Brand Watches

Timex, the country’s second largest watch brand, is focusing on selling watches only in the top end of the market. The company has already phased out all the products below Rs 1,000 price point to boost its bottom line.

The company is also bullish on tapping the new media for products promotion amongst the youngsters. Salil Sadanandan, senior vice-president, sales and marketing, Timex said, “By the year-end or early next year, the company would cut down on products below Rs 1,000 price points.

Initially, the company saw a dent in volumes but it has managed to increase the average price points, for better realisations.” Analysts estimate that the company’s focus on the mid and premium segment would enable it to improve average realisations, increase sales and expand margins.

During the first quarter of this financial year, Timex registered a net profit of Rs 3.8 crore compared with Rs 8.9 lakh for the corresponding period last year. Sadanandan mentioned that Timex is stimulating impulse buying by strategically locating the products in the retail space.

For instance, the company does not display watches below Rs 1000 in the Time Factory. In the long run, the company expects the core business to come from price points between Rs 2,500 and Rs 5000. He said, “There is a need to have control over retail as it has emerged as the biggest marketing medium.”

It plans to open about 150 Time Factory stores by the next year. Similarly, Timex has identified new media as one of the effective communicating mediums with the customers. Sadanandan said, “The increasing cost and fragmentation of the conventional communication tools has made new media a lucrative option.

From the consumer’s perspective companies have to adopt to the emerging mediums as they are the deciding factor in the brand connect.”

The G-Shock Mudman features shock resistant and mud resistant buttons as standard so you can enter any adventure race knowing that you’ll still be able to tell the time at the other end.

Aside from the watch the Mudman features the usual G-Shock options including World Time, Double Stopwatch, Countdown Timer and 5 multi alarms.

Those worried about losing it mid race or exercise needn’t, the watch features a dual catch on the strap for double protection.

Not as big as some of the G-Shock models the only complaint we have is the electro-luminescent backlight which will, for some, make the display (and time) hard to read.

In real terms what this means, is that rather than having the numbers black on white, it’s white on black. There is a backlight, but you still want to clearly see what it going on without having to press a button - that’s what those binary watches are for.

When it comes to personal electronic devices and neat gadgetry, it’s hard to beat the long track record of Japan’s Casio Computer Company, which has always found ways to squeeze more miniature functions into wristwatches than seems possible.
So it is with the new Pathfinder model which is geared to outdoor and weather aficionados.

This neat watch, officially known as the Pathfinder PAW1300T-7V, works as a digital compass, barometer, thermometer and altimeter. Oh yeah, it also tells time. Flawlessly, because of a technology it calls Waveceptor Atomic Timekeeping.

Somehow, those Casio engineers and designers have figured out a way to run this thing through solar power and through a super miniature antenna built right into the watch, it makes radio contact with the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology , and its military counterpart, the U. S. Naval Observatory.

Once you set the time zone the watch automatically adjusts itself several times a day with the Naval Observatory signal. That means when we here in Michigan go off Daylight Savings Time on Nov. 4, the watch will automatically fall back an hour.

Cost is $300 for a watch with a heavy black or green resin band or $350 for a titanium band. More info can be found at pathfinder.casio.com

Sports watches are a great training aid, but what about getting them to do something else, like controlling your iPod? We get out on the track with the new iControl from Timex. Should you tune-in or change the channel? Read on to find out.

Based on the company’s Ironman watch, the iControl adds, with the help of a dongle, Play, Pause, Track skip and volume controls to your watch so you can control your iPod even if it’s out of sight.

Two new dedicated buttons add the iPod control features, but Timex has made sure that the watch features have remained untouched.

There is still a plethora of stopwatches, spilt times, and features such as a 50-lap memory recall chronograph, the ability to store training logs, two interval timers for speed and endurance training, three alarms and 100m water resistance alongside its INDIGLO night light included for sports fans.

Connection is achieved using a Timex branded Belkin wireless dongle and the unit plugs into your dock connector on your iPod, and then allows you to control the MP3 player wireless via your watch.

Aside from the shuffle (it lacks the dock connector), the dongle will work with all the current iPod models including the newly announced nano, classic, touch and the even the iPhone when in flight mode. We tested our unit on an iPod 5th Gen video and a nano.

In practice and the system is incredibly easy to use, turning the unit on instantly pairs the two units and from there away you go saving you messing around with the iPod mid-run.

The results also mean you can lose it in a pocket, shoulder strap, or backpack.

Pressing the dedicated keys on the watch give you the required response and the only things you can’t do is access menu screens, or see the name of the track on the watch screen.

Seiko enhances the Arctura collection with the addition of the new G.M.T. model.

The marriage of Kinetic with a G.M.T. function makes this watch ideal for travelers. The hour hand can be set without disturbing the accuracy of the kinetic movement.

The Arctura G.M.T. features a stainless steel case, sapphire glass and has a water resistance up to 10 bar.

A unique combination of style & technology, The Timex outdoor collection provides you with the watch you need to enhance your lifestyle.

This season, Timex introduces the E-instruments series, a collection of high functionality watches like the E-compass, E-chrono, Ana-digis etc that are designed to perform to the highest level in the outdoor environment.

Expedition Chronograph with INDIGLO Night Alarm and Easy Set Alarm are as follows 4 hour chronograph measures 1/20th second, seconds, minutes, easy set alarm, easy time zone change, INDIGLO night -light, quick-date feature, stainless steel case, adjustable stainless steel bracelet or water resistant leather strap, water resistant 100 metres.

TIMEX Watches Limited announced the launch of its NEW exquisite collection of Ladies Watches inspired by the world of luxury and style.

The NEW collection offers a variety of bold case-shapes including ovals, tanks, rectangles and tonneaus, the collection is united in its modern styling that’s backed by elegance and sophistication.

A unique combination of style and technology, the E-Instruments collection provides you with the watch you need to enhance your outdoor lifestyle.

This new series of Expedition watches introduced by Timex are high functionality watches designed to perform to the highest level in the outdoor environment.

Sanyo will sell its 45 percent stake in a money-losing joint venture to partner Seiko Epson Corp. which aims to quickly turn around the world’s third-largest maker of small- and medium-sized LCDs used in cellphones and digital cameras.

The sale will leave Sanyo, which has already withdrawn from the organic light-emitting diode business and makes no cathode ray tubes or plasma panels, with no display operations.

The firms did not provide financial details of the transaction.

Some analysts said the loss-making status of the venture makes it difficult to estimate the size of the transaction, but terms of the deal could be quite unfavourable to Sanyo.

“There is a chance that Sanyo may have paid Seiko Epson to take the stake,” said Tetsuya Wadaki, an analyst from Nomura Securities Co.

“This is not a positive for Seiko Epson unless they really reshuffle and restructure the joint venture, including job cuts. They have to improve their marketing tremendously,” he said.

Casio has taken the step to introduce yet another GPS watch with the GPR-100 which is a radical departure from the very first GPS watch they released some time ago. The new GPR-100 is actually the smallest GPS watch available in the market currently, measuring a diminutive 63.1mm x 49.5mm x 17.1mm.

Since it also looks the part of a watch, airport security won’t be hankering after you as a terrorist suspect. The GPR-100 has its sights set on runners since it will be quite some time to get a general-purpose GPS navigation device slapped around your wrist, but it does come with a decent set of GPS features which we’ll take a look at.

The GPR-100 receives signals from at least three different satellites and will take that data to compute where you are (in case you’re a clueless runner), your current speed, the length which you have covered and have yet to cover, and even your pace, doing away with the need to use your need to measure the route with the car’s odometer.

Some of the other interesting functions of the GPR-100 also includes automatic time zone adjustment, enough storage space for up to 100 points of interest, an automatic electro-luminescent backlight, a stopwatch, pace verification, and a countdown timer.

Unfortunately, the internal rechargeable battery isn’t too hot when it comes to performance. The GPR-100’s battery can only last up to 2 hours in normal mode and double the amount in low power mode. The law of diminishing returns apply here as it requires 3 hours to fully recharge.

The Casio GPR-100 is not heading to the U.S. anytime soon, but it is already available in Japan for $467. There are cheaper alternatives out there in the market, such as the Garmin Forerunner 205, so unless your name is Mr. Bottomless Pocket, the GPR-100 ought to be heavily considered before making a purchase.

Source: Coolest Gadgets

Managing Director at Timex Watches, Kapil Kapoor informs that the company will launch 120 stores based on a franchise model and that they are putting up a multi brand concept with international brands and showcasing international watch experience, which is novel to the Indian market.

Elaborating on the brands that they intend to showcase in their retail exclusive stores, he states, “We hope to build a portfolio of brands and we have currently showcased five of our brands - our flagship brand Timex and others in our portfolio namely Nautica, FCUK and Opex Paris.”

He further adds, “We have got a strategic alliance going with couple of other brands in the Egana Gold Field Group, namely Pierre Cardin and Esprit. So overall, we have got about six brands in our portfolio in the store and we hope to expand that by another 2 or 3 brands in the next few months.”

The company expects to see 20-25% growth in the coming months. He mentions, “We seem to evolve so far on a year-to-date basis around 24-25%. I expect that our sales should continue to evolve at the rate of about 20-25% into the foreseeable future.”

Speaking about the company’s market share, he states, “Looking at the organised market, we have a share of 11%. But in that, we seem to operate in a segment, which is between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 and that is our core business segment and in that segment, our tracks are showing a share of about 22%.”

Timex and Casio are creating technical watches designed for athletes, because sometimes it’s just not convenient to carry a cell phone. Timex’s Ironman line includes watches that measure calories burned, heart rate, speed and distance using GPS technology. The data stored on the watch can even be downloaded onto a computer.

“People are jumping on the bandwagon of technology but baby boomers still love their watches,” said Finhert. Indeed, many people of the older generations are proficient with cell phones but still wear a watch every day. Finhert said his customers still purchase watches as gifts, often as keepsakes to be passed down.

Hayes said there will probably be changes within the watch industry in the next five to 10 years, but he believes the watch will never be obsolete.

“The wristwatch has become ingrained in the identity of time,” he said.

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