Multi-brand watch store chain Helios, a part of Titan, plans to add around 38 stores by April 2013 to get to a store count of 65 from the current 27. The retailer is on a look-out for franchisees as many of its new outlets will be based on a franchise model. It is also looking at extending its product portfolio by expanding the watch category.
Arun Narayan, Business Head – Helios and Licensed Brands, said: “Helios has a mix of high street and mall stores and out of 27 stores 9 stores are franchised. We seek franchisees who have patience, the “retailing” mindset, and are keenly involved in their businesses. Most of our franchisees run other successful retail businesses but we also welcome fresh entrepreneurs with enthusiasm, drive, and willingness to learn. People who give primary importance to driving excellence in store operations and run the extra mile for customers work well with us, whilst we keep away from mere investors. Going forward we expect many of our stores to be franchisee managed. Investment therefore is not a constraint as money is a commodity, we rather place a premium on the right partner.”
Narayan added that most of the Helios stores are less than a year old and so the main focus of the chain is on creating awareness and excitement around the outlets apart from adding new stores. He said the chain has a mix of stores that have delivered profits from day one and others that are taking more time to become profitable. He then added: “Helios is concentrating on maximizing footfalls to drive toplines as opposed to optimizing resources to stores.”
Talking about the customer profile, he said: “Helios typically attracts younger, well-educated and well travelled consumers. Most of our customers are between 25 – 35 years working professionals, aware of brands and the latest styles. Many of them in fact research on the net and ask for specific watches. We therefore ensure that our staff are extremely knowledgeable about watches and all the brands that we carry to be able to guide our customers.”
Narayan mentioned that the watch industry has witnessed the entry of many exciting brands across segments, in the past 3-4 years, such as Breitling, Gucci, Seiko, Armani, Guess, Fossil, and FCUK. An increased advertising and growing retail presence through boutiques by brands like Omega, Rolex, Tag Heuer, Raymond Weil, Tommy Hilfiger, Titan, and Fastrack is also on the rise. Department stores – Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, and Central have also grown their footprints and increased their focus on the watch category. He confirmed that all these have heightened the visibility and enabled the fashion and premium ends of the watch market grow consistently by over 25 percent.
Helios has about 50 brands across its stores, in four categories, namely Fashion (Tommy Hilfiger, Fossil, FCUK, Diesel, and Guess) priced between Rs 5,000 and 11,000; Hi Fashion (premium designer brands such as Emporio Armani, Hugo Boss, GC, Versace, Givenchy, and Gucci) priced largely between Rs 15,000 and 50,000; and Mid premium watch brands including Titan.
It currently has stores located in the high streets and malls across NCR, Chandigarh, Guwahati, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bangalore.
