Balmain Swiss Watches, a part of the Swatch Group, has had a presence in India for three years.Luca Moro, vice-president, Balmain, speaks to Jai Arjun Singh about the brand's image and its plans for the Indian market.
The Swatch Group acquired the licence for Balmain watches in 1995. What are the advantages of being part of a large group?
Well, naturally we are taken seriously because of the prestige associated with the group. However, each brand in the group has its own distinct identity and it's no different for us.
What is your USP?
Our watches always aim to provide a feel of cultured elegance. We are the only brand that sells dressy watches within our price range -- our core collection is between Rs 13,000-28,000.
Among our bestselling models is the Arabesque design, which draws on aspects of Arabian architecture as well as church architecture. We have our own designers working on the patterns.
Worldwide, who are your main competitors?
Given our main selling point, most other watch companies who operate on that USP sell in a different price range. That said, Armani is one of the competitors I can think of offhand.
But the difference between us and them is that we have a watchmaking lineage, while they started with other products and got into timepieces later.
A lot of watch brands get their prestige from being high-priced. Does being in a more affordable range affect perceptions about your brand?
Let's just say Balmain prides itself on being "affordable prestige" as opposed to "luxury prestige"! Even our models that have genuine rubies and sapphires embedded in the strap are available for just Rs 24,000. We do, of course, provide a certificate of authenticity with each timepiece.
What is the current scale of your operations in India?
We entered the Indian market three years ago and have 22 points of sale across the country at present. These are mainly shop-in-shops located across 10 cities. Apart from the metros, we retail in cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar and Rajkot too.
Do you have a market in the smaller cities as well?
Yes, in fact, some of our best sales come from there. I think that has to do with our price range.
How has the Indian market treated you so far?
Very well, so much so that we think it's time we did something new here. Our marketing will get more intense and focused -- we are looking at outdoor advertising as well as in newspapers and magazines.
Will you also increase the number of points of sale?
Yes, we expect to add another 10 in the next year. One of the distinctive trends in the Indian market is the upsurge in the shopping mall culture. A bulk of the spending population is youthful and there has been a rise in consumer spending.
We also want to capitalise on these factors -- in particular, we are looking at an increased presence in shopping malls.
Do you customise for the different markets you enter?
We do decide on what models to promote based on the trends in existing markets. In Asian markets like Singapore, Taiwan and even India, for instance, the feedback is that since the average wrist size is smaller, we should concentrate on smaller-sized watches.
Do you do many limited-edition timepieces?
Not really. We tried once, but the models were so successful that we regretted they were limited-editions. Success mustn't be limited!
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