US-based Garmin said that its global team is monitoring the local production-linked incentive scheme and will start its own manufacturing in the country once it has expanded its operations in the country.
“The moment we have expanded and are represented everywhere in the country…the card is open for us…we’re totally open to that concept,” Yesudas Pillai, country head of Garmin India told ET. Pillai, who has joined Garmin from Harman International, will also oversee the company’s expansion in the country.
The company is also bullish on the country’s $300 and above price category for smartwatches and expects India to be among top three markets in the APAC region in the next 3-5 years.
“We want to grow exponentially in India and keep the momentum. We have seen 32% YoY growth till Q3 2022,” Sky Chen, Regional Director, South-East Asia & India said during an interaction. “India is positioned at number five for the Asia APAC region. So based on population and over the last two years as wearable growth booming in India, we foresee in the coming five years we want to become the top three for APAC region.”
To drive sales, the company aims to expand its presence across various cities by opening brand stores which will also double up as a service collection point by the end of 2023. It currently has brand stores in Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Pune. It will also partner with large-format stores (LFRs) and watch retailers to expand presence in the market.
“In India, people have money to spend who want quality smartwatch with accurate tracking. We want to tap the aspiration in India. Unlike our competition, we have more product offerings across price segments,” Chen added.
On competition from Apple in the smartwatch segment, Chen said that it will further grow the market and increase awareness about high-quality smartwatches in the market.
Garmin also wants to expand its presence in India’s enterprise market. “In fact, we recently closed a deal with the Indian Air Force for one of the bases, which is working with the government. We want to work with more B2B segments…we are already present in the healthcare and pharma space,” Pillai said.
Pillai said that Garmin is witnessing growth in the corporate gifting segment along with the pharma segment. “…both put together we are witnessing some good growth over there.”