Indians snap up Swiss luxury watches in H1

livemint.com:

₹933 crore) in the January to June period from 81.2 million francs a year earlier, showed data from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. Imports surged 67% from 59.1 million francs in the six months of 2021. Notably, a significant portion of the 2023 imports of 20 million Swiss francs, was seen in June alone, indicating a robust demand for luxury timepieces.

Luxury stores in India’s malls also witnessed a surge in the watch category. For instance, stores such as Emporio and The Chanakya, located in luxury malls built by property developer DLF in New Delhi witnessed growth rates of 80-100% in the luxury watch category. The trend of increasing luxury watch sales was not limited to a gender, with both men and women spending equally on this category, said Pushpa Bector, senior executive director and head of DLF’s retail division.

Many international watch brands are seeing major growth in India as they are considered highly collectable and giftable items, she added. Despite production limitations and capacity challenges, India remains a key market for luxury watchmakers. For instance, H.

Moser & Cie., which retails in India for ₹14 lakh-2.7 crore, with a sweet spot at ₹23.66 lakh, through Ethos, has seen significant growth across price points in the last 6-12 months. Collectables and gem-set watches are particularly performing well in the Indian market. “I don’t know if we were more conservative about the customer here earlier, or whether the customer felt more comfortable buying from outside India, but we have observed a significant shift in India’s buying patterns, with consumers now showing a preference for independent and authentic brands over more established ones.