High taxes in India holding back Longines

High duties and taxes on luxury watches in India were holding back Swiss watchmaker Longines from opening its exclusive stores in the country, according to Claude Jaunin, Regional Sales Manager, Asia-Pacific, Longines.
     
"We have plans to grow. Little bit of help on taxes is needed..., Taxes have to come at a level where we can be competitive," Claude Jaunin said here.

Longines opened an exclusive concept flagship stores in Singapore recently and more were coming up in China and Hong Kong, he said adding "But, we cannot have our own shops in India because of restrictions. Duties and taxes in India are quite high compared to other places of the world."

He said there is a big potential to increase sales of Longines in India. "But, considering the number of shops, its very small here when compared with China, which has now become a major market for us," Jaunin said.

"We should have three times more number of shops in India than what we have now compared to other cities across the world," he said adding Longines had covered metros in the country through partners and retail franchisees.

Responding to a query, Jaunin said the global economic crisis had little impact on the sales volume of Longines, a part of the Swatch Group.

"US which is facing financial crisis is very tough. But, we are strong in Asia Pacific, which is a growing area and where most business is happening. Europe is a more mature market and stable. We are well---surviving. The crisis has not affected us as badly as others," he asserted.

Longines has made available its world-wide collection of luxury and sports watches in India at very reasonable prices, he said and claimed "Its definitely good value for money. People buy Longines because of its quality which lasts."

Declining to comment on the sales target for the current fiscal, Jaunin said "We are improving in terms of sales. Every year we have registered double digit growth. I will not put it in terms of percentage either, because its very small. Now the season is starting. We are quite optimistic to maintain double digit growth."

Meanwhile, Jaunin said the company was planning to launch a new watch model for ladies by November this year.