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Thursday, 3 December 2009
Sincere Watch sets its sight on China, India
Sincere Watch will focus on growing the business in Asia by setting up stores in parts of China and India rather than turn to acquisitions at this point.
Sincere Watch will focus on growing the business in Asia by setting up stores in parts of China and India rather than turn to acquisitions at this point.
This was revealed by the new set of owners of Singapore’s largest watch retailer, including group managing director Tay Liam Wee, the private equity arm of Standard Chartered and the private equity fund of the world’s biggest luxury brands group LVMH, at a press briefing yesterday.
The consortium made a $112.7 million cash offer for Sincere after it was put up for sale in October last year. Mr. Tay had sold Sincere to Hong Kong-based Peace Mark in December 2007 for $530 million, but Peace Mark was wound up after failing to pay its debts.
‘There isn’t a need for an M&A,’ said Ravi Thakran, managing director of L Capital Asia, LVMH’s private equity arm.
While classic watch brands such as Omega and Tag Heuer have been well-received in China and India, the fine watches market is still in its infancy, he added.
‘The fine watches market has just started emerging in China and has yet to emerge in India,’ said Mr. Thakran, who has also been appointed as a non-executive director of Sincere.
Sincere - which is the first investment made by L Capital - would be able to tap on LVMH’s network of consumers, lift its negotiating leverage with brand owners and landlords, and gain a stronger foothold in China and India, added Mr. Thakran, who is group president of South Asia, South-east Asia and Middle East for LVMH.
‘Whether we sell cognac, whether we sell Louis Vuitton bags or Berluti shoes, eventually the consumer is similar to whom Sincere wants to go for.’
Besides setting up a House of Franck Muller boutique in Shanghai International Financial Centre (IFC), Sincere will also look to setting up stores in Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore. It will open Asia’s first CVSTOS boutique in Singapore and a multi-brand outlet at Marina Bay Sands integrated resort by next year.
The attraction of China was a pivotal reason in merging Sincere with Peace Mark in 2007, said Mr. Tay, who has been appointed chairman of Sincere, adding that the sale to Peace Mark had not been an exit strategy for the company.
‘Unfortunately, because of the financial crisis, we had to take a different turn,’ he said.
In the one year that Sincere had been put up for sale by the liquidator, Mr. Tay said there were many investors who were interested to buy Sincere but had proposals that were ‘not very exciting’.
‘A lot of these groups were simply bringing in money,’ he added.
Alastair Morrison, global head of the Standard Chartered private equity arm and a non-executive director of Sincere, said that the sale dragged on because determining profit forecasts was difficult during the financial crisis.
There are no discussions currently to re-list the firm, said Mr. Morrison.
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Sincere Watch sets its sight on China, India
By JAMIE LEE
03 December 2009
Sincere Watch will focus on growing the business in Asia by setting up stores in parts of China and India rather than turn to acquisitions at this point.
This was revealed by the new set of owners of Singapore’s largest watch retailer, including group managing director Tay Liam Wee, the private equity arm of Standard Chartered and the private equity fund of the world’s biggest luxury brands group LVMH, at a press briefing yesterday.
The consortium made a $112.7 million cash offer for Sincere after it was put up for sale in October last year. Mr. Tay had sold Sincere to Hong Kong-based Peace Mark in December 2007 for $530 million, but Peace Mark was wound up after failing to pay its debts.
‘There isn’t a need for an M&A,’ said Ravi Thakran, managing director of L Capital Asia, LVMH’s private equity arm.
While classic watch brands such as Omega and Tag Heuer have been well-received in China and India, the fine watches market is still in its infancy, he added.
‘The fine watches market has just started emerging in China and has yet to emerge in India,’ said Mr. Thakran, who has also been appointed as a non-executive director of Sincere.
Sincere - which is the first investment made by L Capital - would be able to tap on LVMH’s network of consumers, lift its negotiating leverage with brand owners and landlords, and gain a stronger foothold in China and India, added Mr. Thakran, who is group president of South Asia, South-east Asia and Middle East for LVMH.
‘Whether we sell cognac, whether we sell Louis Vuitton bags or Berluti shoes, eventually the consumer is similar to whom Sincere wants to go for.’
Besides setting up a House of Franck Muller boutique in Shanghai International Financial Centre (IFC), Sincere will also look to setting up stores in Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore. It will open Asia’s first CVSTOS boutique in Singapore and a multi-brand outlet at Marina Bay Sands integrated resort by next year.
The attraction of China was a pivotal reason in merging Sincere with Peace Mark in 2007, said Mr. Tay, who has been appointed chairman of Sincere, adding that the sale to Peace Mark had not been an exit strategy for the company.
‘Unfortunately, because of the financial crisis, we had to take a different turn,’ he said.
In the one year that Sincere had been put up for sale by the liquidator, Mr. Tay said there were many investors who were interested to buy Sincere but had proposals that were ‘not very exciting’.
‘A lot of these groups were simply bringing in money,’ he added.
Alastair Morrison, global head of the Standard Chartered private equity arm and a non-executive director of Sincere, said that the sale dragged on because determining profit forecasts was difficult during the financial crisis.
There are no discussions currently to re-list the firm, said Mr. Morrison.
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