Interview: Fiyta’s Jobs Wang on crafting a global strategy for travel retail expansion

Fiyta stands as one of China’s leading watchmakers, known for its characteristic blend of traditional craftsmanship and modern technology. The 37-year-old company has set its sight on global growth, with a particular emphasis on travel retail. We speak to International Business General Manager Jobs Wang to understand how Fiyta plans to make an increasing mark in the duty-free sector, both at home and abroad.

He also touches on the importance of product differentiation in a crowded marketplace, emphasising Fiyta’s ties to the Chinese space programme and the inclusion of cultural elements in its branding and design. All this will be spotlighted at the company showcase (Booth K12) during the upcoming TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition in Singapore on 12-16 May.

Jobs, when we last talked a year ago, I noted how far Fiyta had developed since being founded in 1987. Can you sum up the progress since?

Fiyta’s original intention was to become the leading watch brand in China and reach global markets.

After 37 years of development, Fiyta has established a well-organised channel structure covering cities of all tiers in China, achieving high brand awareness among Chinese customers.

Since we spoke last year, Fiyta has accelerated the recovery of its travel retail business, with several new openings in airports, cruises as well as in downtown duty-free shops across Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia.

Fiyta is exhibiting at the Singapore show. Tell us about your approach to the travel retail channel at home and abroad.

Working with professional and renowned retailers or operators is key to developing our business in China and abroad. And of course, travel retail operators are our priority. The travel retail channel offers high traffic, high exposure and high turnover, making it an important part of our international business.

You have enjoyed some notable successes in the channel over the past year. Any highlights?

Before 2019, we had already established our travel retail network in more than 20 countries with China Duty Free Group, King Power, Lotte Duty Free, Starboard and others. During the pandemic, we focused on the travel retail business in Hainan, China. We entered all duty-free channels in Hainan and recorded strong sales performance.

With the recovery of outbound Chinese tourism, we reopened our shops in airports and on cruises. Since last year, we’ve had several new openings with DFS in Hong Kong and Macau, and we opened our first Space Station Boutique in T Galleria by DFS, Macau, Studio City.

For travel retailers who don’t know Fiyta well, where is your price positioning, relative to other Chinese brands such as Rossini and Ebohr and also international brands?

Other Chinese watch brands typically have a very wide price range. In our brand-building process, we focus on a price range of US$200 to US$600 to deliver a clear message to customers.

We launched a youth-focused fashion brand to cover the lower price range and acquired a high-end brand to target the higher price range. At Fiyta, we aim for the mass market while maintaining professional watchmaking expertise.

What can we expect from Fiyta at the Singapore show?

This year, we have a newly constructed booth designed with elements of traditional Chinese culture. We will bring our latest watches – inspired by China’s space missions and aviation projects – to the international travel retail market. Our booth is located at Level 1 (Booth K12) and we welcome partners and friends to visit us during the show.

How is the rapid emergence of the ‘China chic’ trend driving your brand?

Yes, we can see the China-chic trend in beauty, fashion, watches & jewellery categories nowadays. We aim to incorporate China-chic elements not only in product development but also in shop design.

We worked with Chinese manned space programmes and aviation projects to develop products that embody ‘China spirit’ to influence the younger generation. These concepts are also reflected in our shop designs.

For instance, we have the China Space Station Concept pop-up store at Haikou Meilan Airport Duty Free Shop in partnership with China Duty Free Group. We also have the Oriental Garden Concept pop-up store in Sanya Duty Free City with Hainan Tourism Duty Free. These China-chic products and concept stores have attracted customers and helped boost business.

We cannot talk about Fiyta without reference to its integral links with China’s space programme. How has that relationship continued to develop?

Firstly, to continue providing space watches for Chinese astronauts, we need to keep exploring watchmaking techniques and inventing new materials for watches that can withstand different conditions, including outer space.

Fiyta’s in-house research and development team and watchmaking expertise ensure that Fiyta space watches have maintained zero faults during all past timing missions in China’s space programme while also delivering high-quality products to all customers. Fiyta is now officially recognised as the China Space Watch, and it is part of our brand slogan.

We’ve also launched the Space Station Boutique in domestic and travel retail channels to offer customers an immersive experience. This is our Space Station Boutique in the Chinese domestic market.

Many travel retailers tell us that while the accelerating China outbound travel recovery is encouraging, the spending patterns are much softer than in 2019. How do you see the situation?

Yes, as an individual brand, we also see that spending by outbound Chinese tourists is much softer than in 2019, especially in terms of shopping.

Our travel retail business in Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia is on a path to recovery and the travel retail business in Hainan is holding steady and growing.

Finally, what’s your message to international duty-free retailers as to why they should list Fiyta?

Fiyta is an entry-price watchmaker in the fun and fashion segment where customers are always looking for something new. Fiyta’s value-for-money products and interesting brand story can be one more choice for them.

At the same time, Chinese tourists are demanding Fiyta watches – in the travel retail market they can enjoy more favourable pricing, exclusive products and a five-year warranty.✈