Madhursinh Jesrani is very passionate about watches as he is about cricket; He is the secretary of the Oman cricket board. Under his guidance, Oman cricketer is now number 18 in world ranking. He is also a passionate about going to gym to keep fit. At Khimji Ramdas where he is employed as manager of the prestigious watches division, he has been in-charge of retailing some of the most exclusive and cherished brands in timekeeping such as Rolex, Tudor, Chopard,  Cartier, Vertu, Piaget, IWC, de Grisogono,  Gerald Genta, Chanel, Oris,  Caran d’ Ach and Bell & Ross. Oman Vistas spoke to him to understand the intricacies of the business of retailing such prestigious watches. Excerpts:

Which are the up market brands you retail? And since when you have been doing that?

Khmiji Ramdas group has been in the watch business since early sixties and in fact Rolex was the first brand we retailed. And the next brand was Omega but then the company was diversified and Omega went to JK group. I joined Rolex in 1979 and at that time we just had Rolex, but now we have Cartier, IWC, and many others.  And, we are still expanding. For the past 4 - 5 years most of the luxury brands are doing well. Here, in Oman people are doing good, earning well, so when people think of luxury, they think of cars and watches Thus they remember us, and so business is good.

What is so special about these watch brands you retail?

They are all well established brands. It’s a dream of every one to wear good expensive watches.  As such, we do not do any marketing for them. It is done by the principals themselves. You must remember,  we are not selling watches here, we are selling a lifestyle.

How are these watches priced?

That will vary from brand to brand. For instance, a  basic model of Rolex will cost around OMR 1500.  The pricing is  universal every where. These prices are international. The principals give a price structure and based on that we fix the retail prices. Now a days  a lot of tourists are also buying these watches so we need to match international market.

Why are these watches so expensive?

They are expensive because they are luxury brands their mechanism, their quality. It’s like buying a Rolls-Royce, Mercedes or BMW. One has to pay for wearing these prestigious  brands.

Which is the segment you are targeting?

We are targeting the top corporate executives, high ranking government officials, royal family members, company owners,  and  of course, tourists too.

How often do people buy these watches again?

That depends on the confidence we are able give to these customers. We get business according to the relationship we have with the customer. Its like buying jewellery, as you need confidence and trust on the jeweller to buy again. It works the same way here. Few people have passion to collect watches so they keep on adding new watches. Also Omanis are very fond of expensive watches. So they are good market for us. People who are interested in cars also buy watches. Both passions normally go together.

What about the repair and maintenance of these watches?

Rolex is one of the renowned  brands in the world and also taking care of after sales service. These watches require high skilled people. Our Technicians go to Switzerland to take training and learn new technology; From time to time Rolex people come here and set up work shops for them.  Everything is done in house. We don’t send any watches to Switzerland. All these watches have hand made movement, so lot of precision is required in repairing them.