Retail Plus
Chennai
The Story of Time
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His voice echoes the sound of 40,000 watches, ticking away happily… After 158 years of selling time, P. Orr & Sons is still the reigning king of the Dravidian watch world
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The tall clock tower imperiously looks down on the busy pedestrians and whizzing motorists heading through Anna Salai. The Madras Observatory was once connected to this tower for precise time reads. An old neon sign at its base, declares ‘P. Orr & Sons’. You enter to be welcomed by the subtle tick-tocks and musical alarm chimes of every possible incarnation of the timepiece. From branded wristwatches to queer little cuckoo clocks, from trusty alarm pieces to regal grandfather clocks, P. Orr has it all. In conversation with P.V. Subramanian, Chief Executive of P. Orr & Sons Pvt. Ltd., it becomes apparent that chronographs mean more than just business to these folks. They are an obsession!
The gleaming and pleasantly noisy shop floor, boasting 20 world-renowned watch brands, is a stark contrast to the creaking stairways and Byzantine architecture of P. Orr’s vintage headquarters. Subramanian enlightens us on the fascinating history of Chennai’s classic timekeepers; “This company was founded by a Scotsman named Peter Orr in 1849. He began by selling ice at the ‘Ice House’, now known as Vivekananda Illam. The company dealt with silverware, gold and several other domains. The clientele was princely and included the Maharajas of Travancore and the Nawabs of Arcot. Post independence however the scenario changed. When Mrs. Indira Gandhi abolished the Privy Purse regulation which gave grants to ex-rulers, the buying power of the clients was reduced. P. Orr was taken over by the Loyal Textile group in the year 1968 and began to specialise in watch retailing.”
The metamorphosis was a brilliantly successful one for P. Orr & Sons, which became a household brand name for timepieces in the following years. Watch retailing apart, they jumped into watch servicing and sales of survey instruments. Subramanian says, “We have seven showrooms across Tamil Nadu. You will see that our shop endorses both high-end and low-end retailing. Our watch repairing services are ISO certified. We use only genuine spare parts and you can be sure that post-servicing, you will get the malfunctioning units rectified with the working components in tact. A guarantee also accompanies our watch care services.”
On market mantras and performance principles Subramanian says, “ P. Orr sticks to the motto of customer loyalty through brand choice. We do not restrict the freedom of the customer in any way. All our goods are sold at the declared price of the manufacturers and our dealings are very straightforward. I believe that is our strength.” The sands of time have proven him right till now and as for their dazzling future, time will surely tell…
SHRUTHI SANKARAVADIVEL
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