Timex in India

Commenting on this, Pratap P. (Pratap) Marketing Manager, Timex Watches Ltd., said "We had to set up our own sales and distribution chain, open branch offices, appoint CFAs, find showrooms and even mobilize manpower." While the above network was being built, Timex also turned to institutional selling in a major way in 1999, following which it received bulk orders from companies, the defense sector and public sector institutions in late 1999 and early 2000. The company customized its watches by engraving the logo and name of the buyer company on the dial and on special packing. In mid-2000, Timex announced that it would gradually reduce its number of models from 600 to 400, and discontinue products that did not find many buyers and had a limited sales off take...

In mid-2000, as part of its strategy to position itself as a fashion brand, Timex launched 'i-Control,' a new range of fashion watches, priced between Rs 1,600 and Rs 1,900. The i-Control range comprised over 13 watch models including features such as a 50-lap/split memory (ability to store 50 features), chronograph, water resistance to a depth of 100 meters, 24-hour countdown timer and 12/24 hour time and alarm. The fact that i-Control was launched in India in within three months of its launch in the US (where it was an instant hit) revealed the strategic importance being given to Indian operations after the breakup of the JV with Titan. Timex made a conscious effort to launch products that met the needs of the younger generation at prices that they could easily afford...