Titan Company Ltd is more than just a pioneer of India’s watch in India. With nearly 30 years of watch-making history, the brand is iconic and synonymous with time.
Moving with the times, the company has realized that a key trend in recent years has been the advent of new age gadgets – smartwatches and wearable technology to name a few. Companies are fighting each other for consumer wallet share. With the entry of international brands into the Indian market, a large variety of hi-tech gadgetry is available at sweet prices.
These trends have offered a host of opportunities for Titan. With the opening up, as it were, of the watches market, consumers are now looking for the next big development when it comes to the design and functionality of watches. This means that not only is there a higher sense of competition in the market, there is also increasing demand among consumers for innovative products.
We expect to see this trend strengthen over the short term, driven further by increasing purchasing power, as seen in the premium segments, and the continued integration of technology in watches.
Brand Journey
Nearly 30 years ago, Titan introduced Quartz technology to India and revolutionised timekeeping in the country. Since then, our focus has remained firmly on understanding consumer preferences and producing innovative, benchmark-setting products to meet their needs.
As a market leader across the entire spectrum of watches in India, the company’s drive to innovate and offer a Titan for every consumer has seen us diversify into segments ranging from sporty watches to one-of-a-kind, premium collections.
This focus has seen us create new spaces in the market with award-winning products such as the Titan Edge – the world’s slimmest watch – the unique HTSE collection as well as the most recent addition to the Titan portfolio, the Titan JUXT, a smart watch that’s stunning.
Industry Challenges
The biggest game changer in the watchmaking industry is the advent of smartwatches and wearables. While they might occupy the same place on your wrist, this category is rapidly changing the kind of interaction and expectation the consumer has with his/her accessory.
Wearable tech has driven the demand for more innovative tech-based watches and is affecting wallet share in the overall market.
At Titan, we see this development as holding unique opportunities. Currently, although smartwatches have proliferated the market at an enormous rate, they have so far focused only on technology and have limited appeal for consumers who love to wear watches for their design and craftsmanship. As a classic watchmaker, Titan can bring forth our expertise in this arena to offer consumers a perfect balance of entry-level technology and craftsmanship.
JUXT – the latest offering from Titan – caters to this previously unmet demand and opened up a whole new segment in the market with its classic looks and meaningful functionality.
Indians – Brand-Conscious Or Price-Sensitive?
India is a country of the price-sensitive consumer. While brand names go a long way in retaining consumers, it is ultimately the product pricing that determines the initial purchase decision for most. This is, of course, a general trend across the market – consumers in various price segment exhibit different purchasing behaviour, with those willing to buy premium products being more inclined to buy based on brand perceptions, rather than price, and vice versa.
Potential of Luxury Watch Market in India
Increasing purchasing power and a proportionate rise in consumers willing to buy multiple watches has led to sustained year-on-year growth in expensive watches. However, this segment only caters to a small percentage of the overall consumer pool for the watches industry and the more exponential growth has taken place not here, but in the mid-premium segment, where a variety of players have been offering innovative and stylish products. We expect this category to continue growing in the future.
Future Plans
The watch industry has been seeing an increasing proliferation of technology-based offerings, making this an exciting time to be a leading player in the space. With the Titan JUXT, we took our first steps into introducing a product that perfectly balanced technology and craftsmanship and we will continue to explore opportunities to infuse technology across our brands.
With products across price ranges, consumers can look forward to more smart products from Titan in 2016. We are also planning to invest in two new sub-brands that will operate in the ‘sports’ space.
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