Luxury Leaders - Bold Timing

The luxury business is a niche segment, where brands offer high price in exchange for superior quality of products and services, from luxury cars, watches, to concierge assisted travel. The small number of people that can afford to be in this segment is continuously increased by the new creation of wealth, hence sustaining these businesses to grow and prosper. Here are some successful examples of luxury business players in Indonesia.

- Marella Putri

Eurobutik Bangun Indonesia capitalizes on opportunities in independent luxury watches

When Kartika Winata first agreed to take over the luxury watch brand Delacour in Indonesia, she did not plan to grow Ebiwatch (PT Euro but-tik Bangun Indonesia) to the scale that it is today. Today, Ebiwatch encompasses seven independent brands in total, each with different target markets. Independent watch brands are independently owned and run brands, they do not belong to a larger group like TAG Heuer or Hublot, which are parts of the LVMH Group. These independent brands also feature ingenious design and innovations to differentiate themselves and often only produce a small number of watches. Currently, Ebiwatch is the retailer for Delacour, Hautlence, BRM, H. Moser & Cie, Dietrich, and Reservoir. Recently the company also became a retailer for Grand Seiko, a brand from a major corporation but only focuses on niche and limited-edition models.

“People always wonder why a girl would choose to do luxury watches. But what attracted me to the luxury watch business, if I’m being honest, was just a pure business opportunity. I met the right people at the right time,” says Kartika, co-founder and managing director of Ebiwatch.

Kartika believes she knows more about luxury watches than most people, since her father, Rommy Winata is a collector, but it was not a passion of hers. Along her way into the business however, she came to understand the process of watchmaking, which made her greatly appreciate the watch industry and developed her sense of belonging to the people behind it.