"We are still at the beginning of expansion in India"

Jean-Marc Pontroué, CEO of Panerai, speaks on India being one of the fastest growing markets for the Geneva-headquartered luxury watch brand

- SMITA TRIPATHI

PANERAI, THE luxury watchmaker that blends Italian design with Swiss technology, recently opened its third and largest boutique in India, in Mumbai. Another one is likely to open in Bengaluru soon. JeanMarc Pontroué, CEO of Panerai, in a free-flowing conversation with Business Today, talks about why Panerai will not manufacture diamond watches, how smartwatches are a disruptor but in a good way, and a lot more. Edited excerpts:

How important is India as a market for Panerai? 

For us it [India] is one of the fastest-growing markets. We are still at the beginning of expansion in India. It’s still a business that is polarised between Delhi and Mumbai. But over the next decade, it will be one of the most promising markets for the luxury industry in general, and for watches in particular. Panerai has been  present in India for many years now. We started with a boutique in a hotel some 13 years ago. We will continue to expand our retail footprint in key cities in India in the future.

Will you be looking at multi-brand outlets? 

Multi-brand is one of the potential facets of our  expansion. It’s not like we are purely in a mono-brand development scenario. We, however, believe that it is in key cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, that our customers can best experience the brand’s boutiques.

Going forward, in terms of strategy, will you continue to focus on the US and Europe or will Asia play a more important role?