“Timex has roots dating back to 1854 and many watch collectors admire our vintage timepieces. We were thrilled when J.Crew approached us for this exclusive commission as it gave us an opportunity to dig into our archive and create a truly unique product for them,” says Kristine Lumpinski, Timex Vice President of Marketing. “We’re looking forward to collaborating with J.Crew’s design team to launch more vintage-inspired designs in the future.”

“We are excited to partner with Timex and offer a military style watch that reflects the classic, rugged and authentic feel of our recently opened Tribeca Men’s Shop at the Liquor Store,” says Frank Muytjens, Head of Men’s Design.

To craft this military-style timepiece, Timex thoughtfully replicated elements of classic WWII aviation-style watches using details typical of the era. Based on an archival blueprint, the dial features a bold and distinctive font against a midnight black background giving the watch a clean, monochromatic look and ensuring maximum clarity.

In keeping with military tradition, it shows both 12- and 24-hour time. The sharply contrasting bright red second hand highlights the smallest increments of time, while heavy green luminescent paint on the hour markers and hands provides readability in the dark.

Timex watches, which has gone for a facelift with a new tagline saying, ‘New age Indian’, is aiming at a 10 per cent growth in market share in the current Rs 20 billion watch industry.

Says Timex Group MD and senior VP Asia Pacific Kapil Kapoor, “Currently Timex has a market share of 20 per cent in the relevant target segment. Having said this we are planning to increase our number of brand shops from 60 to 100 by the end of the year as 19 per cent of our revenues comes from stand alone shops.”

Moreover, its brand ambassador, Australian cricketer Brett Lee, unveiled its new collection ‘Conversation starters’. This collection consists of 21 new styles of watches for men and has price ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000.

Furthermore, the company today also unveiled its latest campaign, ‘Conversation starters’. The new campaign is based on the concept that a great looking watch can often act as an ice-breaker between two unknown people even in the most uncommon situation.

“We have invested Rs 150 million in our marketing initiatives,” adds Kapoor.

While the television commercial is already on air, the watch company is also using various other mediums like print, online and outdoor to further promote its newly launched collection. The campaign has been created by its advertising agency JWT.

Apart from all this, the company has plans to unveil new watches under the brand Ferragamo in the luxury watch segment by the end of this month.

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.”

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%.”

“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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