BackAP group to expand Roberto Cavalli watch range
The new range is a collaboration between Italian luxury brand Roberto Cavalli and premium Swiss watchmaker Franck Muller and will be embellished with diamonds and mother-of-pearl dials with price tags starting at ₹80,000
PremiumNEW DELHI : AP Group, the local retail partner and distributor of watch brands like Esprit and Roberto Cavalli is expanding the range to include Roberto Cavalli by Franck Muller, a high-end Swiss-made watch, for introduction into the Indian market. The new range is a collaboration between Italian luxury brand Roberto Cavalli and premium Swiss watchmaker Franck Muller and will be embellished with diamonds and mother-of-pearl dials with price tags starting at ₹80,000. Franck Muller is a Geneva-based luxury watch manufacturer, named after its founder. Italian designer Roberto Cavalli, on the other hand, is known for his exotic prints.
AP Group also sells other product categories under brands such as Slazenger, Carlton London and Ted Baker. Last year the company had brought Roberto Cavalli’s Just Cavalli watches to India.
Adi Shroff, chief operating officer of the AP Group said the company’s brands are available in close to 210 stores as well as on e-commerce platforms. “We had targeted to be in 200 storefronts in 2021. We have achieved that. We are growing 5x of what we had anticipated," Shroff said.
He added that the company’s online sales were primarily coming through channels like Myntra and TataCliq Luxury for their bridge-to-luxury Just Cavalli range of watches. “To begin with, the products will be sold on premium watch multi-brand stores and online platforms. But we hope to take these watches to 35 stores this fiscal," he said.
Roberto Cavalli’s apparel and fragrances are widely popular among Indian consumers, Shroff said. This partnership, is aimed at creating a young, aspirational portfolio play, across the affordable luxury segment in the fashion, and accessory categories, he added.
“Luxury is no longer restricted to developed countries but is also gaining popularity in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific. In India, watches are considered a part of fashion accessories and, thus, consumers are shifting from classical watches to luxury brands with innovation and unique design. Our vision is to make premium brands accessible to Indian consumers," Shroff said.
Last week, NSE-listed company Ethos Limited, too, signed a distribution agreement with Swiss luxury watch and jewellery brand Jacob & Co known for its haute horlogerie pieces.
On a calendar year basis, the Swiss watch exports to India was CHF (Swiss Franc) 156.8 million in 2021 a jump from CHF 97 million the year prior, as per Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH. Data for 2021 showed growth over 2019 figures which stood at CHF 149.7 million for the country that year. India ranks 24 in the 30 top countries for the Swiss watch industry by volume. The US and China are the industry’s first two largest markets.
The US, for instance, is more than 20 times the size of the Indian watch market and stood at CHF 3,078.8 million in CY21. China is next at CHF 2967.2 in the same year.
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