All of us Swiss are together on the same billboard.
Who do you think is the person being told to water Eve's Indian lucky charm plant?
Friday brought a completly new tack to the show. We now all have to pass security checks when we want to enter or leave the hall. The presence of police and above all of the military has been increased dramatically. Our booth is now shadowed by a soldier as we are the first one next to the main entrance. The soldiers are tight-lipped, don't like to be photographed and the policemen are frightened.
The number of visitors is just mind-boggling. In one single day we had some 30,000 visitors and they all passed through our booth! It is just breathtaking with how much love and passion the Indians go about watches. They keep on asking and asking about the history and the future, the different watches and on, and on.
The highlight of the day were 200 pupils that visited the show with their teachers. Neatly pressed school uniforms, polite youngster of between 12 to 15 years. What a change to the youth we have in Switzerland. And they all speak excellent English.
All day long we get visits from our fellow exhibitors. They inquire about the possibility of importing to and distribute our watches in India. According to the spokesman of the Indian Watch Industry Federation our booth and Titan's are the most visited ones. They keep tap about these things here. Indians simply love numbers in all forms and shapes. No wonder, modern mathematics was invented here.
In the afternoon our friends at Titan's launched their new Octane line. For this purpose their entire booth was redecorated and a press conference was held. Imagine some 450 journalists all of them working and writing for dailies covering the launch of a watch collection. Staggering. In Switzerland not more than 50 journalists will show up for a posh press do even at Swatch's. Here they had to stand in line to get their questions answered. And they patiently did. Unlike their unruly behaviour in traffic, Indians are the embodied patience when it comes to waiting for their turn.
Eve and I were invited to the special do Titan Watches had for their dealers in the evening. Their best dealers from all over the country were there and we had shared many a laughs with them. Watch people in India are indeed a merry folk. And they can stomach a fair amount of whiskey, too. Today, I learned that in India there are more than 400 distilleries specialising in perfectioning this particularly charming British legacy. And of course I could not resist checking out on the progresses they had made.
Some booths are still not fully built up yet. But the initial anger of those affected has given way to happy smiles as the visitors simply do not mind as long as they find someone sharing their love for watches. These visitors come from all corners and far-flung pockets of the country. Many of them had to spend more than three days aboard trains or overland buses to come to Bangalore. They often stay a few hours only before having to catch a train or bus back to where they came from. How does this count for having a soft spot about watches?
Our brand has received a special attention on the outside of the hall. The logo points directly to that part of the road where all vehicles have to stop at the traffic lights. Perfect.
As a token of appreciation Eve has received two lucky charm plants from Mihir and Hemal. She has taken to wear the local women's outfits and her radiating smile became a coveted feature of the show in no time. I guess quite a few visits and inquiries come thanks to her presence. Maybe I should have taken her to Hong Kong instead of Niocla ...........
And oh, before I forget, we sold three watches today out of the show cases. People were so charmingly pressing for them being sold a watch that I simply could not resist asking Eve to re-arrange the displays in the show cases.
Tomorrow will be the busiest day of the show. Mihir told me that we can expect up to 35,000 visitors. As the show is open in the afternoon to the general public, I shall start oiling my voice and get myself one of those really tasty Kingfishers's before I go to bed.
Tomorrow night, Mihir wants me to try Indian red wine. Eve and I are invited to a dinner party given by Sri Bhaskar Bhatt, the Managing Director of Titan Industry. Well, I guess I am invited 'cause I happen to be the guy travelling alongside of Eve.
No comments:
Post a Comment