titan

Introduction

TITAN INDUSTRIES LIMITED plants

Titan is the largest watch company in India and the fifth largest in the world. Titan manufactures over 90 million watches across 30 countries, cumulative.

Background

Titan Industries was established in 1984 as a joint venture between the Tata Group and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). The company set up its corporate office in Bangalore (Karnataka) and its watch manufacturing facility in Hosur (Tamil Nadu). In two decades the company has built an impressive watch business to become India’s largest manufacturer and the world's fifth largest manufacturer of watches. This has mainly been achieved by developing a formidable distribution network. The company has amongst the world's largest retail chain of exclusive retail showrooms for watches called ‘The World of Titan’ spread over 100 towns.

It also has multi-brand outlets named ‘Time Zone’, service centers and dealer outlets. Globally Titan has a presence in over thirty countries through its marketing subsidiaries.

Titan has also entered the jewellery business in 1995. Jewellery is sold in India through an exclusive company controlled retail chain, comprising of owned and franchised outlets. It is also exported to Singapore and the Middle East.

The company has watch assembly plants at Dehradun (Uttar Pradesh) and Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and a plant manufacturing electronic circuit boards in Goa.

The majority stake in the company is held by the promoters, with TIDCO having 28 per cent of the shares and Tata Group companies owning 25 percent of the shares. Public holding in the company is around 28 per cent. The rest of the stake is held by foreign institutions, non-resident Indians, mutual funds and other institutions.

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Jasprit Singh Bamrah(PGDM-HR)

Products & Brands

Company Products Established Founder Distribution Production plants

In watches, the company has two flagship brands – Sonata and Titan. Sonata is positioned in the low-end segment in the market with a price band of Rs 250 to Rs 1250, thus addressing the affordability issue of Indian consumers. The brand Titan is positioned in the middle and upper segment and has a range of sub-brands like Edge, Fastrack, Nebula, Raga, Steel, Regalia, Bandhan and Flip. The jewellery business selling under the brand name ‘Tanishq’ has a share of slightly over 50 per cent in the total revenues of the company while watches have about 45%.The balance is accounted for by the new businesses viz. Precision Engineering, Accessories & Licensed Products. In jewellery, gem studded jewellery, which has higher margins as compared to plain gold jewellery, has seen its share rise steadily to 30 per cent.

The company is involved in retailing of accessories like sunglasses (brand Fastrack) and manufacturing of precision engineering products, mainly in automotive and aerospace. Watches under the license of designer wear brand Tommy Hilfiger have also been launched. In the international markets Titan has also introduced a perfume under the brand name Evolve.

The Titan Story2


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,

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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, mesmerized 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 organized sector market (the total market, including the unorganized 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.

Historical background

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.

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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.

Market capitalization (Rs. In crores)

In 2007-08 it crossed ‘billion $’

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: Building a Brand (Marketing)

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Titan, the world's fifth largest manufacturer brand of watches is the clear leader in the Indian watch market.

The company's watches are sold in over 1,800 towns across India and in 40 countries across the world.

Titan has changed the rules of the game in the Indian watch industry by its reasonably priced sleek models, elegant showrooms and imaginative advertising have helped create one of India's most well known brands.

Keywords

The Titan brand has three attributes - leadership, innovation and pride in the consumer's mind. Research tells us that even to an up-market SEC A customer, Titan means style and elegance. Where we fell short was in these "softer" attributes. Primarily because innovation was less frequent and less visible from Titan in the last few years. However, we are back on the track with innovation, which is the essence of Titan, apart from leadership and pride.

- Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director, Titan Industries.

The Indian watch industry

The history of watches in India dated back to 1957. During a visit to Japan, Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru (Nehru), received a watch as a gift. This sparked off his dream of seeing watches being manufactured in India.

The dream became a reality in 1961, when the government owned Hindustan Machine Tools Ltd. (HMT), entered into a tie up with Citizen of Japan, to set up the first watch factory. Citizen also trained select Indian people from HMT at its watch manufacturing facility in Japan.

The first watch model manufactured by HMT- the Janata model- was gifted to the senior most employee of the company by Nehru. In the next ten years, HMT's production increased to 15,000 - 20,000 mechanical watches every month. The early 1980s saw a technological revolution, with the invention of the integrated chip in the US. Digitals were in demand and LED (Light Emitting Diode)2 watches gained in popularity. Japanese companies took over the manufacture of LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)3 for digital watches. There was a discernible shift in focus from mechanical to quartz watches in the international market. The Swiss watch industry declined because of its attachment to the mechanical watches. HMT made the same mistake in India.

Titan's EntryTitan came into existence in July 1984, as a joint venture between the Tata Group and the Tamil Nadu

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http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Marketing1/Titan-Marketing.htm#b2

http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Marketing1/Titan-Marketing.htm#b3

Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). When Titan entered the market, the industry consisted of the organized segment dominated by HMT, the unorganized segment consisting of small, local players and the grey market. HMT, which was entirely focused on functional needs, manufactured only mechanical watches. The small time players lacked the nation wide sales and support network which HMT had...

In the 1990s, liberalization brought with it a host of luxury watch brands into India like Piguet, Cartier, Christian Dior, Omega, Raymond Weil, Rolex, and Tissot.

The Exim policy announced on 31st March 1999 removed all quantitative restrictions on the import of fully assembled watches, three years ahead of the commitment made to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

With a penetration level of 20 pieces per 1000, the Indian market presented a great opportunity for watchmakers...

Sales and Marketing

Titan launched totally a new product, quartz analog watch was an entirely new product for India in 1987. Titan’s marketing strategy was initially built around five features:

A product of international quality;

Indian designs;

Competitive prices;

An intensive advertising and promotion campaign; and

Specialized retail shops to control the presentation, since the general quality of watch merchandising in India was low.

Marketing strategies

TIL’s communication strategy evolved over time. In 1987, the company was known only for the parent brand.

Through the 1990s, the company introduced several collections and sub-brands for different segments of the market. Though innovative and appealing, the marketing and communication efforts of these sub-brands were not integrated. Initially, they were advertised under the mother brand, but with the development of the market, it became necessary for TIL to develop separate communication and marketing campaigns for its sub-brands...

TITAN

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When the first Titan quartz range was launched in March 1987, it was accompanied by heavy advertising. The first advertisement described the Titan quartz as the international watch one could pay for in rupees. Later campaigns emphasized that to find such watches it was not necessary to go to Europe, Japan, America, or a duty-free shop...

The Aamir Effect

Though the decision had been made to use Aamir, the company was apprehensive that the actor might dominate the brand (Titan) or the message (multiple ownership).

The marketing team at Titan wanted to keep the focus on the brand and the message. A TVC created by Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) was launched in October 2004.

The commercial showed Aamir packing to leave for a tour and his assistant bringing him his collection of watches to ask which ones he should take out for the trip…

Segmentation

Titan had traditionally focused on the premium segment. In the late 1990s, Titan segmented the market into different groups based on lifestyle, socio-economic groups and personalities...

Over the years, TIL launched several collections/ranges under the mother brand Titan

Sonata

In 1998, to exploit the huge potential in the budget segment, TIL launched Titan Sonata. Priced between Rs.300 and Rs.1,050, Sonata watches were available in plastic, leather, stainless steel and gold plated-straps. The brand Sonata did remarkable business, (it sold around three million watches during 1998-2001) but the company had to contend with two issues...

Dash!

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In July 1999, TIL launched Dash!, an exclusive children’s watch targeting those in the age group 6-14. The watch was priced in the range of Rs.250-395 and came in plastic straps and colourful dials. With this launch, TIL made a series attempt to change its’ ‘elegant’ and ‘old’ image.

TIL tried to tap the children’s watch market, which was an unpenetrated segment, and believed to be as large as Rs.35 million. the company aimed to achieve volumes of around one million units from Dash! Within a period of 2-3 years of the launch…

Fastrack

Fastrack was launched in the late 1990s as a product range within the Titan umbrella. These watches were positioned as ’cool watches from Titan’ and as the youth face of the Titan brand. The communication of the brand also reflected the heavy fashion quotient of the watches.

In the early 2000s, the company started developing Fastrack as a distinct sub-brand. A commercial featuring ace Formula-1 driver Narain Karthikeyan, with the tagline—Are you on it? Was launched in 2002…

Steel In September 2001, TIL launched Titan Steel watches in Kolkata. As the name suggests, the watches were created out of steel. The Titan Steel collection had a range of bracelets and leather strap watches for both men and women and were priced between Rs.1,250 and Rs.6,000...

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Edge In May 2002, TIL launched the Titan Edge, the slimmest commercially available watch "in the universe". Produced indigenously after four years of intensive research and development, the Titan Edge had a thickness of just 3.5 mm and a wafer thin movement of 1.15 mm...

Flip (new product development)

TIL launched Titan Flip in July 2004 at Mumbai's Taj Mahal Hotel. And again a celebrity -- film star Akshaye Khanna -- was invited for the launch.

The watch was unique in the sense that it was India's first dual face watch with dual functionality and styling and had two movements. One could use two watches with the mere 'flip' of the dial.

The dual-faced watch allowed customers to switch between international time zones and alternative lifestyles - formal/casual, minimal/sporty etc...

Product expansion

In June 2004, the company diversified into other lifestyle products like eyewear by extending its watch sub-brand Fastrack and perfumery with a new brand Evolve, launched in early 2005. The main manufacturing plants of the company were situated at Hosur in Tamil Nadu.

Distribution

Titan opened its first specialty shop 'The World of Titan', in December 1987 in Bangalore. Apart from Titan controlled outlets, Titan watches were sold in thousands of other stores, franchisee showrooms and multi-brand Time-Zone outlets...

Advertising and Promotion

Ogilvy & Mather Advertising (O&M) had been handling the Titan watches account since the brand's inception in 1987. Titan initially positioned its quartz watches as international watches from the Tata group...

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Raga

Raga was introduced as a range for women, with a distinct ethnic character. Though popular among women, the range was not considered 'up-to-date'. Moreover, TIL wanted to broaden the customer base for the brand. Till 2004, many efforts, short of a full-fledged campaign, were made to revive the brand and infuse new energy into it...

Nebula

Nebula launched in 2000, was a premium range of light-weight gold watches, costing anywhere between Rs.8000 and Rs.70000 (2005 prices). Most watches in the Nebula collection came with an 18 carat gold dial and a leather strap.

In August 2004, TIL launched four new 'bridal collections' of Nebula designer jewellery watches. The watches in the collection were embellished with precious stones and crowned with sapphire crystal glass and priced between Rs.35,000 and Rs.40,000.

The collection targeted the luxury segment. "Nebula is an asset, which has lifetime warranty and can be passed on from generation to generation...

xylys

Staying ahead of the innovation curve once again, Titan Industries demonstrated that it is at the forefront of the Indian wristwatch market, with the launch of its premium watch brand, Xylys in July 2006. Infused with style, attitude and power, Xylys enters the premium watch segment in India, which is presently dominated by well-known European brands. The new brand was unveiled by actor Rahul Bose, one of the brand ambassadors for Xylys.

Priced between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 33,000, the Xylys range of watches comes in three collections - Contemporary, Classic and Sport and offers over 60 distinctive models. Xylys will be available at select World of Titan showrooms, key multi-brand outlets and at exclusive flagship boutiques in select cities.

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Market map

SonataHmt

maxima Titan Citizen

Raymond weil,

Tissot

Omega, Rado

Nebula

xylys

Fastrack Esprit, Swatch,Fossil, Giordano,DKNY, Carrera

Tag huer, Hugo boss,

C.dior

Rs.500 1000 2000 4000 5000 1000030000+

Strategies being used:-

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

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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. Organized 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

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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.

Strategy Evaluation

Titan banks on Cutting edge technology that has helped Titan create value-for-money price and the result is extraordinary marketing presence in about 40 countries, with a network of some 3,500 retailers abroad and high volume of domestic presence. Till date Titan is able to single-mindedly convey a point of differentiation that strikes the consumer then whether it is in terms of price (Sonata) or extraordinary beauty (Slim “Edge” watches). But the point is that whether the strategies which Titan is following will take Titan to a position of global uniqueness: a brand which brings information and ideas together from around the world, to fulfill human needs in novel ways and still go on for profitable growth. But maybe what's required is a campaign with executional variety a TV campaign that uses attention-getting devices to drive home the message. This would require greater creative risk. But then, if the stakes are reaching gigantic proportions it's time to get one's eyes in.

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Titan has segmented the market on the basis of the following variables:

Demographic: The segmentation here is done on the basis of social class i.e. working class, middle income group etc. since marketing is potentially and intimately connected with the “ability to pay” this segmentation is meaningful in analysing buying patterns of a particular class.Age, children, young, adults, Social class: upper, middle and lower come in this category.

Psycho graphic: In Psychographic segmentation buyers are divided into different groups on the basis of lifestyle and personalities. People within the same demographic group can exhibit very different Psychographic profiles. Lifestyle : professionals, affluent Personality: adventurous, “cool”, traditional

Behavioral: Benefits: functional, attractive, reliable, Occasions: gifts, special occasions

Geographical: Region: Europe, Middle-east

Complementing this segmentation Titan is pursuing a three-pronged strategy

Create a separate brand for the lower end of the segment.

Create new (sub) brands for unaddressed segments, like kids.

Re-aim existing sub-brands (Raga, Classique and Regalia etc) to attract specific customer segments, like businessmen, women etc.

Initially Mozart’s symphony number 25 (Titan’s signature tune) imprinted the brand in the minds of consumers, its utility faded as Titan introduced more (and cheaper) watches. As more customers - belonging to very different socio-economic categories - entered Titan’s fold, the brand turned mass market. The chauffeur and the owner both had Titan on their wrists. This was the major re-emphasise of the sub-brands. Titan’s first attempt at emphasizing its sub-brands didn’t yield the desired results. Instead of targeting different customer segments with different sub-brands (as is being done now), the watchmaker focused on product differentiation as the selling platform With product differentiation being replaced by segment-based focus, Titan’s sub-brands building has got bright chances of creating an identity of their own.

Positioning Strategies

Since its introduction, Titan has been positioned as a premium brand, providing high quality products. With its numerous sub-brands catering to different segments, the challenge that Titan faces is to create a strong brand image. It follows different positioning strategies, these strategies can also be analysed in the present context of Sonata, Fastrack, dash and Raga, Classique and Regalia as ;

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Attribute positioning:

When the company launched its products, it was the first to bring quartz watches to the Indian market. The company successfully leveraged this to penetrate the market and gain a market share. Raga Classique and Regalia come under this strategy. Classique has been positioned as elegant corporate wear that leaves a quiet, but definite impression and fusion of function and sophistication. Power dressing now has a new weapon! Regalia as Magic in gold and unique futuristic material, finely crafted sleek cases and patterned dials with special appliqué flowing into intricately designed bracelets. A unique combination of an all-gold and bicolour look, the 'Regalia' range represents the essence of dress-wear. Raga has been differentiated and positioned as Exclusive watches for women. The Raga and Silver Raga collection is elegant, delicate and feminine with each piece being truly unique. An exciting collection that includes decorative motifs, 'kadas', studded bracelets and a first of its kind three-in-one watch. The designs are inspired by traditional Indian as well as contemporary motifs and are expressed in ropes, 'kadas' and ornamental bracelets. Crafted exclusively for the sophisticated woman, who wears silver jewellery with elan, the Silver Raga makes a perfect accessory that completes a woman's wardrobe.

User positioning:

Titan caters to several user groups- children (the Dash), sportspersons and adventurers (PSI4000 and Fastrack range). The Fastrack range is seen as being contemporary, sturdy and reliable. The advertising, packaging and merchandising of this range is young, vibrant and ‘cool’ (the ad line says “Cool watches by Titan”)

Benefit positioning:

The Fastrack Digital range offers the customer a functional watch that is also attractive. The digital watch has a “techno-geek” image, but Titan seeks to differentiate its offering on the basis of superior style and attractiveness.

Competitor positioning:

With the entry of several foreign watchmakers into the market, Titan had to counter the threat. Most of the entrants are catering to the upper end of the market- Omega, Tissot, Cartier etc. Titan already had the Tanishq brand in this segment. However, it has tried to reposition this brand by increasing the price range to encourage more customers.

Quality or price positioning:

In the overseas market, especially in Europe where it is competing with Swiss and Japanese watches, it is positioning itself as ‘value- for- money’: reasonably priced (less than Swiss watches and higher than Japanese), attractively styled and of good quality. In India Market Sonata is a perfect example of Price positioning, titan came up with this segment when it was facing heavy competition from lower end segment.

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Laws Of Branding and Titan

In order to truly gauge the extent to which Titan has built itself into a nationally recognized brand, we need only refer to marketing guru Al Ries’ definition of the word, which is “a brand is a proper noun that can be used in place of a common word”. In the Indian context Titan can be taken as for the watches. This is what marks the difference between a mere name of a product, and a brand.

Perhaps one of the most highly regarded works on brand building is the now classic ‘22 Immutable Laws of Branding’ by the father and daughter team of Al and Laura Ries. Using these laws we can see the Titans Brand building strategies .

• The Law of Contraction: A brand becomes stronger when its focus is narrowed. This does not imply carrying a limited product line, but rather limiting and focusing a brand on only one type of core product, which in Titan’s case happens to be watches. Titan, though possessed of a wide product line, has stuck to its focus. It hasn’t launched other types of products and stuck them with the Titan name, which would have only gone on to cannibalize the value of the core brand. As a result of this, Titan has developed for itself an image of being “time-keeping experts” in the minds of the consumers. Although no it is going for the brand extension (wallets, writing instruments, luggage etc.) but still the core focus is Watch Industry.

• The Law of Advertising: Once born, a brand needs to actively advertise in order to stay healthy and maintain market share. If done right, advertising is more of an investment than an expense. Titan has implemented this by always maintaining a high degree of visibility when it comes to it’s advertising. In addition, it possesses one of the most recognizable ad-jingles in the history of Indian advertising.

• The Law of the Word: As we have seen in the STAS and Long term advertising effects, any brand should strive to retain words in the mind of the consumer. Titan in Indian watch market seems to have done this.

• The Law of Quality: Though quality is essential to the survival and growth of any brand, the fact remains that brands are not built by quality alone. The perception of the brand is as, if not more significant than mere quality. It is here that Titan “scores”. As mentioned previously Titan more or less owns the word “quality” in the minds of the consumers, thereby implying that it is perceived as a quality product. Thus, it’s actual quality, as well as it’s perception of being a quality product combine to work towards building the strength of the Titan brand.

• The Law of the Name: In the long run, a brand is nothing more than a name. The difference between products is thus not so much between the products, as it is between their names, or perceptions of the names. Seeing as how its name is perhaps the most important element of a brand, we feel that this point warrants a slightly more in-depth discussion. First of all, the name ‘Titan’ itself comes from Greek mythology, and symbolizes greatness, grandeur and power. It is easy to pronounce, as well as to remember. Even Titan sounds more classy and sophisticated than Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT).

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• The Law of the Company: Brands are brands, and companies are companies. There is a difference. Titan is owned by the Tata Group, who though highly regarded in Indian industry are associated more with heavy industries such as steel and truck building, than with watch making. Chances are that no one would buy a Tata watch (it’s name invoking the same, if not greater reaction than an HMT). People would, however buy a Titan.

Conditions Necessary for segmentation Vs Titan

Substantiality: This refers to the size of segmented markets. Segments should be large enough to permit viable market effort directed towards them. Titan has fully satisfied this condition as its models i.e. Psi 2000, regalia (premium segment), Classique (office wear), Fastrack (Youth) etc are all large & profitable enough to direct marketing effort towards them.

Accessibility: Could be attained through the existing channel of distribution. The segments must permit the firm to direct successfully different marketing effort towards the segments. The existing channels of distribution for Titan like exclusive showrooms and shop dealers can support titans various segments.

Representability:Segments should be large and profitable enough to be considered as a separate market. Such segments must be representative in nature and must have individuality of their own. For example this condition is fulfilled in the kids segment, which is cornered by “Dash”

Measurable:The size, purchasing power, and characteristics of the segments have to be measurable. This has been clearly satisfied by titan through its pricing and branding policy. While foraying into the Youngsters and Kids segment titan was sure that this segment is already present there and just the need was to differentiate and position itself.

Growth achieved:-

To a large extent, TIL was successful in enhancing the presence and acceptance of most of its sub-brands. As an IIM-B professor said, "The varied offerings to diverse segments with a clear cut positioning strategy have been instrumental in sustaining the market share of the (Titan) brand.

TIL to a great extent attempted to balance the positive aspects/associations of the mother brand with the option of using sub-brands to appeal to several segments.”

Titan’s strategy to project watches as part of one’s personality, and not just as a functional product, had also gone down well.

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Financial analysis

Titan Industries was established in 1984 as a joint venture between the Tata Group and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). The company set up its corporate office in Bangalore (Karnataka) and its watch manufacturing facility in Hosur (Tamil Nadu). In two decades the company has built an impressive watch business to become India’s largest manufacturer and the world's sixth largest manufacturer of watches. This has mainly been achieved by developing a formidable distribution network. The company has amongst the world's largest retail chain of exclusive retail showrooms for watches called ‘The World of Titan’ spread over 100 towns.

It also has multi-brand outlets named ‘Time Zone’, service centers and dealer outlets. Globally Titan has a presence in over thirty countries through its marketing subsidiaries.

Titan has also entered the jewellery business in 1995. Jewellery is sold in India through an exclusive company controlled retail chain, comprising of owned and franchised outlets. It is also exported to Singapore and the Middle East.

The company has watch assembly plants at Dehradun (Uttar Pradesh) and Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and a plant manufacturing electronic circuit boards in Goa.

Titan is the world’s fifth largest, integrated manufacturer-brand for watches. Commencing production in 1986-87, the Company is today the leader in the Watch & Jewellery

businesses in India.

First & largest player in the branded jewellery segment

(Tanishq)

>60% share of the organised watch market

Over 90 million watches sold across 30 countries, cumulatively

Manufacturing Facilities

Main Watch & Jewellery plants in Hosur near Bangalore

(India’s “Silicon Plateau”)

Watch assembly plants at Dehradun, Baddi, and Roorkee.

ECB plant in Goa; Jewellery-making facility at Dehradun

Investment of US$150 million in 450,000 sq.ft. state-of-the-art

Owned by Tata: 25.17% and TIDCO: 27.88% Professionally managed by TATA group & an independent Board.

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Today, Titan has over 60 per cent of the domestic market share in the organized watch market. Its exclusive retail showroom chain – World of Titan – is amongst the largest in its category. Titan watches are sold through over 9,000 outlets in over 2,300 cities and internationally in over 30 countries including the UK, Spain, Greece and countries in the Middle East and Asia Pacific. It’s after sales service is itself a benchmarked operation with a network of over 616 service centers and has one of the world’s fastest turnaround times. The company has a world-class design centre both for watches and jewellery.

The return on capital employed has seen a significant increase driven mainly by the enhancement in operational efficiency, including a reduction in capital employed in the jewellery division, despite the rapid top line growth. Reducing funds were employed in working capital of the domestic business through new initiatives like supply chain management to bring down inventories and costs. The company’s continued efforts have resulted in a significant reduction in the capital employed, despite a considerable growth in the turnover. The savings from these initiatives are beginning to kick in and it is expected that operating margins will continue to show a healthy growth.

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Directors Report Year End : Mar '08

The Directors are pleased to present the Twenty fourth Annual Report and the Audited Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st March, 2008: Financial Results Rs. in crores 2007-2008 2006-2007 Total Income 3042.87 2139.68 Less: Excise Duty 47.35 46.22 Net Income 2995.52 2093.46 -Expenditure 2743.35 1891.80 Gross profit 252.17 201.66 Interest 20.14 20.42 Cash operating profit 232.03 181.24 Depreciation / Amortisation 29.73 25.59 Operating profit before exceptional items 202.30 155.65 Exceptional items: Provision for doubtful loans and advances - 24.00 Profit before taxes 202.30 131.65 Income taxes - Current 33.04 36.95 -Deferred 7.27 (2.86) - Fringe Benefit Tax 3.70 2.23

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Profit after taxes for the year 158.29 94.33 Less: Income tax of earlier years 8.02 0.20 Net profit 150.27 94.71 Profit brought forward 130.93 77.50 Amount available for appropriation 281.20 171.63 Appropriations: Debenture redemption reserve 5.28 4.85 Dividend paid on preference shares - 0.39 Proposed dividend on equity shares 35.51 22.20 Tax on dividends 6.04 3.83 Transfer to general reserve 15.83 9.43 62.66 40.70 Balance carried forward 218.54 130.93 The Company achieved significant growth during the financial year 2007-08 with sales income at Rs. 3,043 crores growing by 42% from the previous year and Profit before taxes going up to Rs. 202.30 crores, up by 54% from previous year. Net profit for the year stood at Rs. 150.27 crores as compared to Rs. 94.13 crores in the previous year. The Watch segment grew by 17% to a sales income of Rs. 917.58 crores, while Jewellery sales went up by 57% to Rs. 2,028 crores. Sales of other products, including Accessories and Precision Engineering business, rose by 53% to Rs. 95.98 crores. All brands of the Company have performed well and new introductions in both watches and jewellery, viz., the Octane series in gents watches, Raga Crystal for ladies and the Jodha-Akbar collection in Tanishq jewellery have had very good responses, which augur well for the future. The Company continued to expand its retail network and now has perhaps the largest reach in its category, with 234 World of Titan showrooms and 104 Tanishq boutiques. The retail reach of the mass - market brand for jewellery - GoldPlus has grown to 21 show rooms. The new Titan Eye+ eyewear business now has fourteen stores.

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Exports / International Operations The Company achieved an export turnover of Rs. 138 crores during the year between Watches, Jewellery and Precision Engineered components. The key challenge in exports of Watches and Jewellery is identification of profitable business opportunities across the globe, given the immense competition and clutter of brands in overseas markets. The International Business Division achieved a sales growth of 19.70% in 2007-08 over the previous year. While the Watch sales grew by 22%, Jewellery sales went up by 30% as compared to 2006-07. The turnover was impacted by appreciation of the Indian Rupee against US Dollar. Dividend The Directors are pleased to recommend payment of dividend on equity shares at an enhanced rate of 80% (Rs. 8.00 per equity share), if approved by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting. Finance During the year under review, the Company raised a total of Rs. 346.80 crores from borrowings, of which Rs. 331.35 crores were from Commercial banks and the balance of Rs. 15.45 crores from other sources. Borrowings of Rs. 336.61 crores were repaid during the year. The Company incurred Rs. 47.45 crores as capital expenditure in respect of refurbishment and expansion programmes, outlays on retail outlets, capital investment in Precision Engineering Division and in IT Hardware systems. The tightening of the monetary policy by RBI through successive hikes in the CRR had an adverse effect in the borrowing rates of the Company, with the commercial banks raising their lending rates. Given the current inflation rate, it is expected that this high interest rate regime will continue for some more time. As a result the average cost of borrowings for the year was 9.24% as against 8.71% in the previous year. As on 31st March, 2008, the Company held fixed deposits of Rs. 1.73 crores from the public, shareholders and employees. There were no overdue deposits other than unclaimed deposits amounting to Rs. 0.41 crore. An amount of Rs. 5.28 crores has been transferred to the debenture redemption reserve in accordance with statutory requirements and the terms of Rights Issue.

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During the year under review, the Company made payments aggregating to Rs. 369.27 crores by way of central, state and local taxes and duties as against Rs. 308.97 crores in the previous year. Subsidiary and Associate Companies The Company, at the beginning of the financial year had three overseas subsidiaries viz. Titan International Holdings B.V, Amsterdam CTIHBV), Titan Brand Holdings N.V, Curacao (TBHNV), Netherlands Antilles, Titan Watch Co Ltd, Hong Kong fTWC) and one wholly owned domestic subsidiary, Titan Time-Products Ltd, Goa (TTPL, Goa), India, besides six domestic and five overseas Associate Companies. During the year, the Company took a major step towards consolidation by sale and mergers of the above constituent companies. The equity interest in two overseas wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company viz., TIHBV and TBHNV were sold during the Financial Year 2007-08 (TIHBV on 31st December, 2007 and TBHNV on 28th March, 2008) and as a result the overseas Associate companies have ceased to be Associate companies. Titan Watch Company, Hong Kong, which was a subsidiary up to date of sale of TIHBV i.e. upto 31st December, 2007, became automatically divested due to the sale as above. As at 31st March, 2008, the Company had 7 domestic subsidiaries and no overseas subsidiary. The operational highlights of these Subsidiary companies are as under: TTPL sold 8.24 million Electronic Circuit Boards in 2007-08 and made a net profit of Rs. 100.78 lakhs. Samrat Holdings Ltd and Questar Investments Ltd made a net profit of Rs. 174.81 lakhs and Rs. 18.07 lakhs respectively in 2007-08. Titan Holdings Ltd made a loss of Rs. 15.39 lakhs. Tanishq (India) Ltd and Titan Mechatronics Ltd also made a net profit of Rs. 366.56 lakhs and Rs. 2.38 lakhs respectively. Titan Properties Ltd made a small loss of Rs. 1.41 lakhs. None of the subsidiary companies have declared a dividend for 2007-08. A modified Scheme of Amalgamation (u/s 391 to 394 of the Companies Act 1956), to enable purchase of minority interest, was approved by the Board of Directors of the Company, at their meeting held on 27th July 2007, subject to the required sanctions of the jurisdictional High Courts, wherein three domestic associate Companies viz., Samrat Holding Ltd, Mumbai, India, Questar Investments Ltd, Mumbai, India and Titan

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Holdings Ltd, Banglore, India were approved for amalgamation with Titan Industries Ltd. The buy-out of the minority interest in the three domestic associate Companies was executed on 18th February 2008. The Scheme of Amalgamation of these three Companies shall not result in change in the capital structure or expansion of the equity share capital of Titan Industries Ltd, since as per Scheme no fresh issue of equity shares is proposed. As per the Scheme of Amalgamation, with appointed date as 1:04.2007, the cross holdings of the three merging Companies amongst themselves and the shareholding by Titan Industries Ltd in these companies, shall get cancelled and the investments held by Samrat Holdings Ltd, Titan Holdings Ltd and Questar Investments Ltd shall become the investments of Titan Industries Ltd. On the said three Companies amalgamating from the said date, three more domestic Associate Companies i.e. Tanishq (India) Ltd, Titan Properties Ltd and Titan Mechatronics Ltd shall become subsidiaries of Titan Industries Ltd. These three Companies continue as subsidiaries of Titan Industries Ltd along with Titan TimeProducts Ltd, Goa. Pursuant to the restructuring efforts, the Company will have no overseas subsidiary or associate but only four domestic subsidiaries as under: Titan Time Products Ltd, Goa Tanishq (India) Ltd, Bangalore Titan Mechatronics Ltd, Hosur Titan Properties Ltd, Hosur As per Sec. 212{1) of the Companies Act, 1956, the Company is required to attach to its Accounts the Directors Report, Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account of each of these subsidiaries. As the consolidated accounts present a complete picture of the financial results of the Company and its subsidiaries, the Company had applied to the Central Government seeking exemption from attaching the documents referred to in Sec 212(1). Approval for the same has been granted. Accordingly, the Annual Report of the Company does not contain the individual financial statements of these subsidiaries, but contains the audited consolidated financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries. The Annual Accounts of these subsidiary companies, along with the related information, is available for inspection at the Companys registered office and copies shall be provided on request. The statement pursuant to the approval under Section 212(8) of the Companies Act, 1956, is annexed together with the Annual Accounts of the Company. Consolidated Financial Statements The Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company prepared as per Accounting Standards AS 21 and AS 23, consolidating the Companys

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accounts with its subsidiaries and associates, has also been included as part of this Annual Report. Outlook for 2008-09 The Companys performance during last year (2007-08) was the best ever. The Company is working towards sustaining this momentum in the current year also. The watch division is pursuing rapid profitable growth through sharp positioning and focus through its major brands. Constant exploration of new consumer segments, introduction of innovative new products which would fuel consumer demand, and the rapid growth of our retail network would certainly drive this growth. The Jewellery Division continues to set for itself ambitious growth targets, through various initiatives including launching of new collections, scaling up network strength and area, improving the walk-ins, and improving the merchandising at the stores. The International Business Division of the Company has now been restructured and merged with the domestic Watch Business and domestic Jewellery Business Divisions, which Divisions are taking over charge of oversight of exports also. The Company will continue its efforts to explore entry into new markets besides growing in the existing markets. The launch of Tanishq Jewellery in the USA as a pilot project is underway and the Company will be setting up two Tanishq stores - one in Chicago and another in New Jersey during the current year. The Precision Engineering Division of the Company will be targeting a significant top line growth and achieve a break even in terms of profitability. The Companys new business vertical, Prescription Eyewear which was launched last year under the brand name Titan Eye+ is planning to scale up the number of retail outlets and currently has 14 stores which is targeted to grow to over 80 stores as per a national roll out plan in the current year. Corporate Sustainability: Titan Industries has a clearly defined policy on Corporate Sustainability. The approach of its policy continues to be at three levels, the first one being at the Group level where it works closely with the Tata Council for Community Initiatives, the nodal apex body for facilitating Tata Group initiatives. At the Company level, key initiatives have been:

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- Engaged 330 rural women through self help group and provided them opportunities for various outsourced activities in manufacturing/assembling of Watches, Jewellery and Precision Engineered products. - Over 600 needy students in the disciplines of Vocational, Medicine & Engineering have benefited from Titan Scholarship program. - The Jewellery Division started the concept of Karigar Park by providing equipment, material and training to Karigars so that they can work directly under the supervision of the Division and earn money on job-work without any exploitation. At present there are more than 400 Karigars working on six Parks. - The Company has established a Basic Training Centre to impart technical skills to youth from lower economic background to make them employable. Currently 96 students are studying in the centre. At the individual level, Titan volunteers comprising the Community Development Forum have taken up comprehensive vision care program in and around Hosur with a leading Super Specialty Eye Hospital in Bangalore. Eye camps are being conducted and an eye care clinic has been opened in Hosur to cater to the needy and poor. - Other programs include programs for skill development for rural women, infrastructure improvement in villages and creating awareness on hygiene and clean environment. The Company is proactive in its approach towards the Environment and is compliant with statutory and regulatory requirements. The Watch, Jewellery as well as the Precision Engineering Divisions are certified under ISO 14000:2004 Environment Management System Standards and under ISO 9001:2000, Quality Management Systems Standards. Titan Industries is a signatory to the 10 principles of the Global Compact with its Communications on Progress (CoP) duly posted on the UN Global Compact website. On behalf of the Board of Directors, M F Farooqui Bangalore, 20th June 2008 Chairman

Objectives for 2008-09 Turnover to grow by about 30% over previous year, to target Rs 4,000 crores

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Operating Profit to grow in similar fashion

Significant retail network expansion

Performance--2008-09-First Nine months

Income (Rs. In crores)

Profit before tax (PBT)

(Rs. In crores)

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Capital Employed (Rs. In crores)

In Dec 08

The Titan Industries stock has remained fairly resilient to the recent meltdown thanks to the company’s improving financial performance and strong focus on domestic consumption.

However, at Rs 830.80, trading at 23 times its trailing 12-month earnings, the stock seems expensive in the current market scenario. Investors can look for substantial dips in the stock to consider an entry. Given its business potential, expansion strategies and established leadership position, holding on to the stock may prove beneficial in the long run.

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Titan Industries expansion plans in foreign countries

The company appears to have the potential to sustain a 20 per cent growth given its improving market share in watches and branded jewellery, presence across price points, and a diversified retail presence. Performance in the third quarter, expected to be a period of good sales due to the wedding and holiday seasons, may hold the key to gauging if the company is vulnerable to a consumption slowdown.

Titan Industries reigns supreme in the watches and jewellery segments. The company, which owns brands Titan, Fastrack, Sonata and Tanishq, has recently diversified into eyewear through Eye+, a segment which combines high revenue potential with strong margins.

Jewellery Though offering relatively thin margins, Titan’s jewellery business has been its key growth engine in recent years. With branded jewellery making up only 5 per cent of the Rs 75,000-crore Indian jewellery market, the potential for expansion appears huge. Tanishq is one of the few nationally recognised brands in this space.

The revenue potential of Titan’s jewellery business is showcased by its 56 per cent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) over the past three years. That Tanishq derives the bulk of its revenues from domestic jewellery sales (though it does have an international presence) is an advantage when other export-oriented companies in this space may face the impact of recessionary trends in the US and Europe. Titan’s expansion plans include a wider national presence.Jewellery purchasers in semi-urban and rural India tend to be value conscious; yet this segment lacks an organised, branded player. And, the company aims to tap this segment with its economy brand GoldPlus, currently available mainly in the southern states.

Watches: Wide portfolio

In the watches business, Titan holds a 60 per cent share of the branded market with watches at all price points; the premium Titan and Xylys brands, Fastrack as a youth brand and Sonata as a budget brand. This enables Titan to capitalise on any trend of consumer down-trading as a result of a more difficult demand environment. The watches business, too, is set for significant expansion, with the company targeting 50 new stores by the end of this fiscal taking the count to 300.

Eyewear: High potential

The company plans to open 300 new Titan Eye+ retail outlets over three years, of which 20 will be

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http://www.indianstocksnews.com/2008/12/titan-industries-plans-expansion-in.html

during this fiscal. It has partnered with Chennai-based eye hospital Sankara Nethralaya to train its retail and clinic staff to ensure quality and reliability. Focus will be on designing and retailing eyewear, outsourcing actual manufacture to other brands and reputed labs.

This segment has potential to not only scale up Titan’s retail network, but also to mark up its overall margin profile. The eyewear segment is fragmented, without a nation-wide recognised brand and the company aims to build on this gap with Eye+.

This division has contributed Rs 40 crore to Titan’s revenues in FY08, up from Rs 25 crore in the previous year, when the line was launched. Aggressive store openings will allow Eye+ to service a wider customer base, but there may not be a substantial increase in contribution to revenues in the initial years.

Apart from the above initiatives, Titan plans to further diversify its revenues through tie-ups with international premium players, Hugo Boss and Tommy Hilfiger, to market their products.

Model Titan uses the franchisee model for store expansion. This model allows easy scalability, control on rental costs and relatively lower capex requirements. The company mainly uses standalone stores and does not have a presence in malls, which may make for a higher cost structure.

Titan is favourably placed to bankroll its expansion plans (expected at upwards of Rs 100 crore till FY10), given its low debt-equity ratio and healthy cash flows. This may stand it in good stead to keep its expansion plans on track, at a time when most other retailers are carrying a fairly high debt burden and finding it difficult to obtain credit.

Financials Jewellery accounts for the lion’s share of the revenues, increasing from about 54 per cent in FY2006 to almost 68 per cent in FY2008, at the expense of the watches division. Revenues are expected to sustain a growth rate of 30 per cent. Eyewear and precision engineering currently contribute a little over 3 per cent to revenues. Margins have declined on a yearly basis for the past three years, as jewellery operates on lower margins than watches.

However, margins have improved in Q2FY08 over the first quarter due to control in interest and depreciation costs. Margins are likely to remain steady as there may not be significant changes in product portfolio. Returns on investments have also held out above 40 per cent. Leverage has been brought under control by retiring old debt and taking up fresh loans to a smaller extent. Debt-equity ratio

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stood at 0.66 for FY08, a low number in the context of the retail sector. The interest cover stands at a comfortable 10.5 times, having improved over the past three years.

ConcernsThe company has incurred forex currency losses on account of raw material imports for FY 2008. Another concern is the volatile nature of gold prices and high procurement costs. Hedging strategies will go a long way in addressing this fluctuation. Change in gold prices can also be managed by tagging retail price to gold prices. Additionally, demand for gold is price sensitive, and hikes in gold prices might drive down demand during off-season. Performance of Titan’s new outlets in the US also remains to be seen, as consumer sentiments there remain weak.

Titan Industries sparkles on fund raising plan

Titan Industries rose 2.93% to Rs 983.95 at 14:38 IST on company's plan to consider raising Rs 50 crore by issuing debentures to Life Insurance Corporation of India.

The company made the announcement during market hours today, 19 December 2008.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 101.98 points, or 1%, to 10177.08.

On BSE, 57,627 shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 32,015 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

Titan targets 60% of its revenue from sub-brands

Titan Industries Ltd, the fifth largest watches brand in the world, expects sub-brands such as Aviator, Octane, Heritage, Raga Crystals and Titan-WWF to contribute 60% to the total Titan brand this year, Harish Bhat, chief operating officer, watches, Titan Industries Ltd, told FE.

Bhat said, “Titan sub-brands are being sold through 260 World of Titan showrooms apart from 5,000 retailers and various malls across the country. With the rising demand for sub-brands, we will increase the distribution reach in Tier II and III cities as well. All the Titan sub-brands are currently being marketed pan-India owing to the rising demand. Currently, there are no plans of exporting the sub-brands.”

Bhat said, “With the recent launch of the Titan-WWF collection, which was inspired by India’s endangered species, we hope the sub-brand alone contributes 15% to our revenue. The ongoing festival period is taking off well for the watches market. During this festival season, we hope to see a sales growth of 20% and 30%. This is despite the rising inflationary trends.”

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In June this year, Titan and WWF-India had announced a tie-up to celebrate World Environment Day and spread awareness regarding the endangered species of animals in India through a collection of exclusively designed Titan watches such as the Tiger, Indian Rhino, Gangetic River Dolphin, Red Panda, Whale Shark and Oliver Ridley Turtle.

Bhat added, “For every Titan-WWF watch sold in India, we will pay Rs 150 each to WWF India. Apart from launching the new Titan-WWF collection logo, Titan Industries is soon launching a new advertisement campaign featuring Bollywood actor, Aamir Khan.

“We have spent over Rs 3 crore in this campaign. Prior to the move, Aamir has featured in Titan Aviator’s ads.”

Priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 3,800, the Titan-WWF watches will be available in 13 different styles.

What Makes Titan Tick? Finding Opportunity in India's Unorganized Retail Sector

In September, the Bangalore-headquartered US$760 million company made its very first foray into the world of plastic watches with a new range called "Super Fiber." A trendy and youthful collection of both analog and digital watches, the Super Fiber range is part of Titan's mass-market Sonata brand. However, unlike the rest of the Sonata brand, which has watches priced up to US$30, the entire Super Fiber range is priced below US$10.

With this new launch, Titan is taking dual aim. On the one hand, it is looking specifically to target mass-market consumers in the 16 to 25 age group. Perhaps more importantly, it is also looking to make fresh inroads into the country's huge "unorganized" retail sector -- including corner shops, kiosks, street vendors and other single-proprietor venues -- which traditionally has been dominated by cheaply made, value-priced goods.

Although organized retail has taken hold in India -- with large, "modern trade" stores offering a more sophisticated shopping experience, better selection, competitive prices, and formalized return and exchange policies -- the unorganized sector isn't going away any time soon. At present, unorganized outlets represent 97% of Indian retail, and according to a 2008 report by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, the sector is expected to grow at an annual rate of 10%, reaching US$496 billion in 2011. Based on that analysis, Titan's strategy seems timely. But a question remains: How does it plan to succeed in a market segment where bargain prices and cultural associations often outweigh brand cachet?

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They have reason to be confident. The Indian watch market is currently estimated to be around 42 million units, of which only 15 million units are from the organized-retail players. Among the organized players, Titan leads the pack with a lion's share of around 11 million units across its watch portfolio of four brands: the flagship brand Titan (addressing the mid- and premium segments), Sonata (the budget segment), Fast Track (the youth segment) and Xylys (Titan's top-end, Swiss-manufactured brand). The second-largest branded player in the Indian watch market is Timex, with a market share of around 7%.

The sub-$10 category that Titan is now targeting with Super Fiber accounts for around 40% of the market in terms of volume. With over half of India under 25 years of age, Titan's game plan is to catch them early on in the value chain and then get them to upgrade to its higher-value products.

A Cricket Connection

Titan is targeting Super Fiber sales to come in mainly from the semi-urban markets -- and in keeping with its target group, the company has roped in Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the young cricketing icon who hails from the small town of Ranchi in Eastern India, as its brand ambassador.

Fragmented Categories: Desai points out that a brand attempting to be among the first branded presences in a fragmented category must first justify why the category needs a brand in the first place. "There are good reasons why categories don't have brands. It could be the artisan aspect of the category, like in the case of female ethnic garments, or deep personal relationships like with jewelry, or it could be the sheer price aspect like in commodities. You need to redefine the market and create a value perception of a different kind that gives the consumers an overriding reason to shift to a brand."

This is exactly what Titan did when it entered the jewelry market in 1994 with its Tanishq brand. Tanishq not only brought a wide design expertise and a plush retail environment to a segment which until then was limited to local family jewelers and small set ups, but by being the first to introduce the karat meter to measure the exact purity of gold, it brought the element of trust to the forefront. Before Titan, 'trust' between the consumer and the jeweler was a factor of personal relationships. "The reassurance of guarantee and purity in such a transparent manner was a great new value addition that Tanishq brought to this category," says Desai.

Eyeing Other Territories: Meanwhile, Titan is now looking to bring the power of the brand to yet another unorganized category: Last year it entered into prescription eyewear with Titan Eye+. The prescription eyewear market in India is estimated to be around 25 to 30 million units per annum with revenues of US$300 million and growing at around 15% to 20% per annum. As per industry statistics, only around 25% of the people who need prescription eyewear are actually using them.

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The lifestyle space, in fact, is where Titan is looking to make a larger play. Having tasted success in watches and jewelry and forayed into eyewear, Titan now wants to leverage its strengths in manufacturing, design expertise, retail knowhow and brand building for other lifestyle products. It is actively researching new categories that it can enter. Titan is also looking at expanding Fast Track, its youth brand comprising watches and sunglasses, to other accessories like belts, bags and so on.

Bhaskar Bhat is, however, emphatic that Titan will not enter any category where the opportunity to compete is only on price and product quality alone. Says Bhaskar: "We have always chosen to enter segments where we saw that the consumer was being significantly underserved. In watches, it was lack of choice; in jewelry, it was under-caratage; and in eyewear, it was lack of information. In each of our businesses, we have focused on offering sharp differentiators, and the greatest consumer opportunity to differentiate comes in the unorganized sectors.

Life at Titan (HR)

Titan appreciate that happy people are far more productive. And so Titanians work in a space that's delightfully creative. That allows for personal growth and innovative thinking, and encourages an easy camaraderie between seniors and subordinates. They strive for excellence with a team spirit fostered by recreational activities and community service, as well as the company philosophy of constant achievement

Titan offers :

» The opportunity to work with India's best marketing Companies. » A stimulating work environment that brings out the best in you » Growth that is performance-driven » Mobility across various functions » Substantial investment in on-going training and development toprepare you as you grow.

Titan recruits personnel in the areas of Sales and Marketing, Manufacturing Operations, Design, Visual Merchandising, and frontline staff for Retailing and Customer Service.Titan also takes in candidates from the Tata Administrative Service (TAS), a prestigious recruitment programme of the Tata Group which attracts some of the finest talent in the country.

The Management Trainee Programme

Under our management trainee programme, students are recruited from leading business schools in the country. The process of selection is comprehensive and the selected candidates go through 9 months of induction in function-specific assignments before being accorded their portfolios.Interested in a career

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http://www.tata.com/0_careers/tas.htm

with Titan?

Careers with Titan Industries

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he fields of:

•

•

•

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BenefitsTitan employees receive equal opportunities for career growth and advancement. The company also provides various benefits to its employees that help them achieve their individual goals as well as the organizational goals. These benefits include:

• 1. 401K Savings Plan • 2. Equity Distribution • 3. Training • 4. Employee Referral Bonus • 5. Company-Supplied Laptop Computer • 6. Business Travel Reimbursement • 7. Insurance Coverage

o Medical Care Coverage o Dental Care Coverage o Long Term Disability Insurance o Short Term Disability Insurance o Group/Term Life Insurance o Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance

• 8. Other Benefits o Vacation o Holiday Pay o Personal Days o Sick Days

The company also encourages candidates to apply on line at:

http://www.s2v.com/contact/

Candidates can mail their resumes at: [email protected]

Titan ideology

Operations at the Rs 727 crore Titan Industries Ltd is now set for more than just plain watch making. Following a top management change in which Mr Bhaskar Bhat took over from retiring Mr Xerxes Desai as managing director and its successful VRS scheme (which saw the exit of close to 600 employees), Titan is now set to be part of the larger Tata vision.

And Mr Bhat is of the firm belief that new initiatives would help it be part of the larger gameplan and not just to change the way ongoing operations have been handled. Interestingly, technology is expected to be a key driver for the company and Titan is pulling out all stops to explore how they could build in

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mailto:[email protected]

http://www.s2v.com/contact/

technology both from an operations point of view and a product related view. ‘‘Most people ask me what changes I am going to bring in for Titan. But this is not an American change-manager style of working. Titan is an established profitable concern. Changes must be part of the future strategy,’’ Mr Bhat is quick to add.

For starters, Titan’s future vision will begin right from the moment the Tata work-level program is rolled out across the company. Eventually, the answer to Titan’s prayer for an extended marketplace might just lie in a de-risking strategy which will segment its business and manufacturing capabilities into core product-related and non-product related OEM business (which has already commenced in a small way in the precision instruments/ parts supply arena). Interestingly, Titan has also made it to the select list of suppliers from the Asian region for a global automobile maker and expects to see a Titan made customised dashboard clock ticking on the cars for the global market.

Work Level Program

Titan is all set to implement a Work Level program, which simply put aims at tackling one of the biggest challenges for the Tata Group: of assigning grades for management and staff across the gigantic group which makes people comparable across the entire chain. Besides, this program specifically for Titan is being targeted as a move towards a progressive appraisal system, a new beginning of sorts, in a post-VRS scenario. ‘‘We are all still trying to clearly understand how to go about implementing this program. The main task ahead is one of slotting various jobs based on the role and responsibility and profiling the jobs across all the departments. Then comes comparing the job to the work level it fits into,’’ Mr Bhat said.

Interestingly, this program will see a standardisation of work and responsibility levels in the organisation and eventually move the entire organisation to a more competency-linked and performance-linked structure (which is already happening in some pockets within the company). Drawing from this, Titan has specifically identified five key objectives to be gained from the completion of the Work Level Program rollout. They include improving speed within the organisation, facilitating mobility of talent within the group, enable faster career growth for employees, faster decision making and quicker deployment of the Work Level program at the management levels.

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Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director, Titan Industries

Tata’s go in for centralised HR strategy

In what is widely being viewed as a move to keep key managerial talent from leaving, the House of Tata

has formulated a centralised human resources strategy that is expected to be put in place over the next 18

months.

The group executive office’s HR mandate is to attract good people, retain the better people and advance

the best people. The GEO proposes to do this by constructing an integrated HR system in which the

central backbone will be the Tata Work Level.

Around this concept, the Tata group will have a performance measurement system, potential assessment

system, career development system and a remuneration policy.

Historically, CEOs were developed by individual companies with the GEO only playing a small role.

But with HR having become a very important part of the change agenda at the Tatas, it is expected that

there will be greater job mobility between companies.

A star performer at Tata Liebert could be moved to Tata Infotech and may ultimately end up as CEO of

Tata Consultancy Services. Greater job mobility is aimed at keeping top performers in the group from

leaving.

Based on a survey done by the GEO on remuneration at group companies, it has been decided that

employee compensation will be driven partly by market trends and partly by the group’s needs. A

remuneration architecture has already been developed and will be implemented by group companies

progressively.

"The Tatas have for long been seen as a good training ground and it is not uncommon to find ex-Tata

managers holding senior positions at other companies. We are now seeking to open up horizons for

employees to grow within the group," said R Gopalakrishnan, executive director, Tata Sons, who is

spearheading the Tata group’s HR initiatives.

A very significant departure from the past is the process of managing the career development of its

employees group-wide, instead of looking at specific companies. A key to this is a consultative process

between group companies and the GEO.

For instance, if a company needs to recruit a resource of a certain level of seniority, they will need to do

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so in consultation with the GEO as there could be a good resource within the group.

Winning strategies

There is no one formula for success in driving business excellence in an organisation, but knowing the route others have taken helps in getting there faster

<>"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." — Aristotle.The words of an ancient Greek philosopher may seem outmoded in reference to the pursuit of business

excellence, but in this case, it's a perfect fit. Making the quest for excellence a habit is the objective of

every Tata company; they just reach there through different routes and at different times.

Titan Industries: The time machine

Lord Chesterfield's maxim, that if one takes care of the minutes, the hours will take care of themselves,

is a motto for Titan Industries, India's premier watchmaker. Committing itself to small, continuous

improvements, Titan believes, will ensure big gains.

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<>"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit

The words of an ancient Greek philosopher may seem outmoded in reference to the pursuit of

business excellence, but in this case, it's a perfect fit. Making the quest for excellence a habit is the

objective of every Tata company; they just reach there through different routes and at different

times.

Four companies that are already close to the first milestone (600 points) on the Tata Business

Excellence Model scale — Titan Industries, the ferro alloys and minerals division (FA&MD) of

Tata Steel, Tata Wire and Tata Chemicals — make for a good study of how innovative strategies can

help ingrain quality into the fibre of an enterprise.

Titan Industries:

Lord Chesterfield's maxim, that if one takes care of the minutes, the hours will take care of

themselves, is a motto for Titan Industries, India's premier watchmaker. Committing itself to small,

continuous improvements, Titan believes, will ensure big gains.

Titan's business excellence (BE) process is managed as a distinct entity, with a separate team

reporting directly to the company's managing director, to drive initiatives across all divisions. N.

Kailasanathan, vice president, chief information officer and head of business excellence and

knowledge management, wants the quality initiative to become an indivisible part of the company's

day-to-day activities.

"TBEM influences everything. It makes an organisation think about how it goes about its business,

aligns the company's goals — from vision to strategy to the products and services you offer

customers — and ensures that no department works in isolation," Mr Kailasanathan points out.

"What are your key processes and how do you address them? Do you benchmark yourself against

the best in the class?" he asks. "Ultimately," he declares, "everything is visible through your results,

which tell you where you are on the journey to business excellence." N. E. Sridhar, senior manager,

business excellence, says Titan's BE team is careful to ensure that the processes it initiates are

scalable, measurable and replicable. Only if a process fulfils all three criteria is it considered worthy

of implementation.

The biggest benefit of TBEM, Mr Kailasanathan feels, is the opportunity it offers companies to

learn from one another. "We spoke to Tata Motors to learn how it deals with some processes. We 42


Operations @ Titan

THE TATA BUSINESS EXCELLENCE MODEL (TBEM):

Titan Industries has signed up to implement the compliance plan laid out by the TBEM. Beginning July 2000, it will be evaluated on 7 parameters that constitute the TBEM: leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, information and analysis, process management, human resources focus, and business results. The goal is to reach a score of 600 in next five years. Titan currently stands second in the Tata group, with a score of 450, after Tata Steel.

The objectives of TBEM are:

To provide a framework for the group to become competitive.

To work as a competition to ensure participation.

To acquire competitiveness using quality as the route.

To monitor the progress through ratings.

To become a transformational tool for every company.

The TBEM drives excellence across functions in the following manner:

1. The Leadership criterion checks how senior leaders create leadership system based on

Group values. With the able leader in form of Mr. Xerxes Desai at the helm of affairs, Titan has become a dynamic, vibrant and pro-active organization.

2. The Customer and Market Focus checks how the company determines customer groups, key

Customer needs, and complaint-management issues. Titan has always been a customer centric organisation and always has focused on satisfying the customer demands.

3. The Strategic Planning criterion examines how the company develops strategic objectives,

Action plans, and resource-allocation. Since its inception, Titan has been the shaper of the watch industry. It has identified the future trends well in advance and taken appropriate steps in the right direction to emerge as the leader in the industry.

4. The Information and Analysis criteria check whether the organisation has key metrics in place

To measure and analyse performance. Being market-driven, Titan has its information systems in place and has its hand on the pulse of the watch market.

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5. The Human Resources Focus checks the appraisal system, the work environment, and the

Training and development of the employees.

6. Process management examines the product design, production and delivery process, and

Supply chain management. Titan has pioneered the style concept in the watch industry and is the undoubted leader in design.

Titan Industries limited(Watch Division)

Hosur, Tamil Nadu

Unit Profile

a. Applicant’s BusinessTitan Industries Ltd was incorporated in 1984 as a joint venture between the Tata group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited, a Government of Tamil Nadu undertaking. The Company has its Registered Office in Hosur, an industrial town in Tamil Nadu, and its Corporate Office in Bangalore, Karnataka. The Company has been engaged in the manufacture and marketing of quartz analog wristwatches since the year 1987 at their Watch Division. Titan is the premier watch brand in India with a market share of over 60% in the organized quartz watch market segment. Since 1995, the company has diversified into jewelry and jewellery watches and bracelets in separate divisions.

The company also exports about 10 % of it watches primarily to the Middle East, Far East and Europe. In several key countries of the Middle East market, Titan is ranked among the top three brands.

b. Applicant’s major markets:

Titan has been a forerunner in the watch industry in terms of setting style trends. It has striven to anticipate consumer needs and expectations and thereby to meet and exceed these expectations. Titan’s markets include both national and international customers and today Titan has more than 75 million customers.

Titan is producing 8.0 million watches per annum and holds over 60% share in the organized Indian Quartz Analog Wrist - Watch business segment. The company also exports 10% of its watches primarily to the Middle East, Far East and Europe. The company also exports about 10 % of it watches primarily to the Middle East, Asia pacific and Europe. In several key countries of the Middle East market, Titan is ranked among the top three brands.

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c. Major equipment, facilities, and technologies used:

Technology: Titan’s watch manufacturing facility was set up in 1987, with technical know-how from Europe and Japan. Over the years the Company has established highly integrated manufacturing facilities and has grown to become the sixth largest watch manufacturer brand in the world. The Company manufactures watch movements, watchcases in steel and brass, and bracelets in solid as well as sheet steel. The manufacturing processes employed include micro-precision operations (manufacturing of components and sub assemblies) Hot & cold forging, stamping, injection moulding and tool making. Some of the key facilities for the above include CNC machining centres, Ion plating equipment for surface finishing, CNC EDM die sinking equipment for tool making to name a few. The product development cycle is facilitated by state-of-the-art CAD/CAM technology that enables seamless integration from aesthetic styling and 3D solid modeling to engineering design, tool design, tool making and prototype making. Our R&D initiatives, which have been recognized by the DSIR, have earned several accolades for its design efforts. This includes a national award from the DSIR for the Design and Development of a Slim Movement and more recently awards in recognition of Excellence in Electronics for two successive years from the Ministry of Information Technology.

Environment: Titan’s products and services have very little or marginal impact on the environment. Titan adheres to all related legal and statutory requirements. The Company is also extremely conscious of environmental issues and has been recognized in this regard by the Hosur Industries Association. The Company’s environment control results are continuously monitored with respect to both TNPCB and International Finance Corporation (World Bank) norms. The Company has been certified under ISO 14001 EMS standards. The company has won the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for the year 2003. The company is one among few TATA companies which has submitted its first Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR) under GRI guide lines encompassing the triple bottom line approach ( i.e. Economic, Social and Environmental Aspects).

Energy consumption:

Titan have implemented various Energy conservation projects as on going practice, there is steady decline in the Specific Energy Consumption. Last 10 years specific energy consumption figures are shown below, which depicts continual reduction in energy consumption over the last several years due to our sustained efforts to conserve it with the implementation of various energy conservation projects & measures to increase the efficiency of the equipments.

Description UNIT 2004 - 05 2005 - 06 2006 - 07

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Electrical EnergyKWh / watch

2.72 2.38 2.21

Thermal Energy M Kcl/watch

N.A N.A N.A

Manufacturing cost Rs. Lacs 8053.58 7974.78 8920.42

Total Energy Bill Rs. Lacs 596.77 537.50 554.85

Energy as % age of Total cost of production

% 7.41 6.74 6.22

Specific Energy consumption:

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Energy Conservation Commitment, Policy and Set up

Titan visualized the importance of Energy conservation way back in 1995 – 96. Since then Titan has been involved in continuous improvement and energy conservation. The core team led by the unit head – Chief manufacturing Officer.

Energy conservation team structure:

Energy Policy:

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Energy Conservation Achievements

During the year 2004-06, the unit implemented 26 energy saving ideas generated through periodic brain storming sessions. Annual Energy savings of Rs. 80.6 Lakh was achieved with an investment of Rs 213.3 Lakh with a pay back period of approx. 12 months only. It has resulted in percentage reduction of 18.75 % in electrical energy.

YEAR PRODUCTkWh/

WATCH

%REDUCTION

OVER 2004- 05

2004-05 WATCH 2.72 -

2005-06 WATCH 2.38 12.5%

2006-07 WATCH 2.21 18.75%

Major projects implemented for Energy conservation during 2004 – 05 Photographs

Installation of water-cooled screw chiller:

Installation of domestic recycled water unit for condenser cooling:48


Revamping of centralized air conditioning system with energy efficient water-cooled screw chillers in place of reciprocating compressors with air-cooled condensers resulted in savings of 4.69 million units / annum.

Investment : Rs. 146.9 Lakh

Savings : Rs. 46.9 Lakh

Installation of VFD pumps for secondary chiller water pump:

Installation of Building Management System (BMS) for Air conditioning:

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Average of about 50 KLD of domestic recycled water is being used for cooling the chiller unit condenser

Centralized chilled water distribution is done by VFD system that checks the flow requirement to the AHU’s thereby reducing the continuous load on the motor

Investment : Rs.1.50 Lakh

Savings : Rs.3.00 Lakh

Installation of energy efficient screw air compressor:

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Energy efficient screw air compressor in place of reciprocating air compressors

Investment : Rs. 29 Lakh

Savings : Rs. 14.15 Lakh

All AHU’s connected with the central A.C system is monitored effectively using the B.M.S system thereby ensuring that the chiller system operation strictly adheres to the requirement of the plant

List of significant Encon Projects implemented during 2004 – 2006:

Sl No

Title of Energy Saving project implemented

Annual Electrical Savings

achieved

Invest. Made

Units Millio

n

Rs in Millio

nRs in million

01 Jig boring Dx plant-I flat belt conversion

0.0216 0.099 0.0142

02 Toolroom expansion A/c plant flat belt conversion

0.0093 0.0431 0.0125

03 Conversion of 36 numbers Air handling units “V” belts in to Flat belts .

0.1389 0.64 0.36

04 Jig boring Dex plant-I flat belt conversion

0.0216 0.099 0.0142

05 Ion plating Dex plant flat belt conversion

0.0095 0.0429 0.012

06 Revamping of reciprocating type compressor air-cooled condenser type centralized air conditioning system with energy efficient screw air compressors with water-cooled condensers.

1.258 5.845 -No investment since the project is carried out on performance contract basis

07 Replacement of reciprocating vacuum pump with rotary type pump at Stepper motor

0.273 0.125 0.12

08 Installation of Star/Delta/star converters for eight Air handling Units.

0.0198 0.0944 0.06

09 Optimizing the blower capacity at case polishing

0.0199 0.0918 0

10 Controlling the room temperature at ebauche extension area

0.0026 0.0119 0

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11 Increasing the Dew point temperature settings of compressed air dryers

0.0039 0.0177 0

12 Installation of Rotary vacuum pumps in place of reciprocating vacuum pumps at Main assembly and module press shop

0.0413 0.0659 0.24

13 Replacement of conventional pump with energy efficient vertical multistage water pump for Module process cooling system

0.0024 0.011 0.045

14 Replacement of conventional pump with energy efficient vertical multistage water pump for Case process cooling system

0.0024 0.011 0.045

15 Replacement of conventional pump with energy efficient vertical multistage water pump for Module air compressors cooling water system

0.0024 0.011 0.06

16 Replacement of conventional pump with energy efficient vertical multistage water pump for Euro air compressors cooling water system

0.0069 0.0317 0.06

17 Replacement of conventional pump with energy efficient vertical multistage water pump for civil Over head tank .

0.0054 0.0248 0.12

19 Replacement of conventional pump with energy efficient vertical multistage water pump for Euro press shop process cooling system

0.0144 0.0662 0.065

20 Installation of energy efficient screw air compressors (for the Euro centralized compressed air system) in place of reciprocating compressors.

0.695 0.9 0.9

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21 Installation of transvector nozzles at Autoturning and gears shop for the components cleaning.

0.037 0.172 0.1

Energy Conservation Plans and Targets

S.No Description Savings in Lac KWh

Savings In Rs. Lacs.

Investment in Rs. Lacs

1 Wind energy utilization

4 Million units planned for generation from wind source

13.40

-

Environment and Safety

Titan Industries Limited is committed to making a net contribution to the environment by minimizing the impact of its activities, products and services by specific actions to upgrade the environment and safety. The unit also committed to preserve its safety of its employees.

a) Water Effluent

In our manufacturing facility two streams of water effluent are generated one is domestic and another is Trade effluent. Domestic effluent includes the stream from sewage and sullage (from canteen operations) are collected in common collection sump and it is treated by conventional biological process and 100 % recycled back into landscaping, cylinder warming and A/C Cooling tower. Quality of the treated effluent used for landscaping will be analyzed and it will be within in the CPCB/TNPCB norms.Trade Effluent Electro plating is one of the most important processes in a horological industry. Effluent generated from these processes (90 KLD) are treated at the dedicated effluent treatment plants and further it is treated through Reverse Osmosis and Mechanical Evaporation System and 100 % recycled to the process and meeting zero discharge norms. In addition equivalent amount of fresh water intake for the electro plating processes has come down.

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b) Air

Gaseous emissions from electroplating process, gold recovery processes, gold stripping processes are exhausted through stack after treating through counter current packed bed scrubbers. During buffing / polishing operation dust and suspended particulate matters are released and same has been treated by cyclone separator and bagfilters before exhausted through chimney.

Stacks and the exhausts are analyzed and SPM standards are maintained as per the norms.

C) Solid waste management

The solid wastes are generated during the treatment of process effluent are collected in plastic barrels stored under roof and periodically disposed to the in-house Secured landfill facilityThe Company is proactive in its approach towards the Environment and is compliant with statutory and regulatory requirements. The Watch, Jewellery as well as the Precision Engineering Divisions are certified under ISO 14000:2004 Environment Management System Standards and under ISO 9001:2000, Quality Management Systems Standards.

Titan and the Environment - ISO 14001 but going beyond Compliance

Titan's products and services have very little or marginal impact on the environment. Titan adheres to all related legal and statutory requirements. The Company is also extremely conscious of environmental issues and has been recognized in this regard by the Hosur Industries Association. The Company's environment control results are continuously monitored with respect to both TNPCB and International Finance Corporation (World Bank) norms. The Company has been certified under ISO 14001 EMS standards.

Initiatives taken:

· Minimizing the use of cyanides in plating by adopting non-toxic PVD technology.

· Eliminating the use of ozone-depleting substances ahead of the Montreal Protocol deadline.

· Minimizing the use of plastic packaging with eco-friendly materials.

· Adopting Vermi-composting for the conversion of garden / vegetable waste in to useful manure.

· Piloting the study of conversion of industrial waste into useful civil materials.

· Promotion of rainwater harvesting at manufacturing locations.

· Waste water treatment with efficient effluent treatment and use for industrial cleaning and gardening.

· Recycling brass scraps.

· Rainwater harvesting in 3 manufacturing locations.

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Results:

· Energy consumption per watch reduced by 41%.

· Cumulative Energy savings - 26 Lac kwh.

· Water consumption per watch down by 47%.

· Daily plant water consumption reduced by 28%.

· Brass scrap recycling back to process - saving during 2002 - 03 Rs.62 Lacs

· Adhering to all Statutory norms. As a culmination of all these initiatives, we received The Golden Peacock- Environment Management Award 2003 - at the 5th World Congress on Environment Management.

Titan Industries is a signatory to the Global Compact and is committed to the implementation of the 10 principles of the Global Compact. Titan Industries is also guided by the principles of the Global Reporting Initiative.

Awards and Recognitions:

Titan Industries Ltd was adjudged one of the World’s 50 “Domestic Dynamos” by Boston Consulting Group in a survey of the top 50 fastest growing domestic companies countering multi national majors in their respective domestic markets through innovative products and marketing thus continuing to grow at an accelerated pace despite international competition.

The Company also continued to be recognised for its product and retail brands and its innovations as under:

- Won the Top Retailer 2007 Asia Pacifi c - Bronze Award

- Won Marico Erehwon Innovations for India Award for the slimmest watch - Titan Edge

- Titan the brand won Images Fashion Award for the ‘Most Admired Brand for the year 2007-08 for the 7th consecutive year’.

- Titan Industries Ltd won the Images Fashion Award for the ‘Retailer of the Year’.

- Titan Brand was ranked first amongst the consumer durables category in a survey by Economic Times.

Green Power

Your Company is planning to consume 30% of its energy consumption at watch manufacturing facility through the renewal energy resources. During 2007-08, 1.0 million units of energy has been sourced from the private wind farms and for 2008-09 targeted generation of energy is 4.0 million units. This will lead to the energy cost reduction to an extent of Rs. 0.13 crore.

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Titan - The Outsourcing Journey

“Once Titan puts its valuable name on the watch it does not matter to the customer whether we have manufactured it, or assembled it, or fully outsourced it.”

- Jacob Kurien, Vice-President (Marketing), Titan, in 1999.

INTRODUCTION

In late 1999, the top management of Titan Industries Ltd. (Titan), India's leading watch, clock and jewelry manufacturer, was surprised when several senior executives threatened to resign. The threats reportedly came after a long period of employee unrest in the organization.

The reason behind the unrest was the company's decision to increase the level of outsourcing in its manufacturing activities while limiting production facilities for just assembling purposes.

Titan's Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Xerxes Desai (Desai) quickly issued a statement stating that the above was not true. However, this was in sharp contrast to his earlier statements in the media. In an interview to a business magazine[1], Desai had remarked, “We will manufacture only if we can do it faster and cheaper than anyone else in the world.”

Even as the company worked towards explaining its strategies clearly to the employees, analysts could not help remark that Titan was already sourcing a large part of cases and movements, key watch components, from within and outside India. Moreover, the company had always been sourcing a variety of raw materials such as stainless steels, tool steels, engineering plastics, tools, consumables, components and specialty movements[2] for its watch manufacturing operations through vendors spread across 20 countries, mainly in Asia and Europe.

The company's management seemed to have realized that global sourcing of certain components made better business sense. Media reports even quoted watch industry officials claiming that companies like Titan had ‘no option but to move away from manufacturing and towards trading in the long run.'This was not a very surprising move as it seemed but natural for the company to look for cost effective sourcing options at a time when manufacturing seemed rather costly.

Titan's decision was influenced by a host of factors that made the company realize the potential benefits of outsourcing as a tool for holding on to its position in the Indian watches market. The liberalization of the Indian economy and the subsequent removal of quantitative restrictions[3] on watch imports in the late 1990s, forced Titan to focus more on marketing efforts rather than manufacturing to retain its competitive edge in the future.

ABOUT OUTSOURCING56


http://www.icmrindia.org/free resources/casestudies/Titan-The Outsourcing Journey.htm#_ftn3



Simply put, outsourcing means getting those things done outside that were hitherto provided for internally. According to the Outsourcing Institute, “Outsourcing is nothing less than a basic redefinition of the organization.

Outsourcing suggests an organization focussed on a few, well-chosen core competencies supported by long-term outside relationships for many of its other activities and resources.” An organization can outsource many functions of its day to day operations – manufacturing, marketing, human resources management, information technology services to name a few.

It is thus a type of make-or-buy decision, wherein typically an earlier ‘make'decision is altered to a ‘buy'decision. Earlier, when competitive pressure on companies was not very severe, cost management in manufacturing usually resulted in backward integration and gaining ownership of a large range of manufacturing and subassembly facilities.

However, more and more organizations began moving towards outsourcing manufacturing for a lot of reasons. Outsourcing helps a company become flexible enough to terminate an operation if it does not meet the business goals without being concerned about various human resources, separation, or litigation issues.

It is not necessary to build a fixed overhead infrastructure and the company can acquire and leverage customer acquisition expertise easily when it outsources certain activities. As customers increasingly demand quick delivery, companies have discovered the importance of optimizing the supply chain activities. Moreover, with the markets changing rapidly, there has been an increase in the investment risk in new technology, machinery and other equipment.

This has necessitated flexible production systems in manufacturing concerns throughout the world. Most importantly, organizations have also realized that it is in the best interest of the company to concentrate its resources on its core competencies only. The benefits of outsourcing can be summarized as follows:

• Provides flexibility and versatility to in-house staff.

• Frees up capital and cash for other activities that are the company's core competencies, such as R&D or marketing.

• Helps shorten the ‘time-to-market'by focussing on core activities.

• Provides access to industry leading process development expertise and manufacturing technologies.

• Helps avoid long-term investments in potentially under-utilized production capacity or excessive inventory.

Most importantly, it is necessary to use outsourcing proactively through a stronger focus on internal core business areas, as a way to improve manufacturing performance by generating employee commitment at all levels (Refer Table II & III for the essentials and perils associated with outsourcing).

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TABLE ITHE ESSENTIALS OF OUTSOURCING

· Understanding company goals and objectives · Having a strategic vision and plan · Selecting the right vendor · Ongoing management of relationships · Having a properly structured contract · Communicating with affected individual/groups · Getting senior executives'support and involvement · Paying careful attention to personnel issues · Having short-term financial justification · Using external expertise

Source: www.salience.com

TABLE IITHE PERILS OF OUTSOURCING

· Loss of control · Exposure to supplier risks and issues of quality control · Suppliers can reap undue advantages by imitating product/technology · Product degradation because the supplier pays less attention to it · The change from collaborative to opportunistic behaviour of the supplier (or the buyer) over a period of time · Difficulty in measuring the actual costs of the supplier, which are typically above baseline costs because of the experience curve · Potential problems associated with taking the function back or substituting the supplier when the outsourcing agreement terminates · Possibility of being tied to obsolete technology

Many leading global companies such as Volvo and HP have been reaping the benefits of outsourcing manufacturing. The practice has been particularly popular among companies in the automobile and pharmaceutical industries. Titan was one of the first Indian companies from the consumer electronics business to have opted for outsourcing its manufacturing activities as a strategic exercise.

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OUTSOURCING AT TITAN

Titan's entry into the clock segment in the mid 1990s failed badly because its clocks could not face the competition from cheaper imports from China. Moreover, the design of Titan's clocks was also found to be faulty.

To correct these problems, the company decided to stop manufacturing clocks, instead it decided to import them from Hong Kong. The only input in this ‘virtual manufacturing 'setup from Titan's side was in the form of design, branding and distribution. The company converted its clock plant into a plastic watch-manufacturing unit to make alarm and travel watches.

Outsourcing activities were further strengthened in the next few years due to the problems Titan was facing with the gray market. The gray market has always accounted for a substantial part of the Indian watch industry (Refer Table IV).

TABLE IVTHE INDIAN WATCH INDUSTRY IN 2001

Indian watch industry

Organized Sector

Unorganized Sector*

Volume 20 million units16-18 million units

Value[9] Rs 10 billion Rs 3-5 billionSegment-wise breakup

Premium 15%

Mid 40%

Mass 45%

N.A.

* Estimates. Source: Business Line, December 6, 2001.

During the early 1990s, when the import duty on watches was reduced to 25% from 50% and import licenses became easier to obtain, as much as 55% of the demand was met by small players from the unorganized sector. Since Titan faced stiff competition from these players on the price, it decided to concentrate on building a strong distribution and support network. This worked well for the company and soon it became the undisputed market leader in the watches market.

However, the variety and range available in the mid segment increased dramatically after 1999, with the changes in the EXIM policy. Though the segment itself grew in size, new entrants began to threaten Titan's market share. The company's management was also aware that outsourcing was the accepted norm in the global watch industry and many leading global watch brands were not manufactured by the companies that owned them.

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http://www.icmrindia.org/free resources/casestudies/Titan-The Outsourcing Journey6.htm#_ftn9

Kurien said, “We have to think global, not Hosur. Putting up plants and buying equipment is clearly not the answer to competing in the new environment. And as we find suitable vendors for full watches, we will opt for them increasingly.” He added, “In the old days it would have made sense to put in huge investments in new technology because it was a protected market. But that is no longer the case.”

According to analysts, Titan's multibillion investment in manufacturing facilities were proving to be a real drain on its profitability in the changed industry. Moreover, since the company relied heavily on its marketing finesse than operational excellence, these investments were deemed to be too high. Though the company had consistently posted yearly profits, in the first quarter of 1999-00, it reported a loss of Rs 52 million

This loss was due to the high overheads, excise duties and marketing spending in 1999-00, which increased expenditure by Rs 1.5 billion. Moreover, net profits had come down by 47% to Rs 146.4 million in 1998 from Rs 275.7 million in 1996 (Refer Table V). Company watchers partly attributed this to the heavy investments in the manufacturing setup.

TABLE VTITAN - KEY STATISTICS (in Rs million)

94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 1999-00 2000-01Sales Volumes (nos. in lakhs)Watches 325.8 387.5 394.5 435.3 511.1 585.4 667.6Jewellery 0.9 2 3.7 12 16.8 30 72.1Table Clocks - 6.7 36.4 30.5 43 32.9 16.2Sales Income 2824.9 3507.2 4085.2 4420.6 4820.4 6303.3 6969Expenditure 2239.3 2761.9 3207.3 3572 3934.8 5506.2 6141.9Interest 218 342.2 564 529.6 519.2 508.8 478.4Depreciation 131.1 156.8 165.2 188.2 201.4 204 209.3Operating Profit 236.5 246.3 148.7 130.8 165 84.3 139.4Other Income 14.4 29.4 129.3 31.6 24.1 130.1 116.3Profit Before Taxes 250.9 275.7 278 162.4 189.1 214.4 255.7Taxes - - 35.8 16 18.7 21.6 20.9Profit After Taxes 250.9 275.7 242.2 146.4 170.4 192.8 234.8Equity Div. (%) 30% 33% 33% 25% 26% 26% 26%

Source: www.titanworld.com

Taking into account the above factors, Titan had no other option but to settle for outsourcing. Around the same time, Titan decided to change its focus to generating more volumes rather than value. This was because the growth in the premium segment of the watch market, which was Titan's mainstay, had been below its expectations. The company wanted to build up a base in the lower value segment and extend its reach. According to company estimates, outsourcing worked out be around 30% cheaper than manufacturing in-house.

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Another reason why Titan wanted to reduce its focus on manufacturing was the high employee costs – 11.2% of its revenues in 2000. This was because in the days when the company had no other option but to manufacture, the Hosur factory had a huge worker base. In 1997 and 2000, the company entered into various wage agreements with the workers'union. As a result, even a low-skilled blue-collar worker at the company earned as much as Rs 10,000 per month. This increased overall employee costs. According to analysts, this was alarming because since 1996, Titan had neither made any fresh recruitments nor replaced close to 200 supervisory and managerial-level employees who left in the same period.

However, the biggest factor that swung the decision in favor of outsourcing was the fact that Titan was not being able to meet the onslaught of the unorganized sector for the first time. Since the company decided to focus on generating volumes from low-end mass products, it had come in direct competition with players in the unorganized market. With cheaper Chinese imports flooding the Indian market, Titan realized that the complete technology of making watches, from hand-plating technology to manufacturing cases, was easily available at prices much lower than what the Hosur factory could ever deliver. According to a former company manager, “The extra costs in the system aren't helping in differentiating the brand. Today, even unique elements of design are being easily copied at a lower cost.”

Future expectation, to be a ‘Billon $’ company…(income)

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Summary:

To a large extent, TIL was successful in enhancing the presence and acceptance of most of its sub-brands. As an IIM-B professor said, "The varied offerings to diverse segments with a clear cut positioning strategy have been instrumental in sustaining the market share of the (Titan) brand.

TIL to a great extent attempted to balance the positive aspects/associations of the mother brand with the option of using sub-brands to appeal to several segments.”

Titan’s strategy to project watches as part of one’s personality, and not just as a functional product, had also gone down well.

Introduction Elaboration Fortification

In 1984 onwards with Launch of Classique, Sonata Launch of Fastrack,

the launch of Titan and other products around Dash and further focused

1990’s (late ) segmentation.

Titan Industries has been awarded the following:

• The President of India’s Award for employing the disabled.

• Friends of BIL Award for employing the handicapped.

• The Titan Design team received 7 accreditations at the

NID — Business World Awards, including the 'Young

Design Entrepreneur of the Year'.

• Titan and Tanishq were adjudged 'Most Admired Brands'

as well as 'Retailer of the Year' by Images Fashion Forum.

• Titan retained it ranking as the 'No 1 Brand' in the Brand

Equity Survey, in the Consumer Durables category.

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Bibliography:

www.googlesearch.co.in www.titanindustries.com www.financialexpress.com www.tatagroup.com www.economictimes.com www.naukrihub.com

Titan IndustriesA Happening Company in a Happening India!

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http://www.naukrihub.com/

http://www.economictimes.com/

http://www.tatagroup.com/

http://www.financialexpress.com/

http://www.titanindustries.com/

http://www.googlesearch.co.in/

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