The luxury watches brand Franck Muller plans to open the experiences of experience “before its kind” in “strategic” places in India for collectors and connoisseurs. The company is also in negotiations with the developers and hopes to announce its first real estate project in India in the first quarter of next year, said Erol Baliyan, Middle East, Africa and India, Franck Muller, in an interview.“We are increasing our sales points and we have an opening plan of new centers of experience in strategic locations in India. It is not just about selling watches, but we are trying to create a unique experience for lovers of watches that could include talking about watchmaking and getting their opinions on the creation of better collections,” said Baliyan.
“This will be a very interesting concept and the first in the world for the brand. It will be replicated in other parts of the world,” he added.Baliyan said the Indians appear in the list of the first three consumers for the luxury brand in markets such as Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and it is important to meet their needs.
“One of the ways to satisfy them is through limited edition collections associated with the culture and history of India,” he said.
“We have a very exciting collection arriving and we hope to launch it during the festive season. It took a year to work on this, and nobody has done anything like this. The collection will have a religious figure incorporated in the clock,” he added.
The exports of Swiss watches in India rose to 128.3 million Swiss francs between January and June this year, growing 12.7% over 2024, according to data issued by the Federation of the Swiss Watches Industry. On the contrary, shipments to Japan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore decreased by 3.2%, 18.7%, 13.3%and 3.7%. To tell the truth, the robust growth of India has arrived on a much smaller base than the other markets.
“There is some global slowdown, but India should see a constant growth in sales this year too. We are not close to our potential in India. We continue to support a reduction of duties and taxes,” said Baliyan.
“Today, to bring a $ 1000 watch to the country, there is a GST of about 40%. This has not changed. If this is reduced, watches sales will want to. The Indians will come to buy in their country rather than buy in Dubai or Singapore or London,” he added.
Baliyan said that the company is in “active” discussions for the launch of its inaugural real estate project in India. “We are announcing our third project in Dubai. Most of our buyers in Dubai are Indians, so now we feel that it is time to do something in India,” he said.
“The strategy would be to add something new to the skyline of India. It will probably be Mumbai, and then perhaps, Delhi. We are in negotiations with a couple of big names. We hope that we should be able to announce something in the first quarter of next year,” he added.
Baliyan said that other luxury brands are now realizing that India is the market to be careful.
“The luxury brands include and realize what we have created six years ago that India is a country full of culture and deep history,” he said.
“From a real estate corner, from the point of view of experience and expanding our retail sales network. We will continue to try to do better here. Because for India, Sky is the limit,” he added.
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