Journal of Applied Management-Jidnyasa, Volume 10, Issue 2, 2018

SHIFT OF TIME –KEEPING OF WRIST WATCHES TO

STATUS SYMBOL AND FASHION
15
Sameer Ramesh Sonawane

ABSTRACT
The Wrist watch is primarily known as a time keeping device. In this era of speedy growth of
business, increasing the wristwatch brands available in the market from domestic to imported, the
businesses of wristwatch make opportunities for growth. Very few research studies have been
conducted on this topic. The major gap identified was the paradigm shift of Indian wristwatch market
to mega uses of electronic devices such as mobile phones. The trajectory of the trends has shifted
from traditional to contemporary which create a lot of room to conduct research on it. Supplementary
attribute of the wristwatches on wearing accessories for both male and female have commendable
scope and opportunities in prospective business. Over one billion people of India comprising of
different segments of consumers, based on class, status and income, is a huge and lucrative market.
This study reveals the shift of time-keeping of wrist watches to status symbol and fashion, that is how
it relates from generation to generation.
KEYWORDS: Wristwatches, niece market, mobile phones, accessories, Electronic market &
watch market
INTRODUCTION
Wristwatch market has taken a giant leap in the recent time, as all ranges of product from mechanical
wristwatch to electronic wristwatch can be seen in the market. Since the preferences of customers are
changing toward purchases of wrist watch, there is this study from Ken research- it says that the
expanding urban population along with rising number of millionaires and HNI‟s are expected to bring
robust growth in the premium segments in the wrist watch category in coming years. Our study points
out the important points which researchers on wrist watch business failed to concentrate. Indian Wrist
watches markets have been categories in the designer wrist watch, Sports wrist watches,
chronographic and other style watches. Thus, the market has witnessed a large number of
international brands with Indian brands; therefore it is stiff competition for the Indian Brands against
the International brands. In addition to that retail purchases are now not just restricted to physical
purchase in the retail outlet but extended to online purchase in large numbers. Number of working
opportunity has increased the income level and therefore the consumption level has increased which
created the lucrative environment for businessmen to invest.
However the study on gender preferences and uses of devises for time keeping are still at vague level.
Spending on wrist watch from gender, income, preference, brand and living style, status is still to
cleaner. This study will help to understand each concept in the context of wrist watch market. The
Purchase habits change with various variable. If this variable able to handle business meticulously the
success is certain can be expected.

15
Assistant Professor, Bharti Vidyapeeth Institute of Management Studies, Navi
Mumbai. Email:sameer12college@gmail.com

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A Brief History of the watch: The concept of the wristwatch goes back to the production of the very
earliest watches in the 16th century (Wikipedia, 2015). Elizabeth I of England received a wristwatch
from Robert Dudley in 1571. The first electronic watch was invented by Max Hetzel, a Swiss
Engineer in 1954. Watches evolved since portable spring-driven clocks, which first appeared in 15th
century era in Europe. Watches were not widely worn in pockets till the 17th century. One account
says that the word "watch" came from the Old English word woecce which meant "watchman",
because it was used by town watchmen to keep track of their shifts at work. Another says that the
term came from 17th century sailors, who used the new mechanisms to time the length of their
shipboard watches. ( Wikipedia - watch)

Wristwatch Market in India:

The Indian watch market has matured over the years and has seen a paradigm shift, keeping abreast
with international trends. (Wikipedia, 2015) The Rs. 2,400 cr. Indian wristwatch market, with
organized sector representing just over 50% has been revitalized by deregulation, with major
countries.
Companies are fast using the potential for product-offering through the direct input route and
leveraging their global expertise, product lines, and distribution efficiencies maintaining cost
advantages. Amidst a major reorganization, the Indian market is expected to move closer towards
realizing its potential. This entry has been advantageous to the Indian consumers as their expectations
were improved with coverage to global brands, styles and various price levels.
Consumers have evolved considerably with time and their aspirations are now global. The market
metamorphosis has given them the power to choose. Patrons have made quantum leaps in their watch
knowledge and superiority as companies took steps towards educating them, both in terms of look and
feel for time wear through intelligent promotions. The market has become more active, attracting a
broader audience, gradually expanding to newer horizons ushering a New World.
As per the Preetam Kawshik Ken Research, 2014 report, the watch industry has witnessed a steady
growth and increased penetration into unconventional markets, flush with high disposable incomes.
This is especially true for Rural India where consumerism is on the rise and the demand for luxe
goods is given. All these factors have been driving the Indian wrist watch market into a rapidly
growing sector. Between FY2008 and 2013, the Indian wrist watch market has increased at a CAGR
(compound annual growth rate) of 9.3%.
As per the Ken Research (Ken Research, 2015), The Indian watch industry among the three Price
segments of mass, mid and premium watches is witnessing highest growth in the premium segment
.this is primarily because of rising size of urban middle class population in the India which has the
high spending capacity and which is increasingly becoming more open towards spending on the
consumption of luxurious good These consumers mainly include young entrepreneurs, sportspersons,
corporate executive, celebrities and other who have high disposable incomes and have high
inclination to experience and high inclination to experience luxury goods by international standard.
As a result, the watch market in India has evolved into a competitive market with a large number of
the market players offering new and innovative product ranges.

LITERATURE REVIEW

His report titled India Watch Industry Outlook to 2018 - Premium Segment and Online Retail to Lead
the Growth' provides a comprehensive analysis of the various aspects such as market size,
segmentation, trends and developments and future projections of the mass, mid and premium
price wrist watches as key segments of the market.
The report provides the market share of the major brands and company profiles of key players/ brands
in all the major segments (mid, affordable luxury, luxury and super luxury) The report also covers the
online watch industry and wall clock segment in India and provides market size and future projections
of economy, mid and premium price wall clocks as three segments of the wall clock industry in the
country.
(Research and markets: India watch industry outlook to 2018 - premium segment and online retail to
lead the growth) analyzes the worldwide markets for Watches & Clocks in US$ Million by the

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following segments: Watches (Mass (Under $50), Middle ($50-$299), Upper ($300 - $999), &
Luxury ($1000 and above), and Clocks. The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the
US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Latin America. Annual estimates and
forecasts are provided for the period 2007 through 2015. A seven-year historic analysis is also
provided for these markets. The report profiles 255 companies including many key and niche players
such as Bulgari, Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Chopard, Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd., Bulova, Compagnie
Financiere Richemont International, Cartier SA, Fossil, Inc., Gucci Group, Hermes International,
Hindustan Machine Tools, Junghans Uhren GmbH, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, Tag
Heuer International SA, Movado Group Inc., Patek Philippe SA, Rhythm Watch Co., Ltd., Rolex SA,
Seiko Holdings Corporation, Seiko Corporation of America, The Swatch Group Ltd., Timex
Corporation, Timex Group India Ltd., and Titan Industries Ltd. Market data and analytics are derived
from primary and secondary research. Company profiles are mostly extracted from URL research and
reported select online sources. (Global watches & clocks industry 2011)

Smart watches signify next evolutionary leap in Smart Devices. Smart Wearable devices which
remain on person for major part of day and help interacting with Physical and Digital world should
turn a lot of heads. As this is a new market, there is no tried and tested winning formula. However,
one thing is sure that this is an extremely interesting device that would be explored by lots of people.
The availability of various and distinct use cases that device can do will directly impact Sales. Till the
time a leader is clearly identified with mass market proposition, the industry will be fragmented and
we should see plethora of devices satisfying diverse use cases. For Traditional Watch industry, Smart
Watches should come as a Wakeup call. At present, it does not seem as a major disruptor due to lack
of acceptability, high entry barriers (Watch + Mobile combination), low battery life (as compared to
current watches), etc. to overall industry. Also seeing interest of major Tech Companies in
development of Smart watches. This should surely throw a lot of interesting propositions to
consumers. The High End Traditional Watch Market dominated by Mechanical Watches may not be
impacted by Smart Watch growth, but the mid segment watch makers should keep a very close tab on
this as this is the market that will heat up. (Darmwal, R. (2015)
The global fitness band market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period
owing to their massive popularity. One of the major drivers for the segment's growth is the increasing
fitness-conscious population. Fitness bands help them to monitor their activities and track their sleep
and enable them to analyze and adopt healthy activities. The market grew by two-fold in 2015 with
the introduction of the Mi Band by Xiaomi in July 2014. The cost of these bands is almost five times
less than the ASP of a fitness band. With the availability of such low-cost bands, the consumer
preference for these bands over smart watches will continue to increase in the coming years.

(“World wrist wearable market growth to 2020” -2016)

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1) To access the consumer preference of buying wrist watches as time keeping.

2) To ascertain the comparative investment of costumers write watches over mobile phone
3) To build brand positioning of wrist watch as a status symbol.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Sample: The sample size of the survey is 100 consumers. The study was conducted in the cities of
Pune, Mumbai and Goa. Online server has been brought from various region of India. Pune is one of
the main cities in India and is the kind of sub capital of Maharashtra. Systematic random sampling is
used. The sorting system of the sampling frame is based on number of records. Since, the focus of
study is on the preferences of patterned towards wristwatches, all class segments was considered. To
account unbiased preferences, spontaneous and experiential responses were considered from
wristwatch owners.

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DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUE

The study was carried out using the survey approach. A self-administered questionnaire was
developed and utilized to obtain data from the sample respondents. The Two page questionnaire has
two sections. The first section has questions, which attempt to gauge a number of issues related to
profile of respondent and preference toward wrist watch and second page contains more detail
questions on pattern which this study needed. On the basis of literature survey, the various influencing
attributes were arrived at. 10 attributes with suitably defined levels, totalling up to 22 factors were
incorporated into the questionnaire. The respondents were to rate each of the product attributes on a
yes or no. A draft questionnaire was made and tested on a sample of 30 consumers. This exercise
ensured the adequacy and questionnaire. The language in the questionnaire was made simple, clear
and free from technical jargon. Adequate care was taken to see that the consumers did not
misunderstand the questions. Based on the feedback obtained from these respondents, the final
version of the questionnaire was developed. The language used was English. In the second section,
demographic questions were asked. Due to the personal nature of the information sought, this section
was placed at the end of the interview, in order to reduce any possible resistance from the respondents
to participate in the survey.

DATA ANALYSIS

The consumer questionnaire data was analysed using the statistical package PASW version 18.0.
From the ranked data of respondents, the importance of an attribute is calculated by examining the
range of behaviours across all levels of the attribute. Range is the difference between the lowest and
the highest behaviours. It represents the maximum impact that the attribute can contribute to a
product. Based on the range and value of the attitude, seven relatively important attributes have been
identified on record order basis. They are brand preference, behaviour of purchase, price category;
attitude on product can be understood by this measurement. .
1) The relation of Gender, age with use of wristwatch suiting apparel. Most of the people from
the age group of 19-25, of both genders believe with the thought put up by the surveyors. On
the other hand a person of same age group also says NO to above mentioned thought.
2) More than 70 % of the population shows in the interest of wearing wristwatch, Male and
female have reflected almost at same ratio, suite to apparel is kind of fashion which may led
youth to purchase more number of watches, however the wearing of wristwatch is demining,
as there are large number of sample shown the interest in mobile as time keeping
The age groups of 19-25 (male & female both) are willing to spend amount of Rs 1001-3000. It is
also observed that male respondent of this age group are ready to spend Rs 301-1000. Similar
behavior is also shown in all categories in age group of 19-25. This shows the spending behavior of
male compared with female behavior. Pattern on expenditure on gadget are having little change
between male and woman. The observations reflect that almost all people in all age groups believe
that wristwatches are treated as Status Symbol and a preferred gifting article.
Analysis of the report says that fashion statements are carries by most of young crowd and they also
believe the wearing wristwatch is beneficial. More than 70% of the population has shown the positive
attitude toward the fashion statement
A number of brands are playing in the Indian market but out of it, which are the brand playing key
role in the market. From the sample collection it has been seem Titan and Fasttrack are the still
passing the leading role, and international brand also taking share of Indian wrist watch market.

those who are not interested in wearing wristwatch shown little interest as well may be for gifting
purpose, however those with interest are shows positive impact on purchase of wristwatch, from
1000Rss to 8000 Rs. Range of 1000- 3000 was at the higher level however if we compared with
mobile phone with wristwatch, consumer are not that willing to spend on wristwatch as they do spend
on Mobile phone.

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RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

A price range of Rs.1000-3000 Rs has higher probability of purchases; there are hardly differences in
male and female pattern on purchase.
There is a higher probability of considering that wristwatch is a status symbol and preferred gifting
article.
Around 75% of respondents agreed with view of uses of the wristwatches as a fashion statement,
In the correlations of (1. Do you prefer using wrist watch) and 2. Do you feel wrist watch is necessary
for time keeping?) It is viewed that they share positive correlation.
The study also indicated Fasttrack and Titan are the most preferred brands, followed by Sonata,
Rolex, Casio, Seiko, Timex, Fossil, Armani etc.
The study also brought to one‟s notice that most respondents do not prefer spending higher amount
on wristwatch. However range of spending is between 1000 Rs to 3000 Rs.
Correlations between these two variables are,
1. There was a negative correlation among the question which asked, Would you prefer mobile Phone
as time keeping than wristwatch and 2.Do you have more than one wrist watch for self use.

LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

While attempting to generalize the findings, caution must be exercised as the study was conducted
with a few limitations. First, due to the limitations of mobility and time constraints, the study was
limited to city of Pune, Mumbai. Goa and help of some online survey assistance and so the results
need to be looked at from on this perspective. Secondly, a restricted anole of 100 consumers, drawn
from a stratum that represents only the urban class segment of the total population was considered. In
future, the study can expanded to a cross section of cities and towns with larger sample , which may
reveal differences if any ,in respondent preferences. Nevertheless ,organizations can use these results
to design strategies by focussing on the factors that were arrived at.

REFERENCES

1. Darmwal, R. (2015). Wrist wars: Smart watches vs traditional watches. Telecom Business
Review, 8(1), 69-79.
2. Global watches & clocks industry. (2011, Mar 16). PR Newswire Retrieved
from;https://search.proquest.com/docview/857304047?accountid=148431
3. .Research and markets: India watch industry outlook to 2018 - premium segment and
online retail to lead the growth. (2013, Nov 05). Business Wire Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/1448506679?accountid=148431
4. World wrist wearable market (10.94% CAGR) growth to 2020. (2016, Oct 12). PR
Newswire Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/1828011974?accountid=148431
5. Rao, Venkoba. South Asian Journal of Management. Apr-Jun2008, Vol. 15 Issue 2,
pp100-106
6. Watch out for the watch, Business Insider, Small Business, 2014@
www.businessinsider.in
7. History of wristwatch, History of watches , Wikipedia , 2015@ en.wikipedia.org
8. Preetam Kawshik, Ken Research (2014). Growth in India watch industry led by premium
segment and online popularity, 2014 @ www.slideshare.net/Ken_Research
9. Philip Kotier (2003), Marketing Management, IV^ Edition, Pearson Education, pp. 256-
64, India.

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