Good times over for HMT watches

[vgane]

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HMT watches was once the pride of the nation..The iconic brand is closing down..I was presented a HMT watch on my marriage..My dad use a Fabre Leuba watch which was ticking for 50 years +

Now I hardly wear watches..But I have a good collection of Tita, Archi & Rolex

The closing down of the watch factory made me nostalgic & pen this

[h=1]Good times over for HMT Watches, production comes to an end[/h] Last Updated: Thursday, September 11, 2014, 11:19

Zee Media Bureau




New Delhi: HMT watches, a well known brand once, established in 1961 is set to close down its operations.

The government has decided to wind up the watch company as it is reeling under losses since 2000, according to a daily newspaper report.

The watchmaker is even unable to pay salaries to its employees. The company has a manpower of 1,105 employees.

Set in collaboration with Japan's citizen watch, the company has been posting losses year-by-year. The firm posted a loss of Rs 242 crore in 2012-13 as compared to a loss of Rs 224 crore in 2011-12.

In 2000, HMT Watch Business group was restructured as HMT Watches Ltd. However, the company started making losses soon after, following which a revival plan was mooted and approved by the BRPSE in 2006.

Good times over for HMT Watches, production comes to an end

 

[krish44]

I am also very nostalgic about HMT watches ,

In early seventies , I had gone HMT on an official visit '

manager with whom I was transacting went out of the way to get a watch for me during my visit there.

I valued the watch and it stayed with me more than a decade

what an ending for a good brand getting closed down

 

[tbs]

hi

i got my first watch fabre leuba from my uncle in 70s.....i still like it....i visited hmt watch factory near chandigarh....long time back...

 

[prasad1]

The closing down of the watch factory made me nostalgic too.
But innovation is the order of the day. If you stagnate you loose, someone else is willing to take your place. In the modern world the product life cycle is shortened. An organization run by government or other bureaucrats is not nimble enough to sustain itself. As long as governments can prop-up the dying institutions with tax payer money they will survive on life support. When it is the monopoly and peoples pride on nationalism it looks like it is surviving. When consumer becomes educated, and demand better products these dinosaurs will die their natural death.

Sangomji wrote:

I am told that we have in India more than 50 Defence Research Laboratories working for more than 50 years but they have not succeeded in inventing or designing even one new or path-breaking item of defence stores.

I have a feeling that AI is another such organization.
At the beginning we needed these kind of massive projects to be funded by the government as India was a new country and its own industrialist and business people were not up to the task. Secondly with strict controls the competition was non existent, but the government liberalizing the strangle hold, and consumer demanding better product, it is a welcome change.

 

[krish44]

Prasadji
Presence of airindia is keeping airfares of private airlines under check.

Otherwise We would be at the mercy of private airline charging enormous amounts during festival time for short distance travel in india.

still there are not enough players to boost competition. so air india can act as a check perhaps.

the advent of cheap digital watches besides opening of indian economy sent HMT watch unit downhill . same For local TV industry .

koreans and japanese have killed all indian companies like BPL,ECIL, ONIDA which were sought after

in fact all consumer items like autos, cars, electrical gadgets,ACs are facing the heat from foreign players

 

[sangom]

The closing down of the watch factory made me nostalgic too.
But innovation is the order of the day. If you stagnate you loose, someone else is willing to take your place. In the modern world the product life cycle is shortened. An organization run by government or other bureaucrats is not nimble enough to sustain itself. As long as governments can prop-up the dying institutions with tax payer money they will survive on life support. When it is the monopoly and peoples pride on nationalism it looks like it is surviving. When consumer becomes educated, and demand better products these dinosaurs will die their natural death.

Sangomji wrote:


I have a feeling that AI is another such organization.
At the beginning we needed these kind of massive projects to be funded by the government as India was a new country and its own industrialist and business people were not up to the task. Secondly with strict controls the competition was non existent, but the government liberalizing the strangle hold, and consumer demanding better product, it is a welcome change.

Prasadji,

I also feel nostalgic about HMT. In fact I have a watch, still ticking - but somewhat erratically - which is from HMT's very first batch sold out in Bombay (then). But the spare parts for the spring-type is now not at all available and my good watch repairer says that he can repair it with China-make spring and all that for about 200 rupees but it will be "Ram Bharose" - no guarantee at all!

I enquired why HMT itself could not produce at least a limited supply of the spare parts for such old products but he told me that if HMT were to make so, the spring may cost anything like a few thousands of rupees whereas we are able to get copies of the world's most famous digital watches made in China for less than 1000 rupees! Hence, if India wants to become a super power in the world arena the way is to dominate the markets and for that, we should be able to produce goods at highly competitive prices. Unless our wages come down and rupee value also come down, this cannot be accomplished. So, unless the present generation is prepared for sacrificing their "good lives" and settle for something like the life of workers in the China's Export Promotion Zones or in the Gulf countries, the dream of India making it BIG will be a dream which will remain only on paper. Side by side with this the whole country will have to take a firm resolve to root out all corruption and bribery from every aspect of life. Are these possible?

 

[prasad1]

I for one, think India should emulate South Korea or Singapore, rather than china.
I agree that can only happen if corruption and sub chalta hai attitude changes.

In one of companies we import Granite counter tops for Hotels. We import container loads at a time. One of our clients wanted the Kashmir Gold a speciality granite from India. We ordered it from a firm in Chennai. It was expensive, but my client was willing to pay for it. When the orders came 30% was damaged. The company refused to replace it. We went to the Chinese company and they were able to deliver it on time and wonderfully packed. The product quality, packaging technology, customer service all was outmatched by the Chinese company even though the raw material was from India.

Similarly the Chinese company is able to source it in Brazil, then cut it and fabricate in China and then ship it to USA at price cheaper than Brazil.

From what I understand the Chinese worker pays for the success of the country. But south Korea it is very different. There the worker has incentives to produce world class goods at very high productivity.