How news of HMT’s closure drove up sales and expanded its fan base

by Ivor Soans and Sulekha Nair

In an age when retro is often chic, nostalgia is equally good business. Over the past week or so, the spotlight has been on HMT—a renowned company that made far more than watches—even tractors, but was best known for watches. As unconfirmed news came in that the Modi sarkar was planning to shutter HMT, the wrist watch most of India had forgotten came back to many Indians in a nostalgic wave of remembrance of a bygone era. As a result, HMT watches are now flying off the shelves in the few brick and mortar stores that stock HMT watches, and on online shopping sites.

Flipkart, the only online shopping site that sells HMT watches, had a number of watches on its site but this week most of them were labeled as ‘out of stock.’

HMT as a company is on life support with massive losses to the tune of more than Rs 200 crores each year for the past two years alone, and a large part of the blame lies in the Indian government’s typical slow and bureaucratic attitudes to the companies it perhaps never should have run, but nevertheless, continues to merrily run, and often run to the ground – from Air India to HMT.

But the unconfirmed news of HMT’s demise has ironically given a fresh lease of life to HMT watches. Collecting watches is not an uncommon hobby and though forgotten by most Indians, HMT had its dedicated share of die-hard fans. But the possibility that an HMT watch may never be available in a store again and the fact that HMT was the first watch for many Indians in the mid-thirties and older segment has got many non-collectors into the act too.

Because unlike electronic and computing devices where no one wants one from a company in trouble, these watches are sturdy, reliable and also use well-known movements from reputed manufacturers like Citizen from Japan, and hence can be serviced for a long time to come.

The new breed of HMT buyer over the past week has ranged from genuine lovers of HMT watches but who never bothered to collect watches, to profit-minded buyers who reason that once the company shuts shop forever, global collectors will pay handsomely for rare HMT watches in mint condition. And some have even discovered that HMT watch models carry Indian names ranging from Supriya to Kala to Dipti to Prashanth and many more, so many are even getting something with their name on the dial. Some genuine collectors are even outraged at this sudden invasion of the hordes into their little paradise where HMT watches are enshrined.

Bangalore-based Prashant Pandey, who owns over 500 HMT watches says demand has soared. He also bemoans the fact that watches are being sold at obnoxiously premium prices in some cases. He explains that on e-bidding websites even fake HMT watches are attracting hitherto unseen interest. A collector of over 120 watches, Hari Balakrishna feels the “trend of buying HMT by a few new buyers is ridiculous. They are hoarders,” he believes. Unlike these well-known collectors who are also knowledgeable of the brand and history of the watches, Mumbai-based Dr Samir Shah who has around 50-60 HMTs in his kitty feels “good to see renewed interest in the watches from people who did not buy it ever before. The watches are good and appeal as they have a vintage look.”

But retailers, who have long seen little to no demand for HMT watches are not complaining about the sudden spike in demand. Rajendra Kamdar, partner at Kamdar & Sons, a venerable family-owned watch retail business, says that he is seeing far more sales today. The store opened in 1991 in what was then a predominantly blue collar area, and back then at least four workers from the area were waiting outside the shop before it opened each morning to buy a watch, Kamdar claims. That era has long gone and customers have dwindled. But the resurgence in interest is welcome for Kamdar. “Many more people walk into my store now. Though some ask for their choice of HMT watches, they pick up what they can get in the category if the watches are not there. People want to own an HMT as memorabilia,” he says.

The same theme replicates itself at the company’s showroom at World Trade Centre, Mumbai. “For some time now, enquiries and sales had been quite low,” said a salesman at the store. However, since last week, the store is seeing many consumers who buy not less than four watches on a daily basis. The most popular models among HMT watches being grabbed by many as memorabilia are Janata, Pilot, Rajat and Sona, though all are tough to come by now.

The company also launched its own e-commerce operation, www.hmtwatches.in in late August 2014 (yet another case of an Indian government undertaking caught napping while the Internet revolution passed them by) and sales seem to be brisk on the online storefront too, with most desirable watch models out of stock.

We spoke to some buyers too. Says Raymond Williams, a 35 year old tech professional, “While I will use these watches and hopefully pass them on to my children someday, they also may fetch good value a few years down the line. So it could also be a good investment.” Williams has already brought five models of HMT watches and is eyeing some more. For Rehana Kazi, who has suddenly ‘discovered’ HMT, this is an opportunity to gift a piece of India’s history to friends and family. “I like to call it my personal heirloom.”

But in an era where even quartz and digital seem dated in the face of smartwatches that seem to do everything except teleportation, HMT watches have their quirks too. Today’s generation has forgotten what mechanical winding watches are and new buyers are struggling a bit with that. Williams mentions that of the five watches he bought, one mechanical one was constantly falling behind till he realised the problem was occurring because the watch was not wound properly.

At the Kamdar & Sons showroom at Dadar East, other brands are also sold in the showroom with HMT–Kamdar sells everything from the humble HMT to leaving Swiss luxury brands across their stores. However, “the first watch that is sold daily in our store remains the HMT even today,” says Rajendra Kamdar.

“There are people buying HMT watches who have never owned an HMT before,” remarks Kamdar. “They come to the store to buy three to four watches and I have some newcomers who are regulars here for some category of HMT watches like Kohinoor, Sona and Rajat in the price range of Rs 1500 to Rs 1900,” says Kamdar.

The company has stopped production of some of its watches, informs Kamdar. His HMT customers today want mechanical watches and eschew quartz. “I am unable to service customers who want a few particular models as I don’t have them in stock. Some I can source from the company but it will take time. With some styles out of production now, customers just have to pick what is there in the store.”

And eager buyers are doing just that – grabbing an HMT of choice or anything they can get from an HMT dealer or store. After all, as in life, you can’t choose the history you get.

Want to Buy an HMT?

Feel like you need a piece of HMT memorabilia? Or saw HMT’s wide range in a new light and got hooked? With HMT watches not easy to find here are the best ways to find a great HMT watch:

- Join watch groups on Facebook like India Watch Company , which looks at all kinds of Indian watches and features watches for sale too, or HMT focused watch marketplaces like HMT Watches Marketplace .

- Avoid auctions on sites like eBay unless you know how to differentiate between a franken watch and genuine pieces. If you don’t know what a franken watch is, that’s another sign you should avoid such sources. If you want to buy online go to hmtwatches.in and Flipkart, but most stock is sold out. Keep watching those pages like a hawk to grab whatever is available when restocking takes place.

- Don’t walk into your neighbourhood watch store because more often than not they will not stock HMT. HMT has its own stores and dealers in many cities. The HMT website will have details. But remember that most stores would have zero stock of the most desired models. Chat up with HMT sales staff at their stores–most of them are old-timers–and you might get an early track on new stock.

- Worried about service if HMT shuts down? HMT Watches are easy to service and many watch service shops, especially those run by watch mechanics in their 30s and upwords will repair HMTs.

Will your purchase appreciate? They may, but it also depends on rarity of a particular model or a particular production batch, condition of the watch, etc.

Remember, there are better investment opportunities than HMT watches. Ideally, buy an HMT for memorabilia, for a great, reliable and tough watch, not to invest in watches.