Kenneth Cole New York Aims To Capture Mid Market Segment In India With Modern Elegance

What began as a brand synonymous with chic urban fashion, Kenneth Cole has now forayed into the technical world of watchmaking. Epitomizing a blend of modern style and practical functionality, catering to both fashion-forward individuals and those seeking reliable timepieces, Kenneth Cole is a go to for young, professionals who are looking to add a dash of style to their look. Expanding into accessories, including watches, was a natural progression for the brand allowing it to offer a complete lifestyle solution to its clientele. Creating a brand ethos centered on creativity, boldness, and a deep understanding of contemporary trends, Kenneth Cole has made its mark on the Indian landscape of watchmaking. Speaking with Rajiv Mehra, Brand Director, Kenneth Cole New York, we delve into the brand’s remarkable presence in India and its outlook on premium Indian watch market. 

THM: How do you position Kenneth Cole as a premium watchmaker in India? 

Rajiv: Every brand has got a certain core product category and the core product category of Kenneth Kohl is apparel and shoes. The brand has now expanded into different lifestyle products whether it be apparels or sunglasses or fragrances or watches or jewellery. So when it comes to watches I believe-and this is something Titan would also confirm- that there has been a good traction gain in the last 18 to 24 months in India with the amount of communication that we have been doing, either by social media or point of sale activities. And to add to that, from a point of sale activities, is something that what we are trying to do is visual merchandising where we highlight the automatics, because that's the way we are going forward. Apart from that, in terms of the communication, we also have started doing point of sale activity every year which is also an automatic festival as we call it. And that's the time when we highlight the products in full form and manner in larger than life imagery's whether it be at point of sales or whether it be in terms of communication and we have seen the response that we have got by doing this activity which has really created a stir amongst the mid-market brands. 

THM: Kenneth Cole has a strong presence in India currently. Can you tell us something about the distribution strategy?

Rajiv: When it comes to our strategy as of today, we work with Titan as our sole distributor, in the country. We are present with all the leading department stores, whether it be Shopper's Stop, Lifestyle and the likes. Secondly, we are present in the Helios stores, which are again the watch retail stores which are run by Titan. Thirdly, we are present in the world of Titan stores which are run by Titan themselves. And last but not the least we are also present in the multi-brand stores which are the high street dealers. So we have a very good presence today in terms of the presence of the watches, of course we have dedicated spaces within the department stores highlighting the brand, highlighting the collection and highlighting the products. 

THM: How do you train your staff to educate and impart knowledge about these watches to your consumers?

Rajiv: Today our front level sales people who are the soldiers who are selling the watches needs to be well educated in the first place so that they can communicate and educate the consumers at the floor level. So the retail staff at the floor level is well trained. We give them regular trainings, educate them on the new products, new innovations, educate them on the technologies of the watchmaking and thereby we expect them to percolate it down to the consumers. At the same time, our communication is also based on that people really understand why we are talking about the automatic watches so much. And last but not the least, we are planning something which will create more education amongst the consumers. So we would like the consumers to participate in something that we are planning in the second half of this year. So stay tuned for that. 

THM: There's a lot of talk about India as a country which is poised to be the next destination for luxury watches we've seen a lot of global Swiss brands open their stores in India or they started retailing in India in the last couple of years. So what's your view on this? 

Rajiv: I think luxury as a term is very subjective. You know, luxury can be a Rs 30,000 product as well or it can be a Rs 3 lakh product or it can be a Rs 30 lakh product as well. So it's quite subjective in terms of the definition of the word luxury. From a watch perspective, definitely luxury is a Rolex or a Patek Philippe. But we are not in that league. But we are in the big market segment and within that segment, we are looking at acquiring a greater market share in that space for Kenneth Cole watches. And when you talk about the luxury segment, whether it be fashion, whether it be watches, or whether it be anything else, there's a lot coming into India today and I believe that's a good thing so that at least you retain your consumers to buy within India rather than asking them to go abroad and buy. 

THM: Since India as a country is extremely diverse with several cultures, languages and ideologies. How do you plan to appeal to such a varied audience? 

Rajiv: My experience of 20 years in the watch industry has given me some valuable insights into the minds of the consumer. The watch industry is getting smaller and the brands that are being sustained or the brands that continue to be sustained are the brands that offer uniqueness or a distinctive product. Today, the customers, whether it be India or whether it be anywhere else in any other part of the world, people wear watches not for seeing time. They wear the watches to make a statement within their own inner circles. And I think this is something which is becoming extremely challenging, how to identify yourself as a brand and make attraction with the consumers and make a market position in the marketplace where you can be distinctive and people aspire to buy the brand. And this is something that we are targeting. I believe no matter how diverse India is as a country, we are very well accepted as a brand due to the right product offering that we are offering to the Indian consumer.

THM: We have seen that a lot of watch brands have created collaborations with Indian elements, parts of Indian culture. So, would Kenneth Cole also be open to doing that, where they will create a specific India model which will appeal exclusively to Indians and it would be available for sale also in Indian or subcontinent?

Rajiv: Yes, we have planned products especially for the Indian market. We are looking at developing or rather we have already developed, I would say, limited editions for the Indian market. We have developed special collections for the Indian market considering that we now understand what the Indian consumer wants and requires and aspires for. It is already in the pipeline and we will continue to develop more and more such collections specially designed for the Indian market.