Premium watch retailer Ethos Swiss Watch Studios is planning to infuse Rs 30-40 crore into its retail chain expansion in the next two-three years.
“We are in talks with private equity investors and HNIs for this funding,” said Mr Yashovardhan Saboo, CEO, Ethos Swiss Watch Studios.
Ethos is a subsidiary of watch component manufacturer KDDL (formerly Kamala Dials and Devices Ltd) operating a chain of multi-brand stores in the luxury and premium watch segments.
The company runs a chain of 34 Ethos stores now and plans to add 8-10 stores every year. The plan is to strengthen its marketing and merchandising activities. “We want to have a deeper and a wider range of watches as we see consumers quickly upgrading their watch range,” he explained. Currently, Ethos retails close to 40 premium brands of watches such as Breguet, Omega, Rolex, Longines and Tag Heuer priced between Rs 5,000 and Rs 3 lakh.
The retailing business of KDDL has been posting 40 per cent year on year growth and is at a breakeven stage. Therefore, the company is keen to drive the growth of the retailing business now, Mr Saboo said, adding that Ethos is expected to become a Rs 500-crore business in three years.
Last fiscal, revenues from retailing stood at Rs 140 crore, while the company’s manufacturing segment contributed about Rs 100 crore.
KDDL has watch making units in Parwanoo (Himachal Pradesh), Derabassi (Chandigargh), Bangalore, Baddi and in Switzerland. The company manufactures dials and watch parts for domestic and international markets such as China, Hong Kong and Switzerland.
The manufacturing business of KDDL is growing at 20 per cent annually. KDDL is currently the largest supplier of watch dials and hands for Titan, Timex and Fossil in India.