The Titan Story

Early 2001, when Indian consumers rated Titan ahead of all other
brands as the Most Admired Brand in India across all product
categories (the first ever such survey done by Brand Equity), it did
not surprise people that a 13 year-old had managed to upstage many
older and more well-known brands: it was expected of Titan to
achieve such things, it was so natural.
It was also a fitting tribute to a brand, which had not only
revolutionised the Indian watch industry, but also brought in world-
class benchmarks in product design, quality and retailing into India.
Back in the early eighties, the Tata Group had identified the watch
category as a potential consumer market for the Tatas to enter.
Xerxes Desai, a Tata veteran and the then MD of Tata Press, was
chosen to lead that venture.
In those days of pre-liberalisation the watch market, like most
consumer markets in India, was way behind the rest of the world.
The technology in vogue was the reliable, but outdated "Mechanical"
technology, which used the unwinding of a mechanical spring to tell
time. Not only was the accuracy of time-keeping not good enough,
but the bulky mechanical movement did not permit the creation of
sleek products. The industry was dominated by the public sector
which had brought in watch manufacturing into India, enjoyed
tremendous goodwill in the market, but had not really invested in
evolving itself and its consumers: styling still remained basic, choice
was limited.
The watch shops were narrow, dingy and typically located in the
older, traditional markets of the city. You went there only to buy a
watch, never to browse, never to simply check out. Visual
merchandising was very much at the stage of "decoration" if any,
and neither the brands nor the retailers saw it as important. The
companies themselves did not have much contact with retailers,
preferring to sell through wholesalers, doing well that way. There
was hardly any need for consumer contact or research. It was a
sellers' market.
All this affected the consumers. Watches remained a time-keeping
device, so one watch was enough, thank you. Since the quality of
the watch was quite good, it lasted quite a while, and the
consumers did not change it for 10, 15, 20 years. And when they
did change it, they did not pay a high price for the new piece
because, what the hell, they were buying another time-keeping
device.
Xerxes Desai's vision was to dramatically alter this perception of
consumers, and make Titan a fashion accessory. He knew that that
was the only way that this new brand would explode the market and
wrest control from the dominant HMT. So he and his team went
about breaking all the rules in the category:
Mechanical technology was the norm - Quartz had not really taken
off in India. Titan would go against that and build its line based on
quartz. Accuracy would become a selling-plank.
Styling was basic - This was a constraint imposed by the technology
as well the outlook of the manufacturers. Titan decided to make
style a table-stake.
Choice was limited - You had 200 models to pick from, that was it.
Titan decided to inundate consumers with a wide choice in style,
functions and price. The initial range was 350 models.
Shops were dark, dingy and uninteresting - There was no
importance given to presentation, and therefore no attempt made
at it. Titan brought in the concept of retailing into the watch
market, established a network of fine showrooms which would later
become the world's largest network of exclusive watch stores.
These stores not only helped Titan to gain leadership substantially,
but also irrevocably altered the retail landscape of the watch
market through a demonstration effect on the traditional dealers.
Advertising was expenditure - Titan saw this as a vital investment.
Right from Day 1, Titan invested significantly in advertising and in
that process created a set of memorable and effective properties
over the years.
So Titan, backed by world-class quality created at a world-class
plant located just off Bangalore, backed by the Tata name, was
launched into the Indian market on the back of these new rules. It
created waves right in the early days, mesmerised consumers,
demolished competition and rode into the sunset with panache.
Today, in early 21st century India, it is taken for granted that a
watch is a fashion accessory. Titan dominates the market, with a
60% share of the organised sector market (the total market,
including the unorganised sector, is estimated at around 42 million
units). Titan's quality record is impressive, its sales and service
network is wide and deep, and its network of exclusive showrooms,
The World of Titan, is one of the most prestigious and visible retail
brands in the country, offering world-class levels of shopping
comfort and customer service.
What is truly amazing about Titan is the sheer scale of its offering
and the consequent choice it offers to multiple segments across
taste, age and economic background. Titan saw this approach as the
foundation of its leadership strategy in the early days. Even the
early range had distinct offerings for different requirements: formal
watches (gold plated cases with fine leather straps) for the
executive, dress watches (gold plated cases with ornamental gold
plated bracelets) for those with a preference for jewellery, rugged
watches (all steel watches with a skew to functionality) for those
whose usage demanded a certain durability.
Titan has built on this principle over the last 15 years, almost year
after year:
In 1989, it was Aqura, the trendy range for the youth, colourful,
smart and affordable plastic watches for the youth: The other side
of Titan for the other side of you.
In 1992, it was Raga, the ethnic range, with striking symbolism from
ethnic India, for the sophisticated India woman who appreciated
such things.
In 1993, it was Insignia, very distinctive and international-looking
top-end watches, for those seeking exclusivity and status.
In 1994, it was psi 2000, rugged, sporty and very masculine watches
with serious sports features (200-m mater resistance, high precision
chronographs) for those with the penchant for adventure.
In 1996, it was Dash, the cute and colourful range for kids.
In 1997, it was Sonata, the affordable, good quality range for the
budget-conscious.
In 1998, it was Fastrack, the cool, trendy, funky range for the young
and young-at-heart.
In 1999, it was Nebula, the sold gold and diamond-studded range of
luxury watches for those affluent people to whom gold is a precious
acquisition.
In 2001, it was Steel, the smart and contemporary collection for the
young 21st century executive.
And in 2008, the brand has collections like the Octane, Diva, WWF
and Zoop - each of them unique and fascinating.
The underpinning of this entire market development and
segmentation is Innovation. Titan has kept innovation core to its
strategy, realising fully that the only way to sustain the fashion
accessory perception is by continuously coming out with collections
that make the current ones somewhat dated, thereby creating a
certain discomfort in the consumers' mind, which leads to another
purchase. This impact has shown up in every one of the collections
spoken of earlier. They were fresh and distinctive, unlike what
consumers had seen before, and thus created curiosity, walk-ins
and sales.
A stellar example of Titan's Innovation is Edge, the slimmest watch
in the universe. Titan's R & D talent created a wafer-thin quartz
movement, a mere 1.15mm thin, over 4 years of development
work. The immensely talented Design team collaborated with the
Manufacturing group to create Edge, a 3.5-mm watch, a gem of
elegance, with water-resistance to boot! Edge was launched in India
early 2002 to tremendous market acclaim and sales success. It is a
design and technological marvel, which justly received the Best
Design Award in the Lifestyle Product Category in the first annual
design contest organised by Business World and NID.
Titan also chose to invest heavily into showcasing all this innovation
to the consumer through advertising. From Day 1, the 'catalogue"
advertising of Titan became its trademark as it was used regularly
and effectively to merchandise new models. The catalogue ads also
helped customers to shop off the page and almost decide which
model they wanted to pick. Retailers also became used to seeing
customers walking into shops with newspaper "cuttings", asking for
the models shown there. This approach continues to this day, with
mostly the same effect.
In the early nineties, Titan chose to develop the "Gifting" market.
Watches had always been favourite things to gift, and Titan had
benefited from that. Titan was convinced that there lay a greater
potential in that segment. A set of 3 films were developed in 1991
around 3 relationships, where the gifting of a Titan culminated in a
moving personal moment and a strengthening of the bond between
the protagonists. These films became a big hit and created a genre
of advertising films which lasted a good 8 years. During those years,
a series of films involving a variety of characters (father, daughter,
teacher, boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, thief!) and with local flavour (for
Onam in Kerala, Puja in Bengal) were created and released. These
not only helped build a good-sized gift segment for Titan, but also
became Titan's Theme Campaign, building strong emotional values
for the brand. One of the films in the series, where a man and his
younger daughter conspire to give his older daughter a Titan as a
surprise gift at her wedding, released around 1994, went on to
become the most popular Titan film ever, even voted by the
viewers of Zee Television as the second most liked TV commercial
on the channel.
The most enduring part of the Titan advertising has been the music
track. Chosen by Xerxes Desai and the creative head of O & M in
1987 for its class and western vibes, the segment from Mozart's
25th Symphony has arguably become Indian Advertising's most
memorable track (incidentally, and perhaps not coincidentally, this
was the most liked advertising track in the same Zee TV survey).
Starting in 1987 in its pure classical versions, with a single violin
playing the melody, this piece has been rendered in countless
innovative versions over the years: Indian Classical, Indian Folk,
Operatic, Rock, Funk,.And has become such a powerful audio
mnemonic for the brand.
Another successful customer-facing aspect about Titan has been its
stores. Organised retailing did not exist in the late eighties. The
concept of exclusive brand stores was almost non-existent. In a
pioneering effort that dramatically altered industry standards, the
World of Titan was born. Located in the newer parts of a city, with
a good frontage and layout, the showroom immediately stood out on
the street and attracted walk-ins. Once inside, you were totally
impressed with the presentation. You walked along the wall, where
recessed "mood windows" showcased specific collections in the
appropriate context with the help of visuals, decorative props and
word (the place looked almost like an art gallery). You could get a
better idea about that collection through such a contextual
presentation and could make up your mind which collection was
right for your requirement. Then you would walk along to the
selling area, where the entire range was displayed in style. Smart
and helpful salespeople waited on you there and helped you choose
the best piece by giving you information and suggestions. You
walked away overwhelmed.
This experience now has over 255 branches and has penetrated the
width and breadth of India. Helping the brand increase sales,
increase price premium, sell the more expensive watches, improve
image, keep competition at bay and keep the brand name salient on
the high streets of the country. Refurbished with a contemporary
look in 2001, this chain has become even more integral to the
brand's destiny today.
Doing all this in style has earned Titan enormous goodwill and
respect. Titan was voted the Most Admired Brand (across categories)
in India by consumers, in the first such study by Brand Equity done
in 2001. Titan was voted the Most Admired Consumer Durables
Marketer by industry professionals, 8 out of 9 times (the ninth time
it was No 2), in A & M's annual survey done between 1992 and 1999.
Titan was voted the Most Respected Consumer Durables Company in
a Business World Survey in 2003. Consumers and professionals alike
have resonated equally to Titan's successful efforts in bringing
international standards to India. And in 2008, it emerges as the 24th
Most Admired Brand in the ET Most Admired Brands survey done
annually, it was also the most admired Consumer Durable brand.
Titan has also done the seemingly impossible reverse thing: taking
Indian quality to international markets. Since starting export
operations in a small scale to the Middle East in the early nineties to
exploit the resident NRI population, Titan has come a long way.
Moving into the European market in the mid-nineties and Asia
Pacific in the late nineties, Titan today sells in the UK, Spain,
Portugal, Greece, Singapore, Dubai, Malaysia, Oman, Philippines and
many more countries. The customers are no longer only NRIs. They
are the Thais, the Greeks, the Arabs, the Filipinos - through a
combination of Contemporary Style, Great Quality and Great Prices,
Titan has put together an irresistible proposition for the people of
these countries. With over 100 million satisfied consumers and a
track record of breaking the rules, Team Titan faces the 21st
Century with a mix of passion, excitement and energy.

HOW DID THE TITAN MUSIC ORIGINATE

The idea of using the flamboyant third movement from Mozart's
25th Symphony in G minor, written when Mozart was only 17 years
old, came from Suresh Mullick who was O & M's creative head in
1986 when Titan's first TV campaign was being planned. Mozart's
symphony had already been immortalised for contemporary non-
cognoscenti in one of the greatest movies of our time, AMADEUS,
which was released in 1984.
The music was such a resounding success that it was never ever
dropped, and no thoughts were ever entertained of making a
change.
But the original score did go through numerous metamorphoses as it
was rendered with musical instruments that Mozart could not have
even heard of, leave alone heard. Perhaps it is in the nature of
great and enduring music that it can be adapted to such a variety of
powerful visual images united only by a single mood and message.
The music was singularly appropriate: it exuded enthusiasm and
energy, flamboyance and power, tenacity and triumph. It was young
and full of zest, typical of the composer himself. Yet it was classy
and elegant. And, of course, it was very European. Both the music
and the man who wrote it perhaps the greatest musical genius of all
time had all the right connotations and fitted so very well with the
character of the brand and of the organization that we were seeking
to create.
Titan Industries is the world's fifth largest and India's leading
manufacturer of watches. The company has manufactured more
than a 100 million watches till date; and has a customer base of
over 80 million. The umbrella brand Titan is one of India's leading
watch brands that brought about a paradigm shift in the Indian
watch market, offering quartz technology with international styling.
The brand Titan is committed to offering its consumers watches that
represent the compass of their imagination. Titan's customers are
therefore consistently introduced to exciting new collections, which
connect, with various facets of their deep−rooted yearnings for self-
expression. The new brand philosophy of Titan, encapsulated in the
words "Be More", touches this as well as all other aspects of the
brand.
The Titan brand architecture comprises several collection and
sub−brands, each of which is a leader in its segment. Notable among
them are: Titan Edge The world's slimmest watch which stands for
the philosophy of "less is more"; Titan Raga the feminine and
sensuous accessory for today's woman, Nebula − crafted in solid 18k
gold and precious stones. Several other popular collections like
Heritage, Aviator, Regalia, Octane & WWF also form a part of the
Titan wardrobe.
Today, the Titan portfolio has over 60% of the domestic market
share in the organised watch market. The company has 247
exclusive showrooms christened World of Titan', making it amongst
the largest chains in its category backed by 700 after−sales−service
centers. The company has a world−class design studio that
constantly invents new trends in wrist watches.
Fastrack was launched in 1998 as a sub-brand of Titan. It was spun off as an
independent brand of watches targeting the urban youth in 2005. Since then, it
has carved a niche for itself with designs that were refreshingly different and
affordable. During that time, Fastrack also extended its footprint into eye gear
and in the last 4 years has quickly notched up the title of being the largest
sunglass brand in the country.
Fastrack has now chartered into newer categories – bags, belts, wallets and wrist
bands – as part of its vision to become a complete fashion brand for the youth.
With enough categories to fill up one cool store, Fastrack has ‘moved on’ to open
its own stores for its young consumers. The store is positioned as a complete
accessories destination with all Fastrack gear under one roof. The first store was
opened in Pune in 2009. Fastrack plans to have 100 such stores by 2011.

INTEGRATED SUPPLY CHAIN

MANAGEMENT
Titan changed the way watches were designed, manufactured and marketed;
Titan revolutionized the Indian Watch Industry.
Titan watches, the most trusted and popular watches in India, are manufactured
at Hosur, an Industrial suburb of Tamil Nadu, India. Set up in 1985, with initially
planned annual capacity of 2 million, today the unit produces over 11 million
quartz analog wrist watches, thanks to the state-of-art manufacturing facilities at
the unit.
Titan Industries’ Movement Manufacturing set-up was established in technical
collaboration with France Ebauches, a leading quartz analog movement
manufacturer in France. The Case Manufacturing set-up was based on an
alliance with Citizen Watch co, Japan. In 1989, watch case manufacturing
technology was obtained from Citizen Watch Co. of Japan and in mid 90s, the
technology for complicated watch cases and solid link bracelets manufacture was
obtained from a Swiss company. Sheet metal bracelet manufacturing facility was
established in 1996 with the help of a company in Japan.
A Watch Assembly unit was established at Dehradun in 1990 and another two
units were added: one at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh (2004) and the other at
Roorkee (2007). Today, Titan Industries' watch assembly capacity is about 10
million watches per annum.
Titan Industries is one of the very few manufacturers in the world that
manufacture watch movements, watch cases and metal bracelets under one
roof. It is the fifth largest, integrated watch manufacturer brand in the world. From
the initial offering of 150 models in 1987, today the supply chain and
manufacturing set-up has the capability to handle over 3000 watch variants, the
fact that depicts the product mix complexity.

INTERNATIONAL BRANDS
Tommy Hilfiger Watches
Tommy Hilfiger, one of the best-known American fashion brands, has its roots in
Elmore, New York. The brand is recognized world over for watches, jeans,
fragrance.
The Tommy Hilfiger watches are crafted with precision and care and finished with
unique signature details for unmistakable style. The look these watches
represent is cool and classic, spirited, fun and always fashionable. The watches
strike a cord with people who espouse the brand attitude of being optimistic, hip,
real, natural, confident, relaxed and spontaneous. The designer styles with an
unmistakable ‘Tommy twist’ are offered with collections to suit different tastes,
moods and occasions of wear.
Titan Industries Limited has made Tommy Hilfiger Watches available in India at
most ‘World of Titan’ stores, leading multi-brand watch outlets, and department
stores like Shoppers Stop, Central and Lifestyle.
Hugo Boss Watches
Hugo Boss, one of the world’s most popular European brands, has its roots in
Germany. Hugo Boss is known for shoes, accessories, and fragrances. Watches
complement and complete the portfolio. Hugo Boss watches were launched
globally early this year. The Hugo Boss watch designs connote European
elegance and couture and are a symbol of power and sophistication.
Hugo Boss watches are now available in India, thanks to Titan Industries Limited.
French Connection Watches
Founded in 1972 by Stephen Marks, French Connection set out to create well-
designed fashionable clothing that appealed to a broad market. f c u k is a short,
sharp acronym for French Connection United Kingdom. It is now one of the
strongest brands in Britain and operates in over 25 countries. Having established
a strong core clothing business, through unique design and a true sense of style
the company has, over recent years expanded its portfolio into exciting new
areas including men’s and women’s toiletries, shoes, jewellery, watches, and
eyewear.
f c u k has been launched in select Large Format Stores and Multi Brand Outlers
across the country by Titan Industries Limited.
TITAN INTERNATIONAL
Titan Industries entered the international watch market with their business
endeavour in the Middle East in 1991. This launched the Titan brand of watches
in the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were added in
1994.
Titan Industries has distributors in every country it operates in. The distributors
set up exclusive and multi – brand stores to sell Titan products. Apart from this
arrangement, retail also takes place via high street retailers, power retailers and
department stores.
To remain a successful global player, Titan has further reinforced its thrust in the
international markets by evolving products to suit the tastes of the local
consumer as well as being contemporary keeping the current international trends
in mind.
Being the fifth largest integrated watch manufacturer in the world, Titan
emphasizes world-class quality supported by excellent after-sales service policy
that goes beyond the international norms. At the international level, Titan
operates in the mid-premium price segment category. With innovative
technology-driven products like Titan Edge - the slimmest watch in the world -
Titan is presently the market leader in its category in Oman and Bahrain, and at
No. 2 position in the Middle East.
Titan expanded to Asia Pacific in the late nineties, and has recently made a foray
into South Africa; Singapore, Dubai, Malaysia, Oman, and Vietnam are some of
the major countries where the brand is offered. The customers include non-
residential Indians as well as Vietnamese, Thais, Arabs and Filipinos. Through a
combination of contemporary style, excellent quality and affordable prices, Titan
has put together an exceptionally appealing proposition for the people of these
countries.
With over a hundred million satisfied consumers world over, Titan has
successfully established its brand value internationally.

TITAN CUSTOMER SERVICE

Spread across India, with 786 service contact points across 343 towns, Titan
Industries’ service centre network is committed to deliver a satisfying post-sales
experience to all the customers.
The Watch Care Centres are attached to the World of Titan and Authorised
Service Centers are attached to the ‘Multi-brand outlets’, both offer quick and
high-quality repairs for all types of watches currently sold by Titan with a six-
month service guarantee. At the Titan Watch Care Centres, all repair activities
follow a strict and systematic process that is controlled and measured through an
ISO audit system. To ensure good quality, faster turnaround time and customer
satisfaction, Titan Industries has various schemes in place. A post service follow-
up (for major repair activity) is mandatory to complete the cycle of customer
satisfaction. Titan's loyalty Signet program - where customers can redeem their
points – is part of Titan’s effort to retain and value its loyal customers.
Titan Customer Service also markets spares and accessories, such as batteries,
leather and metal bracelets to all outlets that sell Titan, Sonata and Fastrack
watches. Staff actively encourage customers to use only original spares in order
to ensure quality and satisfaction.
Titan Customer Service, with the ISO 9001 & 14001 certification, focuses on the
best post-sale experience and complete customer contentment.

SUBSIDIARIES
Titan Time Products Limited

Titan Time Products (a 100% subsidiary of Titan Industries) specialises in

manufacture of electronic-board assemblies for industries such as automotive,
industrial electronics, telecommunication, consumer goods, medical, and
defense.

The state-of-art manufacturing facility, located at Verna, Goa, supports 150

people and boasts of a clean-room facility matching a class 10000.

Titan Time Products’ capabilities include Surface Mount Technology for fine-pitch
assemblies, Ball Grid Array placements, Chip-on-board Assemblies/ Wire
bonding, and Through-hole Assemblies. The testing facilities we offer include In-
circuit testers, Automatic Online Inspection equipment (AOI), Solder-thickness
measuring systems, and various other functional test set-ups.

Titan Time Products’ quality systems are accredited to ISO 9000 and TS 16949
standards and all processes are Restriction on Hazardous Substances
compliant.

This centre is seamlessly aligned with our group facilities in Bangalore and
Hosur, providing customers box-build capabilities with plastics and sheet-metal
integration.

We enjoy an elaborate network of component suppliers and manufacturers in

India and abroad, and have sourcing set-up in Hong Kong and the UK.

Titan Time Products’ value chain processes run on SAP, and the manufacturing
systems are calibrated to process multiple products simultaneously, with batches
varying from Proto lots to larger volumes.

The impressive array of awards bestowed on the company, such as the Award
for Excellence in Total Productive Maintenance, the IMEA – Frost & Sullivan
Award, the CII Excellence Award and the ELCINA – Dun & Bradstreet Award are
confidently illustrative of Titan Time products’ strong and world-class
manufacturing practices.
DISTRIBUTION
Distribution in India
A key business partner of Titan in the marketplace, is the redistribution stockist.
The distribution channel handles well over 50% of the watch business of the
company. The main focus of this channel is market penetration and coverage.
Currently we have 65 distributors handling well over 6000 dealers across the
country. Titan's growth rate in the marketplace requires us to appoint new
distributors every year. The combined stockholding and credit to the market is
controlled to stay within stipulated limits. The distributor channel operates
independent of all other channels and reaches out to its own set of distinct
dealers.
We distribute through an exclusive distributor in each country, who is responsible
for indenting, distributing, servicing, assisting and providing marketing support for
the brand.
Interested in becoming a Titan distributor?
If you are interested in taking on the distribution of our watches in your region or
your country, please contact us at distribution@titan.co.in
Or write to:
Mr. J Murali
Group Manager - Supply Chain Management
Titan Industries Limited
Tower-A, Golden Enlclave
Old Airport Road
Bangalore - 560 017
India
COMPANY PROFILE
Titan Industries is the organization that brought about a paradigm shift in the
Indian watch market when it introduced its futuristic quartz technology,
complemented by international styling. With India's two most recognized and
loved brands Titan and Tanishq to its credit, Titan Industries is the fifth largest
integrated watch manufacturer in the world.
The success story began in 1984 with a joint venture between the Tata Group
and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. Presenting Titan quartz
watches that sported an international look, Titan Industries transformed the
Indian watch market. After Sonata, a value brand of functionally styled watches
at affordable prices, Titan Industries reached out to the youth segment with
Fastrack, its third brand, trendy and chic. The company has sold 100 million
watches world over and manufactures 12 million watches every year.
With a license for premium fashion watches of global brands, Titan Industries
repeated its pioneering act and brought international brands into Indian market.
Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss, as well as the Swiss made watch – Xylys owe
their presence in Indian market to Titan Industries.
Entering the largely fragmented Indian jewellery market with no known brands in
1995, Titan Industries launched Tanishq, India’s most trusted and fastest growing
jewellery brand. Gold Plus, the later addition, focuses on the preferences of
semi-urban and rural India. Completing the jewellery portfolio is Zoya, the latest
retail chain in the luxury segment.
Titan Industries has also made its foray into eyewear, launching Fastrack
eyewear and sunglasses, as well as prescription eyewear. The organization has
leveraged its manufacturing competencies and branched into precision
engineering products and machine building.
With over 560 retail stores across a carpet area of over 7,09,000 sq. ft. Titan
Industries has India’s largest retail network. The company has over 300 exclusive
‘World of Titan' showrooms and over 740 after-sales-service centers. Titan
Industries is also the largest jewellery retailer in India with over 113 Tanishq
boutiques and Zoya stores, over 28 Gold Plus stores and over 88 Titan Eye+
stores. The company has two exclusive design studios for watches and jewellery
Backed by 4,514 employees, two exclusive design studios for watches and
jewellery, 11 manufacturing units, and innumerable admirers world
over, Titan Industries continues to grow and sets new standards for
innovation and quality. The organization is all geared to repeat the Titan
and Tanishq success story with each new offering.

PRODUCTS
Titan Industries, best known as India's pioneering manufacturer of quartz
watches, has also etched a niche for itself in some of the most competitive
spaces in the fashion industry such as jewellery and eyewear. Precision
engineering is another area of specialization that Titan Industries is proud of.
Watches: Being the world's fifth largest integrated watch manufacturer, Titan
Industries has created and sold more than a 110 million pieces the world over.
With a production rate of over 12 million watches per annum and a customer
base of over 100 million, Titan Industries owns manufacturing and assembly
operation centers in Hosur in Karnataka, Dehradun, Roorkee and Pant Nagar in
Uttaranchal, Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, and an Electronic Circuit Boards (ECB)
plant in Goa.
Capturing the important market segments and the changing fashion trends, Titan
Industries has brought forth four core watch brands:
• Titan is designed for the mid-premium segment
• Fastrack is crafted to fit the trendy fashion space with a focus on the youth
• Sonata is created for the mass market and has emerged as India’s largest
selling watch brand
• Xylys is fashioned for the premium market, aiming at the high-end connoisseur
and new-age achiever
The Titan brand architecture comprises several sub-brands, each of which is a
market leader in own space. Notable among them are: Titan Edge, Titan Raga,
Nebula, Heritage and several other collections like WWF, Zoop, Orion, Purple,
Obaku and the Automatic series. The Titan portfolio owns over 60% of the
domestic market share in the organized watch market.
Titan Industries’ pride possession, a world-class design studio for watches and
accessories, is the place where some of the most coveted creations have been
conceptualized.
Exclusive World of Titan and Fastrack showrooms and over 12,000 outlets in
more than 2,554 cities in India make these much-sought-after watches available
to the buyers. The watches are also offered internationally in 30 countries, with a
special focus on the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions. The after-sales
service, a benchmarked operation with a large network of exclusive service
centers spread across the country, is one of the operation units with the fastest
turnaround time in the world.
Jewellery: Following the suit of time products, Titan Industries’ Tanishq has
been India’s largest, fastest growing and most popular jewellery brand.
Tanishq offers a premium range of innovatively created gold jewellery with an
aesthetic use of diamonds and precious, semi-precious stones in various hues.
Arresting designs in 22kt pure gold as well as platinum are among the most
admired products on the company’s list. GoldPlus the recent retail plain gold
jewellery offering, is specifically created for semi urban and rural Indian market.
The brand offers gold jewellery, as well as unique designs crafted with diamonds,
American diamonds and other precious stones.
Titan Industries boasts of 115 Tanishq boutiques, 2 Zoya stores and 29 Gold
Plus stores in India. The enchanting jewellery patterns that are part of these
brands originate in the well-equipped exclusive jewellery design studio of Titan
Industries.
Eye wear: Titan Eye+ of Titan Industries offers sunglasses under its Fastrack
brand. Prescription eyewear such as lenses and contact lenses is also part of the
range. Titan Eye+ offers frames, sunglasses, and accessories of Titan Industries’
in-house brands as well as other premium brands.
Precision Engineering: The Precision Engineering division of Titan Industries
supplies precision components to the aviation and the automotive industry. As an
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), the company makes dashboard clocks
for car manufacturers in Europe and America.
Equipped with best certifications such as AS 9100B for the aerospace segment,
TS 16949 for the automotive segment and the coveted Ford Q1 status - the
highest supplier recognition from Ford – Titan Industries also offers fully
integrated automation solutions.
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Over the years, Titan Industries has received several prestigious awards and
distinctions. Some of the recent and most noteworthy recognitions are:
• Titan Industries received the Award for the Most Admired Timewear Brand of
the Year in 2009 for the ninth successive year for Titan, and the Most Admired
Jewellery Brand of the Year for the seventh consecutive year for Tanishq.
• Goldplus bags 2 dragons and 2 certificate of merits at the Promotion marketing
awards of Asia 2009.
• Jewellery Division was declared the winner of the “GOLD AWARD" in FMCG
sector in the GreenTech Environment Excellence Award 2009.
• Jewellery Division wins first prize in “Innovation in Supply Chain Management”
organized by Indian Institute of Material Management for the second consecutive
year and ranked amongst the top five amongst 50 global entries at Europen
Business School, Weisbaden Germany .
• Titan brand won the “Most Valuable Brand in the State” award at the IIPM &
The Sunday Times STATE EXCELLENCE AWARD.
• Both Titan and Sonata feature in the Top 100 Brands-2009 in the Annual
Survey conducted by Economic Times. While Titan is ranked at Number 4,
Sonata increase their rank to 86. Titan is ranked number 1 in the consumer
durables category.
• Jewellery Division of Titan Industries Limited won the Eight Annual Madras
Management Association award on Managerial Excellence for Manufacturing
sector.
• Titan Industries bagged 19th position across all industry categories and 1st
position in the Retail Industry category in the Economic Times – Great Place to
Work Institute study. The survey results show that 92% employees across Titan
Industries feel that Titan is a Great Place to work!
Titan Industries was one of the five organizations to be awarded the "Corporate
Social Responsibilities" award - Best Commercial and Industrial Institute for 2009
- 10 by the Government of Tamil Nadu.
CELEBRATING TITAN
After two decades of building relationships with our customers, and learning from
all the successes and failures that came our way, it is time to pause, reflect and
celebrate.
It is time to honour the indispensable role of our people, our business associates
and suppliers, who have enriched the fabric of Titan Industries, as we know it
today. We are proud to have withstood the test of time and maintained our
dedication to the values upon which Titan Industries was founded.
People are at the heart of our success
Over the years, we have built our operations, nationwide and worldwide,
leveraging the expertise of our most talented, dedicated and hardworking people
with the vision, integrity, innovation and leadership qualities that our business
demands.
Titan Industries have constantly invested in training, incentives and career
progression across all our business units and have one of the highest employee
retention records. We have instituted initiatives such as ‘Face of Titan’, ‘Tanishq
Superstar’, ‘Look for Stars’ and ‘Titan Visionary’ to acclaim and commend
deserving managers, store officers, cashiers and technicians.
For over two decades, our core values of commitment to safety, health and
environment, high ethical standards and respect for people have been the
cornerstone of our identity.
Innovation is a way of thinking at Titan Industries
Titan Industries began its operations with an innovative offering - quartz watches
- that changed the face of the Indian watch industry. Innovative ideas at Titan
Industries have led to significant achievements such as Single Point Solutions to
every Original Equipment Manufacturer customer. Titan Edge, world's slimmest
watch, is probably the best example of the spirit of innovation in the organization
– a feat achieved in less than five years of our existence.
To facilitate innovation, we opt for external expertise from leading consultants like
McKinsey, Quadra and Interbrand. We use cutting-edge business excellence
tools such as Tata Business Excellence model based on the Malcolm Baldrige
Criteria for Excellence, total quality management, 360-degree feedback process
and benchmarking.
Our contemporary store designs are a great example of innovation. They have
redefined the retailing standards in India since the time when the concept of
modern retailing had not evolved.
Jewellery Division changed the dynamics of gold market by introducing the
Karameter, an industry first in checking the purity of gold through a non-
destructive test.
Relationships are a sacred bond of trust for us
At Titan Industries, we have built relationships and forged lasting bonds with our
customers, employees, shareholders, network of business associates, and
suppliers.
With our futuristic designs, we created a desire in the minds of our customers
and offered them accessories for every occasion. In a small way, we have been
a part of all their celebrations. ‘Customer First’ - an initiative driven by the
company is an embodiment of the customer-focused culture that we imbibed
from the very beginning.
We continue to foster greater customer commitment by making our product lines
more comprehensive.
Growth depicts many milestones
We have been able to remain the undisputed leaders in the market. Taking the
prognosis of brand fatigue seriously, we reinvented our selves with the
impeccably styled Euro watches collection. Triumphs like this were interspersed
with tribulations that spurred us to accept new challenges and overcome them
with a resolve and commitment.
With over 560 showrooms and 12,000 dealer-outlets, we are the largest retail
network in India.

At Titan Industries, the celebration never ends.

HERITAGE
Flashback
Turning back the hands of time pre-1980s, Tata Press conceived an idea to
conquer the Watch Industry. Initial negated pioneering efforts aside,
perseverance won the day. Titan Watches sprang into being with the signing of a
joint venture of Tata Industries with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development
Corporation (TIDCO) in June of 1984. From that point on it has been full steam
ahead.
First Milestone
Titan commenced production end 1986 and hit the market in March 1987 with its
brand ‘Titan’. The analogue electronic Quartz range met instant acclaim,
appeasing a hungry watch-starved consumer market. This spurred
encouragement and manufacture extended to bracelets, cases, electronic
circuitry and step motors.
Along the way
Spanning 25-years of growth, the Titan Watch Project became Titan Watch
Division and ultimately Titan Industries. Production kept an impressive pace,
topping the 10 million plus mark per year. Three years down the trail produced a
dividend of 15% – today, 2009, sees a declaration of 100%!
Numerous technologies and sources came into play during this period. Progress
was swift, steady and stamped with characteristic Titan aplomb. This led to
innumerable achievements and accolades.
Audaciously challenging the Swiss, Titan now is the world's largest integrated
manufacturer of watches. A major brand player, Titan stakes claim to 60% of the
organized watch market, with over 100 million pieces sold across 30 countries
collectively.
In successive events, the ‘World of Titan’ exclusive showrooms mushroomed
nation-wide, currently totaling 280+. The main manufacture facility is situated at
Hosur in Tamilnadu with assembly units up north in Dehradun, Baddi, and
Roorkee. Its Electronic Circuit Board plant is in Goa.
Titan notably left its’ footprint in Europe in 1993; then came a major one in the
Middle East and the Asia-Pacific regions. Titan now happily ticks its way across
twenty-six countries around the globe. Internationally, Titan’s business amounts
to over 675k watches annually.
A brief joint venture with the Japanese Timex between 1992 and 1998, focusing
on market mass, prospered. The brand Timex jumped to 2nd place next to Titan,
in popularity. On dissolution of the partnership, Titan reclaimed market share by
launching Sonata, an absolute winner, followed by an astute array of wrist wear -
Titan, Fastrack, and Xylys brands, luxury watches and designer timescapes - a
range of outdoor clocks - defining spectacular landmarks in several cities.
Pacing on, the Swiss and Japanese watch fraternity was justifiably astounded,
not only with the state-of-art Production facility established by Titan, but also with
its highly trained, dedicated, youthful workforce.
Endorsing the Tata spirit, Charles Correa, a world-renowned architect, was
commissioned and fashioned a complete modern township at Mathigiri to
accommodate over 2000 Titanians, complete with an excellent School that
doubles as a learning facility for neighbouring district schools.
Venturing on...
Diversification accelerates progress. Titan’s expansion plans in 1993 turned to
jewellery, with a brand launch ‘Tanishq’ in 1996. Then a spate of new ventures
followed suit, Fastrack – the youth watch and accessories line in 2003; Precision
Engineering in 2005, Goldplus the standardized mass marketing of jewellery in
2006 and the Titan Eyewear Division in 2007 - a project of prescription eyewear,
complete with specialized outlets, catering to customers’ every need.
Of these wholesome ventures, Tanishq and Goldplus proved Titan’s mettle
indisputably.
Catering primarily to a country which views gold as a prime investment, believes
that it is auspicious, and finds it an irresistible adornment, Titan literally struck it
rich by its entry into the world of traditional and designer jewellery.
The concept of entering the glitter field, in order to forge a way out of a foreign
exchange crunch of the early 1990s, appealed to Titan Industries considerably.
And yet again, though early steps were far from expectancy, the innovative Titan
spirit came to the fore, turning adversaries into achievement, and how!!
Foreign Exchange being no consequence subsequently, caused Titan to focus
exclusively on the home market. Today, Tanishq - the first branded jewellery
player and Goldplus, are righteous equivalents of the Cartier, Tiffany, Esprit, and
Ernest Jones of the West in credibility, standards and fame. Tanishq offers a
stunning world of exquisite, precious designer ware through 117 stores in 75
townships across the nation. Goldplus has a proud market share of around 40%
in the semi-urban and rural scenario, whilst still in its infancy.
These two ventures are a pride to India and to Titan Industries, for they certainly
keep value-conscious customers happy and contented.

Titan's Collections 5
Dash! 5
Steel 6
Edge 6
Flip 6
Sonata 7
Fastrack - From Cool to Bold 8
Raga 9
Nebula 11
Challenges 11
Exhibits

Introduction:-

The big question- should a company stay focused on its core competencies and competitive
advantages that made it great or should it diversify to keep up with, surpass its peers?
Experts say it is one of the trickier questions to answer. But answer lies in the gains that a
company reaps after diversification.

Corporate strategies expand the scope of operations through diversification into new
businesses. Diversification into new business can reduce variations in corporate profits by
expanding the corporation's lines of business. Diversification is a form of growth strategy.
Growth strategies involve a significant increase in performance objectives (usually sales or
market share) beyond past levels of performance. Many organizations pursue one or more
types of growth strategies.

Diversification leads to improved financial performance. Large firms generate cash that can
be invested in other ventures. That is, the core business sustains itself on its money making
ventures, and uses this cash flow to create new ventures that generate additional profits.
One of the primary reasons is the view held by many investors and executives that "bigger
is better." Growth in sales is often used as a measure of performance. Even if profits remain
stable or decline, an increase in sales satisfies many people. The assumption is often made
that if sales increase, profits will eventually follow.

Titan industries, the watch and jewellery major is also changing its approach to its
portfolio. Titan, Rs. 3,000 crore industry is moving towards a new segment what we call
the life space. The strategy of Titanis discussed in the case study with an objective to find
out and discuss its success in enhancing shareholders' value over the years.

Case Body

The foundation of the Tata Group was laid in 1868 by Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata He learned
the ropes of business while working in his father's banking firm and he established a trading
company in Bombay.

Tata helped pave the path to industrialization in India by seeding pioneering businesses in
sectors such as steel, energy, textiles and hospitality. The Tata Group expanded regularly
into new spheres of business. The more prominent of these ventures were Tata Chemicals
(1939), Tata Motors and Tata Industries (both 1945), Voltas (1954), Tata Tea (1962), Tata
Consultancy Services (1968) and Titan Industries (1984).

Titan, a joint venture between Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO)
and the renowned Indian business group Tatas, entered the watch market in
1984. Titan changed the watch market in India completely by making quartz watch the
centerpiece of its strategy. Titan Company is the unquestioned leader in Indian Watch
Industry. Titan is one of the most powerful brands in the Indian market, scoring very high
on brand awareness, brand image and brand preference.

The watch market in India recorded an approximate volume turnover of 23 million units
(1998-99). It is growing at 9% per annum. The organized sector contributes to half the
volume turnover of the industry and rest by the unorganized sector. Titan has 60% share
in organized sector

Since its inception, Titan decided that it would be the shaper of the watch industry and not
an adapter. The Tatas took two decisions that paid them well as well and changed the face
of Indian watch market. They decided to manufacture only quartz (analog and digital) and
not mechanicals and they projected as fashion accessory. Titan was first in India to
introduce the style concept and was successful in projecting its watches as more than a
time keeping machine.

Titan initially pioneered the concept of "Gifting watches". The ads captured the essence of
gifting and along with the trendy music, easily caught the imagination of the market.

Customers who were fed up with ugly time machines welcomed the brand and Titan had a
dream run for many years.

Titan entered the watch market as a premium watch. But the unorganized sector and low
priced options from HMT gave Titan serious competition. With the import duty reduced to
25% (earlier 50%) and with the import license for watch movement being easy to obtain,
many smalltime players cropped up. These small players offered competition to Titan on
the price front.
Titan made a big mistake. It wanted to play the volume game. For that Titan launched
another brand Sonata. Sonata was a huge success because it was a cheap product but at
the cost of the mother brandTitan. Titan was perceived to be a premium brand but with
Sonata (at that time "Sonata from Titan") endorsed by Titan took away the premium
image from the mother brand. It was a big costly mistake.

Another problem with Titan has been that it mainly operates in the mid-priced segment and
competitors accuse Titan of keeping the segment underdeveloped on account of its sheer
dominance.

Titan realizing that the market wanted something to be excited about watches and carefully
segmented the market and developed different sub brands for each segment. Sub brands
like Edge, Steel, Dash, Nebula, Classique, Royale, Fast Track, Raga, and the recently
launched Wall street . By having various products / models and sub brands, Titan was able
to create freshness about the brand.

Titan launched Tanishq in 1995, India's largest, most desirable and fastest growing jewelry
brand in India.Diligent care and quality processes ensure that the Tanishq finish is
unmatched by any other jeweller in the country.

Tanishq challenged the age-old jeweller's word with TATA's guaranteed purity. It exploded
the market with facts about rampant impurity across India. It introduced technology-backed
challenge in a category completely governed by individual trust. Tanishq introduced
innovations like Karat meter, the only non destructive means to check the purity of gold.

Titan now is trying to be more contemporary and more relevant to the consumers by
establishing more firmly in the minds of the consumers. "Be more" the new concept
of Titan is attempts to build a larger life connect between the Titan brand and consumers.

Titan is changing its portfolio by shifting its focus from product attributes to the yearnings,
emotions, experiences and aspirations. The Titan aviator is inspired by word war IInd
fighter plane, Titan Octave by cockpit of formula one car, wwf collection by endangered
species and Titan Raga Diva by beauty and sensuousness.

The picture that is emerging with this kind of collection is of the organization that is gearing
up to leverage its strengths in manufacturing, design capability and retailing to grab a
larger share in lifestyle market. With the success of Titan watches and jewellery segment
and their recent entry in eyewear they are more comfortable with developing lifestyle
brands. Under the brand Fastrack comprising watches and sunglassesTitan is now looking
at the possibility of adding accessories like bags and belts and so on. To make this segment
more attractive, Titan is planning to open exclusive Fastrack stores.

Eyewear is fast becoming a fashion statement and Titan is focusing on design and
retail. Titan has also entered in prescribed eyewear segment and has opened 30 stores
across 12 cities. Each of them is positioned as a complete optical store where under one
roof customer can have a wide range of frames and lenses including some very famous
global brands.

Tanshiq's makeover over the year as well is indicating the shift of Titan in life style
segment. From being a fashion brand for young people with its light weight jewellery
Tanishq added mainstream wedding jewellery to its portfolio. The association with
Bollywood through movie like Amol Palekar's Paheli and more recent Jodha Akbar has also
brought the brand close to the consumer.

The big factor that has been in Tanishq's favor is that it jewellery is now more of a lifestyle
product for urban consumers. It is no longer bought for investment purpose. The key
drivers in this sector are brand equity, design and retail experience. The Indian jewellery
market is estimated to be around Rs. 70,000 crore to Rs.80, 000 crore and organized sector
a small local players account only for 4,000 crore. So opportunity for a player like Tanshiq
with strong brand equity and first mover advantage is tremendous.

Tanshiq as a part of its expansion strategy has become global recently. It has opened a
showroom in Chicago, USA targeting the average American. US is the largest jewellery
market in the world and Tanishq has an opportunity to position itself between expensive
brand Tiffiny and discounted brand Wal-Mart.

Titan is going strong on all fronts but is equally aware of changing market dynamics and its
competitors.Titan is very closely watching its closest competitor Reliance. Reliance is the
only corporate house afterTitan that has entered both in the jewellery and eyewear
markets.

For the year 2007-2008 of Titan's turnover of Rs 3041 crore, the jewellery business
accounted for Rs. 2027 crore while watches accounted for Rs. 918 crore. This is one of the
main reasons Titan is leaning on its jewellery business.

Segment Sales (2008) Sales (2007)

Watches 918.69 783.77
Jewellery 2,028.00 1,291.96
Others 96.03 62.71
Total 3042.72 2138.44

Titan grew at 43% last year and crossed the sales of Rs. 3,000 crore. Net profit stood at
Rs. 150 crore as compared to 94 crore last year. With these great figures, Titan is still
going strong………..

Sr. no. Year Net profit Net Sales*

1 2004 10.27 804.53
2 2005 24.95 1136.60
3 2006 73.62 1483.15
4 2007 94.13 2138.44
5 2008 150.27 3042.72

Net sales include watches, jewellery and others segments.

Questions

1. Titan has been a dominant player in mid price segment with its brands Titan and
Sonata. What were the reasons for the expansion strategy led by Titan to launch various
brands in different segments?
2. Titan diversified into jewellery business in the year 1995 as a part of its growth
strategy. Growth strategies involve a significant increase in performance objectives (usually
sales or market share) beyond past levels of performance. Did Titan's diversification into
jewellery business justify the above said statement?

3. How watches, jewellery and life space segment strategically fit in Titan's overall mission
and vision accomplishment?

Teaching Notes

Overview

Titan, a joint venture between Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO)
and Tatas, entered the watch market in 1984. Titan changed the watch market completely
by making quartz and projecting its watches as a fashion accessory. Titan Company is the
unquestioned leader in Indian Watch Industry.Titan felt the need of expansion and
diversification due to growing competition and launched various sub brands in watches and
diversified in to jewellery segment with its branded jewellery Tanishq in 1994.

Diversification in the jewellery segment has been a fruitful investment which has been
reflected in the turnover of the company over the years. This is one of the reasons Titan is
leaning on its jewellery business. Recently Titan has shifted its focus from the core business
to a new segment called life space. The company during the course of diversification and
expansion managed reorganization of brands, products improvement, heightened
competition, reallocation of resources according to the revised priorities of businesses.

Management issues covered:-

• Strategic planning
• Managing risk across industries
• Impact of diversification and expansion on financial performance
• Brand reorganization to exploit financial resources and managerial capabilities.

Application

The study covers various management issues as discussed above. The case is well suited
for management students who have some practical experience in handling some of the
management aspects in large organization.

Objectives of the case:-

• To develop strategic plan for the change and managing it to the desired conclusion.
• To make a student understand the issues related to diversification.
• To understand and for see a need of change in the business strategy.
• To study the impact of diversification on the financial performance of a company.

Teaching suggestions:

Not required

References:
"Reaching out for more" Business Today (November2, 2008)

Titan kicks of re-branding exercise: // www.dnaindia.com/

http://www.titanindustries.in/titan/default.aspx

http://www.titanindustries.in/News.aspx

http://www.titanworld.com/titan_stories

www.indiainfoline.com