India is one of our most important international markets: David Bruce Warfel

American lifestyle brand Zippo, known for its cigarette lighters, has recently tied-up with William Penn to strengthen its footprint in India. Retailer Media caught up with David Bruce Warfel, Zippo’s Vice President, Global Marketing, on his recent visit to India, and spoke to him about his plans for the country.

What is at the core of brand Zippo? Which products are you best known for? 
The brand Zippo spells reliability, individual expression and commanding presence! We are extremely well known for our iconic Zippo Windproof Lighters amongst several other products such as hand warmers, perfumes, and other camping related products.  

How long have you been in India? What’s the year-on-year growth?
We’ve been in India for over 10 years and it is one of the most important international markets for us. Currently, about 40 per cent of our sales come from North America and 60 per cent from rest of the world. If we talk about our global sales, 70 per cent are from Asia as a whole, and we expect this figure to grow in India particularly as we work with William Penn.

Are you facing some challenges to market products associated with cigarettes? 
We are a complete lifestyle brand and our products also cater to the same. Zippo is not a tobacco accessory or promotes it any way.

What is the market positioning? Who is your target audience?
We are a lifestyle brand focusing on young men between the age group of 18 and 24 years who want to create a style statement.

What is your distribution strategy for India?
We have entered into an exclusive distribution contract with William Penn. They will sell Zippo products through their 26 exclusive showrooms across India and also through their great network of dealers. Apart from this distribution channel, we will also have presence on the e-commerce platform to ensure a lot of convenience for our consumers here in India.

What is the price range of your products? Which price band is the most popular among consumers? 
The Zippo Windproof lighter retails at prices starting at Rs 1,850. We have thousands of designs but our basic models tend to be the most popular and these units tend to hover around the Rs 1,850 base price.

Any plans to set up exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) in India? 
We neither have any exclusive brand outlets here in India nor have plans for setting up one in the near future. We have found a perfect partner in William Penn and know that our association will help us to cement our footprint in India.