up largely in the last two years largely due to the downward slide of the Indian rupee, but a correction was in the offing due to high inflation in Europe. "I believe another round of some price revision by 4-5% may be around the corner. But price revisions don't impact demand for the high-end watches," he said.
Given the robust growth of the luxury watch market-34% in the first eight months of 2022-Ethos is set to bring the prestigious Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG) to India with an exhibition of the finalists for the 2022 Awards.
Read More News on
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
...moreDownload The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
