Timex Group celebrates 165 years of watch-making this year. In India, the company is still young with an experience of 25 years. Having grown at an annual rate of nearly 15 percent over the last few years in the country where the watch ownership is still at 35 percent, the company continues to be bullish on India and expects to grow at 20 percent annually in the coming years.

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In an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18, Timex Group President and Chief Executive Officer Tobias Reiss-Schmidt sheds light on the brand's expansion plans, strategy to remain relevant in the times of smart-watches and India as an investment opportunity.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

India has witnessed signs of slowdown in several sectors. How has your business performed?

We are in a lucky position that we are growing faster than the market. The watch market in India is growing at 7-10 percent, we were able to grow at 15 percent on average in the last few years. In the last year, we were able to keep up the growth speed. For the coming years, we are very optimistic to be able to exhilarate that growth. We see plenty of opportunities, number of channels and with new product categories, it is a very exciting time for us.

What are the plans regarding capacity expansion and investments over the next couple of years?

We see India as an investment market, because we see a huge growth opportunity for us with very strong fundamentals... only 35 percent watch ownership and a great appreciation for Timex brand and for other brands in our portfolio. So, we are going to continue investing in market place, market spend, further building our team in India and we are also going to continue investing in local manufacturing. We have been increasing the manufacturing at our local facility in Baddi and luckily, we are in a good position to be able to continue to increase capacity there by adding to it if necessary. We will continue to invest to keep up with the increase in demand in the market.

Tell us more about the targets that the company has set in terms of capacity and growth.

We have been increasing capacity from 1.5 million units to over 2 million units over the last couple of years. We are aiming to grow at 20 percent in the next few years on an annual basis and we have to make investments to keep up with that growth. We are also seeing India more and more as a location to produce watches and components for exports.

Investment will depend on domestic growth, development of local vendors that we are investing heavily into, how does our sourcing network outside of India develop and how do we want to use India as a source for other markets. We have to see what the market dictates and we will act upon it. We are looking at exports to Asia, the Philippines, Canada, Mexico and a number of other markets from India.

In the times of smart-watches and when mobile phones are serving the function of time, how is Timex creating a separate identity for itself?

We don't have to try to create an identity. Timex is a brand with a history of 165 years. Timex has been an instrumental part of horology, for many many decades. We developed the first sportswatch. We developed the first smartwatch jointly with Microsoft in the 80s... and then in movement technology, till this very day we make our own movements.

Timex is in a unique position of being a true watchmaker brand, authentic watchmaking, true craftsmanship, very accessible prices and the level of authencity this brand brings to table resonates extremely well with the new generation of consumers. Millenials, generation Z consumers are looking for something real and that is something Timex can deliver at accessible price point.

Which categories do you plan to focus on in the next 2-3 years in India?

As a Timex brand, we will continue to serve our loyal consumers, globally and in India, especially in traditional retail in India. But, we are also seeing lots of expansion opportunity in modern trade where we are meeting younger consumers and there we are going to look at elevating our average price point and we see that already working with the recent launch of Timex automatic which was priced three times higher than our average price point.

We are looking at expanding our brand portofolio in India. We are seeing nice growth in Versace. We recently added Ted Baker. Ted Baker will be launched in India this year. Expanding portfolio will also be a route to drive revenue growth.

Consumer behaviour has drastically changed over the last 25 years. How do you plan to engage your potential customers in this day and age?

We are in a lucky position. Having been in India for 30 years, having a subisidiary of 20 years... we have in-depth know-how of the local market. We have a loyal consumer following in the traditional retail. Earlier, Indian taste was different from consumers in other markets but with advancement of technology, penetration of phones, new generation of consumers get more and more similar across the globe because in the end they are influenced by the same global trends.

So, in a way, it makes it a bit easier for us because what we are doing in the US and Europe becomes more and more relevant for Indian market as well. We have this unique strength as with this localised know-how from the strong team on the ground combined with what we are doing in the US and Europe, we can bring both to the market and with that, be successful with different consumer segments in the market.

What is the expansion roadmap for your franchise network?

In showroom channel, we are looking to expand further. It's only 54. We have set a milestone of getting to 100 especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Exact timeline depends on performance but it shouldn't be more than a couple of years to get to a 100.

Will you be looking at adding more workforce?

There will be more hirings in the manufacturing side, watch-making, vendor strength, marketing, finance, sales, across the board.