India's latest FTA is driving Tata Group's Titan in love with SWISS WATCHES!
It’s fantastic how Tata Group is making a strategic bet on SWISS LUXURY WATCHES 🙌🙌
It’s fantastic how Tata Group is making a strategic bet on SWISS LUXURY WATCHES 🙌🙌
The move is intricately tied to the Modi Govt’s recent Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein, signed in March 2024.
Let me explain the grand scheme in the works.
See, currently, imported luxury watches in India are slapped with a hefty 44% duty.
But, under the new FTA, India shall now cut down tariffs on import of these watches for each of the next 7yrs 🙏🙏
And that’s bound to make these coveted timepieces more accessible to Indian consumers, which will undoubtedly drive a massive surge in demand.
And Tata Group’s Titan, already a leader in the Indian watch market, is gearing to capitalize on this trend with two distinct retail chains: Helios and the newly announced Zeus.
Let’s decode them both, one by one.
..
Helios:
-> Retails watches from 40+ global premium brands
-> Recently launched a new set of stores called Helios Luxe, with focus on watches worth a minimum Rs 25k
-> There’ll be 6 such stores by end of March, with a target for 30-35 stores in two years, all in India’s top 8 cities (which also account for ~60% of GDP)
It’s driven by a clear premiumization trend, where the growth in the premium watch segment is 3x that of the fashion segment (as per Titan mgmt).
Zeus:
-> A store predominantly retailing Swiss watches worth Rs 2-20lacs!
-> Zeus is Titan's latest venture into the ultra-luxury (not luxury) watch market, the first store of which is set to open soon in Mumbai, with two more lined up
And this bet is driven primarily by the FTA we discussed above. Why?
In FY24, while Titan’s watches and wearables segment grew by 19%, the premium watches under Helios saw a 34% increase, with Swiss watches within this category experiencing an astonishing 69% growth 🙏🙏
Zeus, is a bet on this massive craze for Swiss watches, which will only compound and explode with tariffs being eliminated over the next 7yrs.
And it’s for this, that Tatas have already signed exclusive partnerships with about 10 Swiss luxury watch brands!
..
And combined, this is what Tata Group’s watches empire shapes up like.
-> While Zeus focuses on the ultra-luxury, Titan continues to strengthen Helios, expanding its portfolio with premium brands like Swarovski, Tissot, and Versace
-> Meanwhile, Titan World and Fastrack continue to grow at a moderate pace, ensuring Titan remains the largest and most diverse watch retail network in India, catering to all segments from entry-level to luxury
Best,
Jayant Mundhra
hello sir, thanks for sharing these insights but I have a doubt if this import duty is removed won't it create competition for Titan as there will me more luxury/ultra luxury players entering in the market , how will this benefit Titan even considering growing demand due to price cut market will get more competitive. I am thinking from POV of an investor in Titan, please correct me if I am wrong.