BANGALORE: Omega has unveiled its latest model Moon to Mars (MTM) in India during its Bangalore exhibition "Speedmaster Missions - Moon to Mars".
Priced at a cool Rs 108,000, MTM is the 1957 hand wound Speedmaster Profesional (SP) model coming out with cosmetic changes, pictures of the Earth, Moon and Mars on the backgound of the three mini-dials. The SP is the only watch model in the world to travel to the Moon and back on various Apollo missions, claims an official release.
"Automatic watches don't perform well in low gravity or zero gravity", revealed Swatch Group-Omega brand manager P H Narayanan during the sidelines of a press conference. The highly acclaimed NASA 'Snoopy Award' by astronauts to thank personalities or companies for their contribution to space exploration was conferred on Omega in 1970 for saving the lives of the three astronauts aboard the Apollo 13 in 1970. James Lovell, John Swigert and Fred Haise had to manually fire the rockets for their return to earth, since the control computer had shut down. They used the Omega Speedmaster to time the critical 14 seconds needed and returned to earth safely", added Narayanan.
"For product promotion in India, we have two strategies - we plan to open Omega mono-boutiques. The next launch is happening at Bangalore in September. We already have two mono-boutiques in Mumbai. We're looking at Chennai and Delhi by the end of 2005. We are also planning another three boutiques in 2006, one each at Hyderabad, Kolkotta and an additional store in Delhi, which will bring the total to eight in India," said Narayanan adding that the company spends around 7 per cent to 8 per cent of the revenues on advertisement and promotions.
Narayanan pointed out that, multi-brand outlets which generally showcase 10 to 12 brands, diluted the brand equity, be it in any country. "That is why we have taken the decision for mono-boutiques. We want to take the level of retailing in India to higher standards. We do have a network of fifty-two multi-brand stores selling Omega in India presently."
Across all countries, Omega's creatives comes from its Swiss headquarters. The media business is handled by JWT in India.
