Initiatives
Within just three years, Ethos has grown to a chain of twenty four studios and boutiques around the country, spanning Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Mumbai and offers more than 35 premium Swiss watch brands including Omega, Cartier, Carl F. Bucherer, Tag Heuer, Christian Dior and many more. Ethos is also managing exclusive Omega Boutique in Mumbai and a Rolex Boutique in Bengaluru, amongst a few other single-brand boutiques.
Ethos is also the first watch retail store to foray into Airport Travel Retail. Ethos has its store in Bengaluru International Airport (Departures); Terminal 1 Departures, New Delhi; Terminal 3 International Departures (duty-free), New Delhi; and at the Mumbai Domestic Airport.
Marketing initiatives
Repeat buying is a significant portion of Ethos’s sale every month and has over 15,000 loyal customers so far. Ethos Summit is a multi-brand store in the luxury segment, which is more for a connoisseur and to that extent exclusive.
Brand proposition
Ethos retails almost 35 brands. The luxury range is comprised of Rolex, Omega, Chopard, Carl F. Bucherer, Cartier and many more, whereas in the fashion segment, Ethos offers Seiko, Tissot, Guess, Calvin Klein and many other brands. Ethos is the exclusive retailers for Carl F. Bucherer, Edox, Claude Bernard, and Louis Erard in India. This well known watch retail brand hopes to bring in many more world class brands to India.
The challenges overcome
The primary challenge is unscrupulous practice of duty evasion by a section of the trade to the detriment of the legitimate retail segment, and also tax revenue. There is a clear shift towards buying luxury watches in India rather than abroad. An ethical, transparent retail chain for luxury watches in India can still induce growth of the market share if it invests in understanding luxury customers’ motivations and deliver exceptional buying experience in India, and this is what exactly Ethos did. A reduction in duties with the implementation of GST will be another big step in favour of local purchase.
Expansion plan
Plans for more studios in other cities, like Pune and Ahmedabad, are also on the anvil, with a target of 30 studios and boutiques by the end of 2010.
His understanding of the retail business and his learning in this process
“The cliché ‘people are our best assets’ probably applies best to us since luxury retailing requires highly motivated staff with the flair and chutzpah to entertain the luxury customer.”
