Smartwatch company Suunto is reportedly partnering with Gamsa, to re-enter the Indian wearable market with an aim to emerge as one of the top players in the Indian market.
As per a report by Economic Times, Finnish brand Suunto will launch its sports watch in the 300-1000 euros range and is currently in talks with a leading e-commerce player for online launch.
“The ambition for India to establish Suunto as the people’s choice for premium performance wearable sports watch” Sharmin Photographer, Head of Asia, Suunto told the publication.
Suunto operates through a distributor model globally and has appointed Gamsa as its master distributor for the Indian market, it said.
“In India, we played in different kinds of waves. We had played in the military wave for many years and we were thinking on a much larger consumer front, but then the online ecommerce wave hit India. We were looking for a partner who would embrace this ecommerce wave and join hands with Gamsa,” Photographer added.
Gamsa, which is founded and headed by ex-HMD Global executive Ajay Mehta, will manage overall operations for Suunto in India with the support of Suunto’s team based in Kuala Lumpur.
“Suunto is the world leader in sports watch segment. What is missing in India is awareness. We will build the brand in India using modern marketing channels. In the next 3-5 years, Suunto will be among the top three premium smartwatch players in India,” Mehta said.
Photographer further told the publication that outside of China, countries like Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Australia and Indonesia are the top five markets for Sunnto in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We have had great success in seven to eight markets in the whole Asia-Pacific region. China has also grown 25-30 per cent in the last five years for us. India should be the next big frontier. It has just as much potential as a market like China,” she added.
The Indian wearable market has seen 170 per cent growth in terms of volumes in Q1 with smartwatches growing 450 per cent year-on-year.
