FREDERIQUE CONSTANT FROM BRIDGE-TO-LUXURY TO LUXURY

Arun D'Silva and Jayanti Varma on Frederique Constant's India journey, and its plan to move from bridgeto-luxury' positioning to a luxury brand

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An HR specialist who worked with some of India's biggest companies like HCL, Oberoi and Eicher, Arun D' Silva ventured into watch distribution two decades ago, which led to the setting up of the Bangalore-based Retail Interface Pvt Ltd along with Jayanti Varma, an ISB alumnus who specialises in strategic planning and finance. The company's biggest success in the last decade has been in turning the Swiss brand Frederique Constant into one of the country's most successful bridge-toluxury watch brands. Arun and Jayanti detail their journey with the brand in this interview.

MW: How has Frederique Constant influenced your understanding of the luxury watch business?

The brand has influenced our thinking, understanding of luxury, attitude to customers, communication and our ability to present luxury with elegance. Our close association with the founders - Peter and Aletta Stass has been a great learning experience in brand positioning, pricing strategy and the power of design. We learnt how innovation drives market leadership and how a leader's conviction can lead an organisation to challenge market leaders. Over the years we have also been able to incorporate Indian elements in the Frederique Constant watches. A case in point is the highly successful launch of the Indian dial watch with the Devanagari script.

MW: As co-leaders spearheading Frederique Constant's journey in India, how do you effectively harmonise your differing viewpoints when making pivotal decisions for the brand?