The multi-product retailer is planning a major push into offline retail, aiming to launch shop-in-shops and exclusive brand outlets across India
Bengaluru: Swiss Military, a global lifestyle brand with a 30-year legacy, is targeting major growth across India, aiming to reach 10,000 retail touchpoints within the next three years, a top company official told IndiaRetailing.
Currently, Swiss Military operates approximately 3,500 retail touchpoints in India. The 10,000 retail touchpoints it aims to achieve will be a mix of shop-in-shops (SIS), multi-brand outlets (MBOs), and exclusive brand outlets (EBOs).
“We are intensifying our efforts to accelerate growth and aim to become market leaders in the Indian market within the next three years,” said Anuj Sawhney, managing director of Swiss Military Consumer Goods Ltd.
Swiss Military specialises in non-luxury premium and innovative products with over 4,500 stock keeping units (SKUs) across eight major categories. It is present in 26 countries.
Considering its global business, Korea has been one of the oldest and top markets for Swiss Military in terms of sales, followed by China, Japan, the Gulf region, and Europe. It is focusing to expand more on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and will soon enter the Saudi market as well.
India contributes approximately 10% to the multi-product retailer’s global turnover. In the fiscal year (FY) 2024, the company achieved a gross revenue of Rs 181 crore from operations, up from Rs 122 crore in FY23.
“In India, we started with a few SKUs, customised those, and launched in the market without holding large amounts of stock. This approach acted as a dipstick to gauge what sells, determine acceptable price points, and assess how well Swiss Military would be received in the market,” said Sawhney.
Within two and a half years, by 2016, the brand became one of the top corporate gifting players in India. Today, it works with nearly 600 resellers and serves around 27,000 corporate clients annually.
Following that, the brand forayed into in-flight sales through partnerships with airlines like Jet Airways and Indigo, marking its first experience with direct retail, where individual products were sold directly to customers.
The brand launched its own online marketplace in 2019 and went public in 2021. It is currently listed on the BSE, and plans to be listed on the NSE within the next 18 months.
Currently, in India, the brand retails over 700 SKUs across three major product categories: Home appliances, electronics, and travel gear.
Expansion across channels
Swiss Military sells its products through corporate gifting, online marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa Fashion, TataCLiQ, Ajio, and Myntra, as well as offline through general trade channels. Online sales account for about 8% to 10% of its total volume.
“We are now starting to enter large-format retail stores by setting up shop-in-shops (SIS). We have already initiated discussions with 17 major retailers, beginning with those in the Southern region of India,” Sawhney said.
The company is also planning to launch exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) and franchise stores starting in the first quarter of the next calendar year (CY).
“We plan to open around seven flagship stores in key tier-one and tier-two cities across India to test the market. If phase one goes well, we aim to launch a full-scale expansion across various regions of India starting in the second quarter,” he added.
The brand is starting with flagship stores in cities like Delhi, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, and Mumbai. To gauge traction in tier-2 and beyond cities, it plans to open a store in Punjab, possibly in Ludhiana or Amritsar.
Sawhney stated that another key aspect of the brand’s expansion in India is establishing a presence in general trade. “We are in the process of finalising 18 distributors and super stockists across India to help take the brand to every corner of the country,” he said.
“The only market we are not focusing on at the moment is the Eastern region, which we plan to enter by early next year, around March 2025. However, in the meantime, we aim to establish a presence for all of our other regions in India,” he added.
Moreover, the company is investing in its first manufacturing plant in Faridabad, Haryana, scheduled to begin operations in December this year, aligning with the Make in India initiative by the Indian government. If this venture proves successful, the company plans to expand by establishing five more plants across India.
The Back Story
Founded in 1984, the Switzerland-based company initially relied on the current managing director’s father Ashok Sawhney to source various items for the brand such as watches and sunglasses. After Anuj Sawhney joined as sourcing manager in 1997, the brand expanded significantly across Switzerland, France, and Germany, reaching around 700 retail locations, including souvenir shops, tourist outlets, gift stores, and mom-and-pop shops.
In 2006, Swiss Military approached Sawhney to expand the brand internationally and promoted him to global managing director. By the time, he had already designed nearly 1,800 products for the brand.
The brand first ventured into the Indian market in 2014, initially focusing on corporate gifting, which was identified as a low-hanging fruit for entry.
