Casio, the Japanese consumer electronic brand will start manufacturing watches by this financial year (FY24) in India, said Hideki Imai, Managing Director, Casio India, while adding that the company is serious about the Indian market.
“We intend to start local manufacturing of watches in India this financial year, not G Shock but entry-level watches to begin with,” Imai told BW Retail World.
The intent is to locally manufacture 30 per cent of the products in India in the long run, he added.
According to the MD of Casio India, the brand is currently working with a local partner in the country, “Our final quality is ongoing, maybe in 1 to 3 months we launch our first collection with the local manufacturing,” he said.
The company witnessed a double-digit year-on-year (YoY) revenue growth in India, making it the highest-growing market for the company globally. In the last financial year (FY23) it reported the highest-ever operating profit from India, which was in double digits signifying great market potential.
When asked about the growth plans for India, Imai said that the brand plans to triple its revenue by 2025 in the watch category compared to the year 2019. Casio intends to open 100 stores by 2026 pan India. Currently, it has 59 exclusive brand outlets.
Imai shared that most of the sales are for products priced at less than Rs. 10,000 band.
Presently, the brand’s 30 per cent of sales come from the online channel and the rest 70 per cent comes from offline and in the future it expects to grow the online share of the business in the future.
