Targeting men with a 'certain income'
Georges A Kern, left, chief executive of IWC Schaffhausen, together with Budhinakorn Chatikaratana, the company’s local head, at the opening of its largest flagship store at Siam Paragon complex.
|
|
IWC Schaffhausen, a Swiss watch brand, today will officially open its largest-ever store in the heart of Bangkok.
Located on the first floor of the Siam Paragon shopping complex, the 75-square metre boutique store is part of IWC's strategy to extend its distribution network in Asia, which the watchmaker considers the world's fastest-growing market. The Bt50-million shop in Bangkok displays more than 80 watches. IWC operates stores in Singapore, Malaysia, Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Dubai, Zurich, Geneva, Korea and Las Vegas. Georges A Kern, IWC's chief executive, said that the company had sold its timepieces mainly in Europe for more than 100 years before going international four years ago. "Four years ago, about 70 per cent of our sales were contributed by a few markets in Europe, including Germany, Switzerland and Italy. The European market accounts for only 50 per cent of our sales today, while between 30 per cent and 35 per cent of our sales are from Asia and another 15 per cent and 20 per cent from the US," said Kern. Kern said that IWC was in 15 countries in Asia and had been logging double-digit growth in the region. He said that the company would heavily focus on China and India in the next few years. "We currently have 24 outlets in 13 cities in China. We have also plan to extend our China market by increasing our stores there from 24 currently to more than 40 next year," said Kern, adding that China would be the world's largest market for luxury watches next year. Kern said that IWC was like a "sports car" for everyday use. "We are a complicated watch that you can wear all the time," he said, adding that IWC's target customers were well-educated and enjoy a "certain level of income" and a "certain knowledge" about watches. The prices of IWC watches range from about Bt100,000 each to Bt10 million. Kern said global Swiss-made watch sales grew about 10 per cent last year overall, including 16 per cent for luxury watches. "We have grown ourselves far above the industry's average and gained major market share," he added. Krist Chatikaratana, general manager of Cortina Watch (Thailand) Co Ltd, which distributes IWC watches in Thailand, said that the company had set a target to sell between 20 and 25 IWC watches a month. Seventy per cent of buyers are expected to be Thais who collect luxury watches.
Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn The Nation
|
