Time game!
Time game!


Tmex group has launched its webstore- both Timesx and Helix, active Facebook pages for both the brands and a funky Youtube brand channel. VD Wadhwa, MD and CEO, Timex Group India Limited in an interaction with Ankur Gaurav of Indiainretailer.com, shares the insigths of taking the e-route!

Ankur Gaurav (AG): What is the potential you foresee in the online retail business?

VD Wadhwa (VDW): Online retail business, the world over, has seen strong positive growth in spite of a very turbulent global economic environment. In India, the consumer’s trust in e-retail is mounting thus, the growth. This space has great promise and potential. The consumer is getting better equipped both in terms of tools, technology, knowledge and information. 

For a brand to be present in the online space creates greater level of transparency and leads to a larger audience base. The concept of shopping has evolved over the years with the boom of digital media. Today with changing lifestyles one has seen a lot of traction on online shopping, given that it’s a faster medium and solves the problem of travelling to various shops physically. It is even a preferred mode of shopping for most digitally savvy youngsters today.

AG: Who are the target group for this?

VDW: The target group for our online retail business is between the age group of 18- 35 years.  Almost every household owns a computer these days and internet is penetrating even in the remotest areas so it is viable for us to tap this space and reach out to our target consumers.

AG: What is the share of online retail market you expect in the overall retail sector?

VDW: As compared to the overall retail space, online retail has a marginal contribution. However given the potential, it is imperative for our brands to be present here and look at viable business opportunities.  
 

AG: Watch is something one would like to have a touch and feel and then buy. How will online portal thrive in this situation?

VDW: Our website lists down all the features of the watches available along with hi resolution image and the price of the product. We also have special features wherein the consumers can zoom in and view specific details. With watches, I believe one makes a choice by the kind of features and the look of the product and with our websites we are trying to match all the relevant criteria.

As far as for the question of thriving in this condition, the Indian consumer is rapidly growing in terms of engagement and know-how of e-commerce websites.

Timex has consistently been reaching out to the customers with innovative, engaging and interactive content. 

AG: What was the need to launch a digital initiative?

VDW: E-commerce and the sub-set retail e-commerce (or e-tail) is still in its nascent stage, but presents us with enormous business opportunity. It was imperative for our brand to tap this segment and ensure steady growth. With a considerable base of consumers being net savvy, it was an obvious decision for us. We are focused towards presenting our consumers with a wide range of technologically advanced watches.

AG: How will you make sure the on time delivery of products?  Do you have any tie ups with any of the logistics and shipping companies?

VDW: Products shown on the store are stocked in the Net Distribution Service Limited warehouse. Stocking is maintained in the webstore itself hence except in very rare cases products are shipped within the same or next working day. NDSL has tied up with multiple logistics and courier partners to service deliveries across the country. Some of the companies that service the orders are Bluedart , Fedex , DTDC . These companies have an online tracking system by which the customer can check the status of the shipment. Customers are also notified by Email and SMS* on the dispatch of the order. Customers are also called post delivery for a delivery confirmation.

AG: In brief tell us about the technology used to develop the portal?

VDW: The web stores have been created on Magento Commerce platform. Magento has over 125000+ merchants using the platform across the world. Magento is a feature-rich, open-source, enterprise-class platform that offers merchants a high degree of flexibility and control over the user experience, catalog, content and functionality of their online store.  

 

 

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