According to reports from The Economic Times, Casio expects to double its India business over the next five years, as the country emerges as a key growth engine for the Japanese company globally. The company's global CEO Shin Takano stated that India has become Casio's fourth-largest market after the US, European Union (EU) and Japan, placing the country at the centre of its global growth strategy. Takano emphasized that India, for us, is one of the most interesting geographies over the longer term, with the company seeing that India needs to be at the core of its strategy.
As reported by The Economic Times, Casio India's revenue has more than doubled in four years, rising from ₹394 crore in FY21 to ₹894 crore in FY25, according to regulatory filings accessed through business intelligence platform Tofler. Net profit rose significantly to ₹53.6 crore in FY25 from ₹8.3 crore in FY21. Takano expressed optimism about replicating this growth trajectory, stating We have seen a 2x growth in the past five years, and as we go forward for the next five years as well, I'm very optimistic that we'll see another 2x. The company's global watch market is projected to grow at 11-12% annually, with premium and luxury timepieces benefiting from rising incomes and consumer preference for higher-value products.
According to The Economic Times, Casio is in no hurry to launch a full-fledged smartwatch, citing a very crowded market. Instead, the company is betting on traditional watches and selective smart features, as consumers in mature markets show signs of fatigue with connected devices. Takano said the company sees little reason to dive headlong into smartwatches and will focus on its strengths in traditional watches, while treating India as a key global growth market. Watches will remain Casio's main growth driver in India, with watches accounting for 69% of its global business, followed by calculators at 23% and electronic musical instruments at around 8%.
As reported by The Economic Times, Casio is increasing manufacturing through partners, strengthening its retail presence and expanding its premium watch portfolio in India. The company has started producing watches locally through partners, with more than 50 models currently manufactured in the country. Takano stated that We want to make sure that we plant deep roots here as our story evolves, with the natural extension being to expand the production footprint. The company currently has watch production bases in Japan, China and Thailand, with high-end watches manufactured entirely in Japan. Casio is also expanding its physical retail presence, with plans to increase stores in India from 87 currently to 200 by 2030.
According to The Economic Times, within its watch portfolio, higher-end G-Shock and analogue quartz watches such as Oceanus account for about 45%, with Edifice and Casio making up the remainder. Takano highlighted that G-Shock has sold about 160 million units globally since its launch in 1983, with the company particularly betting on G-Shock and its vintage watch line-up, both of which have registered double-digit growth. Casio is increasingly looking to India, Brazil and other emerging economies as consumer incomes rise and demand for branded and premium products grows, with the company open to partnerships and mergers and acquisitions globally where these may strengthen its portfolio.
