(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) With the launch of Astron and Grand Seiko in the international market, Seiko is at the beginning of a golden period, Seiko Watch Corporation president and chief executive officer Shinji Hattori told Khaleej Times in an interview.
Hattori is the grandson of Kintaro Hattori, who founded Seiko in 1881. Today, one-third of the world's watches use Seiko components and demand for high-grade Seiko watches continues to increase worldwide with sales seeing double-digit growth. The company is famous for its cutting-edge technology and has always sought advanced technologies. In its 100-year history of wristwatches, it has made so many of the world's firsts.
The Japanese watchmaker has a long history in the Middle East and also very popular in key markets. Now the company is promoting its luxury segment and introducing its popular models in the region.
"While maintaining Seiko's popularity in the Middle East, we are aiming to raise the brand value of Seiko. We will focus on the luxury watch market in the region," said Hattori, who is also chairman and group chief executive officer of Seiko Holdings Corporation.
Seiko Watch Corporation is involved in design, marketing and wholesales as a subsidiary of Seiko Holdings Corporation, which is listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange and its consolidated sales crossed the ¥300 billion mark for the financial year 2013.
Seiko has different products lined up for its domestic and international markets, but Grand Seiko, Astron and Prospex are available in Japan as well as across global markets.
"Astron is a project that is very close to my heart and I was involved in every aspect of its development," he said, adding: "It is not just a watch. It is also a platform on which future of Seiko's watch business will be built. That means that the Astron may be the defacto standard in the watch industry."
Seiko Astron receives time and location information from four or more GPS satellites and adjusts itself to the exact local time. It is the first GPS solar watch in the world. Excerpts from the interview:
What are your views about the Middle East market and its performance?
Seiko has been popular in Middle Eastern markets with models, such as Seiko Five automatic watches, for a very long time. While maintaining Seiko's popularity, we are aiming to raise the brand value of Seiko. As far as products are concerned, we are promoting the elite collection, particularly the premier line, and we have been seeing success in countries like the UAE and Iran. In addition, Astron has been very successful, especially in the UAE market since its launch two years ago.
What's your focus area in the Middle East?
We will focus on the luxury watch market, since now we can showcase the variety of our prestigious collections, including Astron and Grand Seiko. This year, we are launching Grand Seiko in the UAE in order to push the brand's upgrade strategy further. Seiko has a long history of being the very best of Seiko. Also, it provides more advantages than its Swiss equivalent.
Are you looking at new markets?
Regarding the market, we are planning to enhance the presence in Asian market, and cultivate the markets in the emerging nations. Another important aim is the raising of the brand image through increased communication and the boutiques.
Where do you see the company in the next five years in terms of growth and new products?
Seiko's position as a permanent global leader will be established in the timepiece industry more firmly. In our last fiscal year, ending on March 31, 2014, our watch sales increased by 25 per cent and in the first quarter of this fiscal year the growth continued. We are very pleased with these results and they prove the value of our strategy of innovation and refinement. This success is based on the growth of Grand Seiko, Astron and other up-scale collections that use our exclusive technologies - Spring Drive, Solar, Kinetic and Mechanical and, in the coming five years, we will continue to focus on these areas.
How do you see the performance of Astron and Grand Seiko in the international market?
Grand Seiko is now sold in about 25 countries and, ever since we started to market it internationally, sales have achieved double-digit growth every year. And Astron is also a huge success. All this shows that respect for Seiko as a real "manufacture" of prestige watches with a unique approach is growing. When people learn about products like Astron and Grand Seiko, they are amazed and excited. I sense that we are at the start of a golden period for Seiko and I want to convey this feeling of excitement to our consumers. This is why we recently launched a new vision for Seiko with the idea of "Moving ahead. Touching hearts". We are true to our roots and our tradition, but we also look forward to the future with a new sense of vitality and excitement.
What next for the international market after the Grand Seiko and the new GPS Astron?
Of course, we will bring new products to the market, not only the existing brands, but also the new models, such as Prospex, that is newly added to our global brand. But Astron and Grand Seiko are still very new.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.