Fossil for the fashionista

Where time is of value, and timepieces precious, time zones are being crossed to promote Fossil products in the international market. "We started off as a watch company in a very small way. Today we want to be known as an accessories company,” says Fossil co-founder Jal Shroff. Currently director of Fossil Inc, headquartered in Texas, USA and managing director of Fossil (East) Limited, with its central office in Hong Kong, Shroff leads us along high couture promenade to show how time has been ticking for this global company that has now become, as he jocularly remarks, "a monster.”

Having built up the Fossil brand as an international design, marketing and distribution company, besides an extensive line of men’s and women’s fashion watches, their offerings that bespeak a touch of class, include jewelry, handbags and leather goods, belts, sunglasses, footwear and apparel. "Fossil has 63 million shares on NASDAQ (formerly the National Association of Securities Dealers Automa­ted Quotations, an American stock market) and... market capitalization... is around US $ 5.9 billion,” mentions the director.

Alongside: Pervin and Jal Shroff [Photos: Jasmine D. Driver] Below: Remodelled Fossil store at Times Square, New York

With their market presence in over 120 countries, Fossil has nearly 360 company owned and operated retail stores worldwide with 23 company owned foreign sales subsidiaries plus a network of over 60 independent distributors, as stated on the company fact sheet. Additionally they have 33 Fossil apparel stores and 71 outlet stores, five watch station international stores and two watch station outlet stores in US alone. They also promote their Fossil brand products through their catalogs (7,200,000 were mailed in 2008) and on their website www.fossil.com "Unlike Asia, in America there is impulsive buying of watches. After one year watches fèki dé (are discarded). In Germany even after 20 years they will first attempt to repair a watch,” Shroff cites the different cultural influences that impact sales.

Besides the company’s proprietary brands like Fossil, Fifty Four Fossil, Relic, Michele, Zodiac, Avia (UK only), Trophy (France only), Abacus, Oysterbay (India only), the firm also holds licenses for brands like Adidas, A/X, Burberry, Calla­way, DIESEL, DKNY, Emporio Armani, Marc by Marc Jacobs, MICHAEL Michael Kors, NFL, Collegiate and PHILIPPE STARCK for their time pieces. For DIESEL, DKNY and Emporio Armani the license is also for their jewelry. "We will only take on a brand if we are exclusive manufacturers and distributors for the whole world,” states Shroff.

To illustrate how their brands compete in the four watch segments we are told: some of the Michele fine watches made of precious metals and set with gems, exclusively manufactured in Switzerland are in the price range starting $ 1,500; Burberry, Emporio Arma­ni, Marc by Marc Jacobs MICHELE and Zodiac are among the premium branded and designer watches produced in Switzerland and the Far East in the price range of $ 300-3,000; Fossil and Relic, DKNY, Diesel, MARC BY MARC JACOBS, MICHAEL Michael Kors are in the contemporary fashion segment produced in Japan, China or Hong Kong costing $ 45-495; Allude, Christian Benet, Calla­way and Trophy are amongst the digital and analog mass watches manufactured in the Far East in the range of $ 7-74.

Net sales of the company increased 37 percent to $ 537 million for the first quarter of 2011 compared to $ 393 million in 2010, as per an e-mail congratulating "every single Fossil employee for creating another record breaking quarter.” Whilst their total workforce in the Asia Pacific region was 2,965 at the end of March 2011, their wo­rld­wide strength is in the region of 8,000. "When you are so large, it is your staff that make you or break you,” po­ints out Shroff, appreciating the dedication of his committed work­f­orce.

1993 was a landmark year for Fossil for it generated its first 100 million in sales, entered the European market, bought Fossil East and, most importan­tly, went public offering its sha­res at seven US dollars. In mid-May 2011 under the trading symbol FOSL their shares were quo­ted at $ 103, reports Shroff. By 2000 Fossil had increased its sales to 500 million, within the next five years crossed one billion and two billion by 2010.

1993 was also a momentous year when Shroff became managing director of Fossil (East) Limited and director of Fossil Inc with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas. In fact Jal gives credit to his wife Pervin for setting the time machine in motion. The Fossil story commenced nearly three decades ago when both Jal and Pervin were involved in running the family business, S. Framjee and Company, started by Jal’s father Soli who would export textiles, piece goods, fabrics and garments. Hormusjee and Sons were their major buyer in India. When Jal joined the father’s business after studying at the London School of Economics, denim and corduroy were in great demand and their market extended to the UK, Middle East, South America.

Seeing an announcement in the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce bulletin 27 years ago concerning an overseas businessman scouting for business prospects, Pervin recalls sending off a letter expressing interest. At that time their compact S. Framjee and Company office had five members on the staff. A few months later a young man, 6’4”, wearing frayed shorts, bearing her letter walked into their office saying "I want to do business with you.” He announced that he wanted to do business in watches. When they told him "We don’t know anything about watches,” he responded, "Let’s learn together.” Trust was established, a letter of credit issued and thus Fossil was founded in 1984 with two employees, Jal supplying the watches for the first order of around 5,000 timepieces and the partner selling them in USA.

Jewelry accessories marketed by Fossil

Today considered leaders in designing watches, Fossil has "the capability to manufacture and deliver on time” whilst maintaining international standards. Within six months of a design being approved they can introduce the new fashion accessory in their stores. "Most of the European watch manufacturers buy their components from China,” he reveals.

They would like to open "40 to 60 stores in India in major and satellite towns but the Indian government does not allow us to open without an Indian partner. There is too much political pressure from the locals.” He contrasted this scenario with the business climate and well established infrastructure in Hong Kong where the free port permits individuals to do "what you want so long as you stay within the law. No taxation, no VAT (value added tax), no octroi. Moving goods in India is a nightmare.” Referring to the "strict controls” in USA, Jal states, "An American company won’t allow anything under the table.” Every voucher needs to be justified; even long distance telephone calls and entertainment expenses. "All our people travel economy class.”

In his opinion entrepreneurship "is still there within the community, though it may sometimes be low-key. I don’t believe Parsis are lazy and only bank maa kaam karvaa maagéch. Business maa luck bhi joié (it’s not true that Parsis only want the security of bank jobs. You need luck to be successful in business)... Parsis are known for their hard work, integrity, honesty. People appreciate that and respond to that.”

Believing in "treating everyone with respect,” Jal and Fossil’s work credo are prominently displayed on the walls in their Hong Kong boardroom, each quality bearing a separate visual and message: "Be relentless... passionate... creative... resourceful... authentic... Have a sense of humor” they urge their employees.

President of the Zoroastrian Charity Funds of Hong Kong Canton and Macao for 27 years until he stepped down in May this year at the age of 75, Jal views himself as a religious Zoroastrian who wears his sudreh-kusti regularly. He believes "There are powers that look after us… I have a multicultural faith.” Pervin is a strong advocate of healing, having practiced this art and science for the last 20 years. The Healing Circle that she started offers studies in yoga, meditation and invites overseas practitioners of healing. After studying different healing powers and techniques, Pervin is convinced, "Everybody is born with it. If we have trust and believe in ourselves, we can help. We have to open ourselves so that divine powers can help us in our healing.” On Tuesdays and Thursdays she works with cancer patients who are taught how to recharge themselves through meditation and visualization.

Their younger daughter Shar­meen who has returned to Hong Kong after doing her doctorate in psychiatry and gaining experience in San Francisco also believes in holistic healing. She is currently sharing space with other practitioners, one of whom is an acupuncturist and the other a hypnotherapist. Their elder daughter Zarina Raman Dhillon owns an event company in England and has two children Zreh and Ariya. Son Rasheed studied law at Sussex and then chose to work for Fossil but on his father’s insistence had to work in Dallas for three years before he could serve the Asia Pacific sector of Fossil. He and wife Amy have two children, Mia and Kasra. As Jal delights in announcing, "I have four grandchildren aged one, two, three and four.”

As Justice of Peace (JP) his duties involve arbitration, prison and youth hostel supervision. Once a quarter the government provides him a helicopter to visit prisons on the smaller islands surrounding Hong Kong. The JP is expected to go there unannounced and submit his unbiased report to the government.

Yet another abiding passion is cricket for the sterling batsman who had served as president of the Kowloon Cricket Club (KCC) and chairman of its centenary celebrations committee when he had presented the club a bronze bust of Sir Hormusjee N. Mody, founder of KCC. Active in sports since his school days (he was initially at St Joan d’Arc School and subsequently at King George V School in Hong Kong) after completing his A levels he proceeded to London to become a doctor but after two-and-a-half years switched over to the London School of Economics. "I was playing too much sport. Cricket is my love,” he unabashedly declares.

Affable and unpretentious, Jal candidly confesses, "I am a committee man. I love committees.” For 11 years he served as chairman of the English Schools Foundation in Hong Kong, the largest private educational institution in Asia comprising today of over 22 schools.

The prime time mover knows how to prioritize different commitments. Regarding Fossil, Jal says, "It is easy to expand but rather than lose control we prefer to specialize in what we are doing. We know our watches and accessories. The momentum is there.”