Titan Bangalore

Having capitalised on its significant brand equity by diversifying from a multitude of timepieces that target highly specific markets, including foreign licensed brands, to the coveted Tanishq brand of jewellery, the nascent eyewear division Titan Eye+ and a precision engineering division, Titan has lived up to its name by establishing itself as an industry giant across verticals.

 

Established in 1984 as a joint venture between the Tata Group, India’s largest private sector business group, and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, Titan Industries now enjoys 60 per cent of the domestic market share in the organised watch market. The company currently manufactures three main watch brands - Titan for the premium segment, Fastrack targeting the youth, and Sonata, India’s largest selling watch brand in the below Rs 1000 (US $25) category.

 

Its sub-brands are also leaders in their segments: Titan Edge, the world’s slimmest watch, Titan Raga, Nebula, Wall Street, Heritage, Regalia and the Aviator series. Xylys, the latest addition, is the company’s Swiss-made watch that targets the new age achiever. Titan also markets Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss watches under a licensing agreement.

 

The common thread across these brands is design. The Titan design team won the Designer of the Year award and the Best Design award in the Accessories category instituted by the National Institute of Design and Business World in 2006. Bhat describes the Titan aesthetic as “elegant and classic.” Making this ethos marketable is the company’s proven strength in manufacturing, pricing, retailing and advertising.

 

From Tanishq’s Jodhaa Akbar collection

 

Tanishq, launched in 1995, follows a similar success story - it is India’s largest and fastest growing jewellery brand.Titan’s watches help tell time, the Tanishq brand of jewellery makes time stand still. The collections in 22k pure gold are embedded with diamonds and coloured gems; platinum pieces and silverware round up the Tanishq product bouquet.

 

Like Titan watches, Tanishq also broke new ground in the Rs 70000 crore (US $17 billion) jewellery market. It was the country’s first branded jewellery store in a segment dominated by family owned businesses in an unorganised sector. Tanishq is now one of India’s largest specialty retailers, and targets the country’s flourishing urban sector. Besides Tanishq, Titan recently launched another brand, Gold Plus, which features traditional designs in gold and is aimed at the country’s mass jewellery market.A separate line of Tanishq jewellery is being developed for the US market, which will hit the shelves in mid 2008. Fashioned specifically to appeal to a Western design sensibility, the collection will hinge on various themes.

 

Titan has now set its sights on eyewear, launching its first foray with Fastrack Eye-Gear sunglasses, as well as prescription eyewear retailed through its stores labelled Titan Eye+. With eight stores in India, plans are underway to increase the number. Building on its existing manufacturing prowess, Titan branched into precision engineering products and machine building in 2003, its first B2B vertical, which supplies precision components for the avionics and automotive industry, and dashboard clocks for car manufacturers in Europe and the USA.

Central to the company’s business philosophy is social responsibility. Titan’s CSR activities straddle the areas of children’s education, environment preservation, women’s empowerment, and community development. At Titan’s township in Hosur, designed and planned by the famous architect Charles Correa, it has set up a model learning institution, The Titan School. The company is also one of the largest employers of physically handicapped in the country, for which it was feted with the President of India’s Award. Its CSR activities have earned Titan the Helen Keller and Mother Teresa awards.