NEW DELHI: Luxury Swiss watch brand Rado is leaning on markets like India to push growth at a time when business operations in certain parts of the world have been impacted due to geopolitical strife.
“We have some areas in the world where geopolitical challenges are making it impossible to do business. We see India is in a situation where the economy is growing heavily.The purchasing power of Indians is constantly growing. We saw this 20 years ago with China. In terms of the size of the population too, India is comparable with China,” AdrianBosshard, global CEO at Rado told TOI in an interview.
India is already one of the top three markets for Rado where it sells through its own boutiques (stores) and authorised retailers. As the brand crafts its growth strategy for the market, building an efficient distribution network, ramping up marketing efforts and customer service will be the core areas of focus in the coming years, Bosshard said.
The brand doesn’t want to rush into opening more stores. The attempt will rather be to have presence in strategic locations. “Quality is the priority. The end-consumer is always the focus. The aim is not to have maximum stores but distribution in important areas,” Bosshard said, adding that a considerable proportion of the population residing in non-metros and smaller cities can afford to buy luxury goods and the market opportunity is wide. In fact, Rado today is already present in smaller cities like Ludhiana, Pondicherry and Siliguri.
Unlike in other markets, Rado’s customer base in India is skewed towards men and it wants more women to shop from its stores. “The ambition is to have higher market share in women’s segment. In India, women are becoming more and more important in the whole economy. Women are assuming important positions and we do not see any reason why the ratio between male and female customers should not be more balanced,” Bosshard said.
Inflation usually doesn’t impact luxury shopping and it has not been much of a problem for Rado either. On the contrary, Bosshard said that inflation has helped the brand because during high inflation, the value of money gets eroded easily and people therefore prefer to purchase products which has long-term value.
“When you are buying something with long-term value, you are protecting your money with a valuable consumption good.”
“We have some areas in the world where geopolitical challenges are making it impossible to do business. We see India is in a situation where the economy is growing heavily.The purchasing power of Indians is constantly growing. We saw this 20 years ago with China. In terms of the size of the population too, India is comparable with China,” AdrianBosshard, global CEO at Rado told TOI in an interview.
India is already one of the top three markets for Rado where it sells through its own boutiques (stores) and authorised retailers. As the brand crafts its growth strategy for the market, building an efficient distribution network, ramping up marketing efforts and customer service will be the core areas of focus in the coming years, Bosshard said.
The brand doesn’t want to rush into opening more stores. The attempt will rather be to have presence in strategic locations. “Quality is the priority. The end-consumer is always the focus. The aim is not to have maximum stores but distribution in important areas,” Bosshard said, adding that a considerable proportion of the population residing in non-metros and smaller cities can afford to buy luxury goods and the market opportunity is wide. In fact, Rado today is already present in smaller cities like Ludhiana, Pondicherry and Siliguri.
Unlike in other markets, Rado’s customer base in India is skewed towards men and it wants more women to shop from its stores. “The ambition is to have higher market share in women’s segment. In India, women are becoming more and more important in the whole economy. Women are assuming important positions and we do not see any reason why the ratio between male and female customers should not be more balanced,” Bosshard said.
Inflation usually doesn’t impact luxury shopping and it has not been much of a problem for Rado either. On the contrary, Bosshard said that inflation has helped the brand because during high inflation, the value of money gets eroded easily and people therefore prefer to purchase products which has long-term value.
“When you are buying something with long-term value, you are protecting your money with a valuable consumption good.”
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