As India’s watch market moves towards premiumization, one company is working on the opposite premise: consumers buying watches for less than ₹10,000. Timex Group India, owned by Dutch-American holding company Tanager Group B.V., is betting on a mix of entry-level demand, luxury labels and strong business from quick commerce in the coming months.
The company crossed ₹798 crore in revenue from operations in FY26, it said last week, from FY25's ₹538.1 crore. Profit grew to ₹75.4 crore from ₹31.9 crore in FY25, driven as much by rising volumes as consumers trading up to more expensive products.
"Half of our growth is coming from higher volumes and half from higher average selling prices. Luxury (watches) as a category is getting a lot of attention because percentage growth rates are very high. But our largest opportunity remains between ₹2,000 and ₹10,000 price points," Deepak Chhabra, managing director of Timex Group India, told Mint.
Swiss watchmakers—luxury and otherwise—are increasingly turning to India as growth slows in developed markets. Mint reported that India is now Swatch group-owned Tissot's third-largest market now.
India's Swiss watch market breached ₹3,600 crore in calendar year 2025, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH). While much of the conversation has centred on premium and luxury watches, Chhabra said the real engine remains the ₹10,000 segment.
According to Mordor Intelligence, India’s watch market is valued at about $4.62 billion in 2026 and will reach $7.5 billion by 2031. The market is driven by rising disposable incomes and a shift toward premium accessories.
Chhabra estimated that about 500 million Indians can afford watches in that price range, compared with 5 million consumers who can comfortably buy watches priced above ₹1 lakh.
Lifestyle spending
That opportunity is tied to a broader shift in discretionary spending. As more consumers move beyond spending primarily on food and shelter, watches are increasingly becoming one of their first lifestyle purchases.
"Every year, more consumers enter the category for the first time," he said, adding that watch ownership in India remains only about 15%, leaving significant headroom for growth.
At the same time, Timex is pushing deeper into premium categories. The company recently launched Aston Martin watches in India and is expanding by bringing brands such as Guess and Versace, both of which have emerged as key growth drivers within their portfolio.
Its own branded products account for about 55% of sales, he said, while Guess contributes about 20%. Aston Martin, launched late last year, exceeded internal expectations and is already facing stock shortages.
Raahuul Kapoor, founding partner at Luxury Ampersand Frolics Group, said watches are increasingly acting as an entry point into broader luxury ecosystems.
"Retailers are trying to surround the customer with experiential retail which mirrors a global buying trend toward 'share of lifestyle' rather than 'share of wallet,'" he said.
Timex is also attempting to shed its longstanding image as a brand associated with gifting occasions and older buyers, Chhabra said, and is now bringing in watches with product collaborations linked to franchises such as Harry Potter and Superman, along with a greater focus on digital marketing and fashion-led events aimed at attracting younger buyers.
Another growth driver is emerging from an unlikely corner: quick commerce. While offline channels contribute about 60% of its business, online sales now account for 40%.
Of that, roughly a tenth comes through quick-commerce platforms, translating into about 4% of overall sales. The company expects that share to double by the end of the financial year as platforms expand their dark-store networks and add cities.
"A few years ago, nobody thought watches would sell on quick commerce. Today they are increasingly becoming a gifting and last-minute purchase category," Chhabra added.
Return to analogue
Sales in India's smartwatch market, which had surged to about 40 million units annually during its peak, have halved over the past two years, according to Chhabra. He said consumers are returning to analogue watches as fashion accessories and personal statements rather than purely functional devices.
"People are moving from smartwatches to analogue watches, we don't feel that is competition anymore," he said.
Last week, Pranav Saboo, MD and CEO of Ethos, India's largest organized watch retailer, said the threat from wearables (smartwatches) is going away. Analogue and mechanical watches continue to find relevance as style-led purchases, he said.
Its biggest beneficiaries are automatic watches, particularly skeleton models that expose the mechanical movement beneath the dial. Timex said demand for these products has surged as consumers seek visibility of craftsmanship when moving up the price ladder.
He said the industry has been grappling with many changes over the past few years including rising prices of gold, silver and copper, along with foreign exchange volatility, which has affected imported components.
"Capacity constraints among global movement manufacturers, particularly in Japan and China, have added another layer of pressure as demand for analogue watches rebounds. The availability of movements is becoming a challenge for the industry," Chhabra added.
Movements refer to the mechanisms that make watches run.