- Online sales of the luxury watch
remain low at only 25% of the total sales for pre-owned luxury watch
- Offers authenticity guarantees and
certifications by professional and experienced watch appraisers
- The venture into the e-Commerce
platform would require a total investment of RM250 million, and the response
from potential investors has been overwhelming
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach - 13 July
2021 - Bursa Malaysia Main Market-listed company Industronics Berhad
("Industronics" or "Company" or "Group"),
will tap into the USD17 billion pre-owned luxury watch market with the
official launch of its own luxury watch e-commerce platform, watch-exchanges.com
("WatchExchange"), through Ecgo International Limited, its wholly-owned
subsidiary in Hong Kong.
WatchExchange is poised to be the first
luxury watch e-commerce platform that issues authenticity certificates for pre-owned luxury watches in
Malaysia and Asia Pacific. Among some of the leading brands profiled include Audemars Piguet, Hublot, Patek Philippe, Tag Heuer, IWC,
Omega, Jaeger LeCoultre, Panerai, Rolex, Breitling.
According to management consultancy,
Bain & Company, the global pre-owned luxury watch market was valued at
approximately USD17 billion in 2018. However, less than 20% of that market is
in the Asia Pacific region, while only 25% of the total pre-owned luxury watch
sales were online transactions. Euromonitor International, an independent
strategic market research provider, estimates the
value of retail sales of timepieces in Malaysia to grow by some 5% per annum
between 2019 and 2022, to reach a market value of up to RM2.5 billion.
Industronics Berhad Executive Director
Datuk Chu Boon Tiong said: "Based on data and overall
market performance, it is evident that the pre-owned luxury watch market has
promising growth prospects with a potential boom ahead. We are excited to
capitalise on the growing trend with the launch of WatchExchange and aim to
pave the way for a streamlined trading platform that will not only revolutionise the transactions of pre-owned
luxury watches but drive further growth in this industry.
"As we have seen over the last few
years, pricing and demand for pre-owned luxury watches have been so strong that
even high-end watch brands are moving into the pre-owned market themselves.
However, the biggest challenge for the pre-owned luxury watch market lies in
authenticating the watches. Our role here is to ensure that the shoppers can
safely purchase luxury watches on WatchExchange without having to worry about
the security and authenticity of the pre-owned luxury watches."
Indeed, the robust primary luxury
watch market has fuelled the rapid growth of its pre-owned counterpart.
Further, with the increasing trend of monetising timepieces, especially during
economic downturns, and the ever-growing demand for luxury goods, pricing and
appetite for pre-owned luxury watches have gained traction over the last few
years. In May this year, it was reported that Switzerland's Chronext is preparing an initial
public offering (IPO) that would value the online marketplace for new and
pre-owned luxury watches at up to EUR1 billion (USD1.2 billion).
Despite the strong demand as evidenced
in the pre-owned luxury watch market, only 25% of these transactions were
conducted online shows that there is still much room for the online marketplace
to grow. In line with current sales and marketing trends, the online space is
set to be the primary sales channel for pre-owned luxury watches, raising
e-commerce's share of total pre-owned luxury watch sales eventually to the
point of saturation.
Datuk Chu further emphasises that the industry's
biggest challenge is trust, as consumers tend to have reservations about the
authenticity of pre-owned luxury goods. As such, Industronics Berhad, with its
team of professional and experienced watch appraisers, aims to create a
professional, safe trading environment that will elevate the customer experience
of purchasing pre-owned luxury watches to a new level. Industronics will also
set up offices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the United
States, Canada and Europe, where sellers from all over the world could visit
for physical appraisals of their watch collections.
"We have a team of professional and
experienced watch appraisers, ready to help our customers to evaluate and
appraise pre-owned watches. Upon confirmation of its authenticity, the Company
will issue a globally recognised certificate to the new buyer. This is very
important to ensure the value of the watch remains. It is our goal to ensure
authenticity and to gain trust from our customers in order for the Group to
achieve revenue growths," he added.
The success of WatchExchange will
depend on excellence in several key areas -- stability, sustainability, Search
Engine Optimisation (SEO), and new media marketing, all of which will help
boost traffic to the Group's platform. At the same time, the Group will
directly benefit from a highly optimised official website and landing page that
will set the Group apart from others in a market of homogeneous products. The
Group's venture into e-commerce will require extensive funding, which will be
used to develop and enhance the Group's platform and carry out both online
advertising and offline promotional activities.
The Group is looking to set up a fund
in Hong Kong to raise a total of RM250 million from potential investors.
Proceeds raised will be utilised to purchase different brands of luxury watches
for resale on the Group's platform. Industronics aims to invest around RM25
million or 10% of the total funding required, together with Hong Kong Cyberport
Fund, which will invest an equivalent amount as the Group or at a 1:1 ratio.
The remainder of RM200 million will be open to other investment groups for
investment. Industronics Berhad looks forward to collaborating with all its
potential investors in achieving every success.
Datuk Chu believes that the
competitive advantage for WatchExchange lies in the ability of the Group to
build an entire "unicorn" ecosystem around the region.
"We do not think that the strength of
the platform lies solely in the certification and authentication guarantees. We
intend to replicate the business models globally via partnerships with a locally
listed company in the respective countries. Among the markets that we are
looking into are Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China and several
emerging markets in Europe as well. Once our ecosystem matures, we will have so
much more to offer to our customers, in terms of the variety of brands, models,
and other services," Datuk Chu said.
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