Timex has stirred up the watch-making scene with a renewed sense of purpose in recent years. From exciting collaborations to limited-edition luxurious timepieces, the watchmaker is on an adventure. Their recent global collaboration with Aston Martin is another example of that.
In a recent interview with Esquire India, Timex Group CEO Tobias Reiss-Schmidt spoke about how the brand caters to consumers at every price-point. “Timex is about timeless design and quality, but also with an eye to delivering outstanding value,” Reiss-Schmidt explains. “We launched a $2,000 watch, which was a Giorgio Galli series titanium with a minimalist design. When you hold this watch and you look at the feature set, it’s incredible value at $2,000. At the same time, we are selling watches for $50 that offer great value.”
Reiss-Schmidt also spoke about choosing the right collaboration, men’s style and why India is a market with incredible opportunity in the consumer space.
Edited excerpts.
You've finished a decade at Timex now? What have you learnt about watchmaking and running a company that is so heavily focused on consumers?
It's almost a decade. I've been working in the consumer business all my professional life, pretty much. But indeed, watches are a very unique category. They are such a personal item that you wear on your wrist, you look at it multiple times a day, which means you build a very strong emotional connection to the watch. The watch becomes a companion in your life and you remember moments in your life. The watch becomes a symbol of these experiences and moments that shape your life and maybe shape your relationship with other people. It's an incredible category to work in.
It's also humbling to think about that because it means that we as watchmakers have to pay a lot of attention to detail and how we execute the watches because it's such an important item in people's lives.
You spoke about how people have an emotional bond with their watches. Based on your experiences so far, how would you describe the value of time?
That is probably the experience as a human being, and less as a CEO. But it is an interesting question because we recently ran a campaign in Timex: which is Analog Life Make Time Yours.
This was about the importance of living life intentionally, choosing how you spend your time, spending quality time with others, or on your own, gaining some perspective. I think this is a huge trend. We see the younger generations and Gen Z engaging with our category of traditional watches. There is a certain fatigue of constantly being chased by your smartwatch, phone, computer being rushed, and telling you what's your next appointment. We really want to make Timex a reminder to live intentionally and make time yours.
Where does India stand as compared to the other markets where you guys operate? How unique is the Indian market for Timex?
The Indian market is very unique for everyone. It's a market that has incredible opportunity in the consumer space, especially. More and more consumers grow into an income segment where they can buy watches. We've been in India for such a long time and the awareness and appreciation for Timex is high. Today, India is the second largest market for us. It's the fastest growing market. We've been doubling our revenue in the last three years as a group.
There are also other globally recognised brands that come under Timex. The likes of Versace, Ferragamo, Nautica as well. How's the demand for those?
This is an area that is seeing significant growth in the last few years. We are really seeing a premiumisation of the entire category. We have another brand called Philipp Plein, a German designer. That is a very maximalist brand, very unique. We see incredible strong response for that as well. We are very excited about what's happening in the fashion category.
Timex works on a lot of collaborations. You had the New Yorker limited edition watch, for example. What makes you choose the right collaboration?
There are very different reasons for a collaboration to be relevant. We really love the process of creating something new, surprising and innovative. Collaborations allow you to create something that Timex on its own couldn't create. We are doing some because our designer, Giorgio Galli, is super excited about them. Other collaborations are about introducing the Timex brand to a completely new audience.
I read that you're big on adventure sports. You do kitesurfing, sailing and a bunch of other activities as well. What's the one watch that you always have on you when you're going for these activities?
Now, it's actually a Timex Deepwater. That's from the diving collection. It is a completely unbreakable watch. That's the watch I always have on me when I do sports or travel.
At Esquire, we also talk about men's style. Can you tell me the three types of watches that every man should have in their collection?
First of all, three is not enough. All I can say is that once you have three watches, you are basically hooked, and you will end up owning 15-20 watches.
If it was three watches, what every man needs is one very understated, simple, timeless dress watch. Not too big, the sizes are coming down. I recommend to even explore 39 millimeters (dials). I think another watch everybody needs is a GMT. It just expresses the idea of multiple time zones, travel, adventure.
Finally, I personally love cars as well. Cars and watches kind of always go together. So having a chronograph with a tachymeter is also essential.