The latest to touchdown in India is Julien Tornare, chief executive of watch brand Hublot. “India is clearly growing. There’s a bigger appetite for luxury, and the country is moving in the right direction for us,” Tornare said.
To be sure, Swiss watch imports into the country grew by 25% in 2024, according to data from Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, reflecting a growing market where exclusivity is driving spending. Import value of Swiss watches value soared from CHF 218.8 million in 2023 to approximately CHF 273.9 million in 2024.
With business slowing down in China—a key market for Hublot over the past two decades—the company is turning to emerging markets such as Korea, India, and Latin America. “Business is down in China, but it still has a very big appetite for luxury consumption, so it should rise back up. But we also need to compensate with other markets elsewhere,” he said, adding that the brand recently opened its second boutique in Bengaluru, after Mumbai, and plans to open a third in Delhi.
Also read | Rolex to Hublot: Indians find more time for Swiss luxury
A 2024 Morgan Stanley report estimated that Hublot had about 1.5% share of the global watch industry’s sales in the top 20 brands in 2023. In contrast, market leader Rolex controlled more than 30%. At the same time, media reports also indicated that Hublot’s sales declined in 2023 by 10%, with annual revenue falling to around €714 million.
Tornare said India’s growth is also being fuelled by wealthy Indians buying watches abroad when they travel—a trend he described as unique to the market.
“We need to continue to invest more in the country. We will consider getting a brand ambassador as well,” he said. The brand largely caters to male buyers, with about 70% of its business coming from men aged 25 to 55. The company’s average selling price is around €20,000 (about ₹18 lakh), a range where Indian buyers favour higher-priced gold and rose gold models, he added.
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Tornare previously led Zenith and Tag Heuer before taking the helm at Hublot, all of which are part of the luxury conglomerate, LVMH group. The group acquired Hublot in 2008, strengthening its position in the high-end watch business.
India’s appetite for luxury reflects a broader trend, though. Deloitte India projects the country’s luxury market—including leather goods, eyewear, watches, jewellery, fashion and cosmetics, among others—will reach nearly $30 billion by 2030, from around $17 billion in 2024.
Revenge buying in the pandemic has slowed down business
Tornare said the luxury watch industry experienced a surge in “revenge buying” during and after the pandemic, with 2020 and 2021 being record years as consumers spent more aggressively. While the market has now returned to more typical patterns, he cautioned that luxury brands must be mindful of pricing.
Rising production costs and global inflation have driven price increases, but there are limits to how much consumers will pay, even for luxury goods, he said. “Luxury is about desire, not necessity—it’s the exclusivity and the feeling it gives that makes people want it,” he added.
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“Hublot has been a great success in the watch industry in the last 20 years. It first came up 45 years ago and has been a great acquisition for LVMH in terms of profitability, etc. It was a very smart acquisition because they saw the brand’s success early on. The watch brand is expected to become stronger within the LVMH portfolio,” he said.
Indians buying abroad
A lot of Indians prefer to buy their watches abroad because the tax structures are relatively better in other markets like the Middle East where the watches are priced somewhat cheaper.
However, India and Switzerland are in the process of discussing duty cuts in some categories. Specifically, the India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) agreement, signed in March 2024, plans to gradually eliminate import duties on luxury Swiss watches in India over the next eight years. “Hopefully one day we would be able to reduce the taxes down for the watches and that would be the push the industry needs,” Tornare said.
LVMH’s business
LVMH, the world’s largest luxury conglomerate, has under it 75 premium brands. In 2024, the group reported €84.7 billion in revenue and operates around than 6,300 stores globally.
It has five top watch brands: Tag Heuer, Hublot, Zenith, Daniel Roth and Gérald Genta. The company also makes fashion watches through brands like Tiffany and Louis Vuitton, but those are lower value watches compared to these five.
Also read | India leads growth in Swiss watch imports worldwide
LVMH’s watches and jewellery business experienced a slight downturn in 2024, though. Its profits in the ‘Rest of Asia’ region in the watches and jewellery category fell 28% from €2,162 million in 2023 to €1,546 million last year. The entire segment also recorded an overall 1% revenue decline between 2023 and 2024, accounting for 13% of the total business for the group.
In fact, its overall profit for the entire ‘Rest of Asia’ region (which also includes fashion) also dropped from 34% to 29%. Revenue for the segment remained slightly lower at €10,577 million over three years, down from €10,902 million in 2023.
Yet, it’s betting big on India’s increasingly affluent younger population. “We attract younger buyers because some brands in the Swiss watch industry tend to be a bit conservative, with a very long heritage, sometimes they talk so much about the past, and alienate younger clients. We are more modern, and contemporary, so our buyers jump onto us at a very young age compared to some others,” Tornare said.
And read | FTA will help reduce luxury watch taxes: Panerai CEO Jean-Marc Pontroué
