Timex in India

The Timex brand, the largest selling watch brand in the US and Canada, had been ranked above other leading brands such as Citizen, Rolex, Seiko and Swatch for many years. The brand's slogan, 'Timex - It Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking,' had been very popular with its customers through the years. Over the decades, the company came to be respected for its strong focus on innovative, stylish designs and technology. In 2001, Timex watches were ranked as the number one fashion brand in the US, for the second consecutive year in the WWD survey.³ In the early 1990's, when the Indian economy opened up to foreign players, many multinational corporations (MNCs) showed interest in entering the Indian markets, including the watch market.

Also, the lower-end of the market was dominated by players in the unorganized sector. Timex Corp. decided to enter the industry and tap the lower end of the market by offering technologically advanced watches at competitive prices. As Indian customers were moving from digital watches to quartz watches, Timex Corp. decided to focus on manufacturing and marketing quartz-based wristwatches in India. Timex Corp. initially entered the industry through a joint venture with Jayna Times Industries Ltd. (Jayna, India), a manufacturer of men's and women's mechanical wristwatches, to form Timex Jayna Ltd., in 1989. However, in mid-1990, during the course of the implementation of the JV, Jayna withdrew and Timex Corp. partnered with Titan...