Titan has made a habit of foraying into new categories, and breaking new ground. Recently, the company entered into the premium sarees and women’s ethnic wear category under the brand name ‘Taneira’. Women’s ethnic wear retailing is a Rs 53,000-crore market in India at present.
In a conversation with IMAGES Group’s Gurbir Singh Gulati, Shyamala Ramanan, Head of Business at Titan Company Limited, talked about the brand, the strategies that go into making into successful and Taneira’s future plans. Excerpts from the interview…
Tell us about your new brand, Taneira, its core values and your USP?
The central message of Taneira – Handmade with love; positions it as a warm, approachable yet sophisticated brand that celebrates authentic handcrafted and handlooms. The brand celebrates the spontaneity of the consumer as she lives through the emotions of any special occasion. Some of the aspects that differentiate us from other players in the market are:
- Assurance of authentic natural materials and handwovens only
- Specially curated and exclusive designs created from across 20+ weaving clusters of India
- An intimate retail experience that allows the woman relaxed shopping in a self-browse format
- Convenience and personalization by way of a style studio in-store that houses ready to wear blouses and offers tailored services
How many retail outlets does Taneira have and in what formats?
We have two EBOs in Bangalore as on September 1, 2017 – in Indiranagar and Jayanagar. The EBOs are 5,600-5,700 sq ft retail space each.
What are your store location preferences – malls or high streets – and why?
As of now, we have a high street store as well as a standalone flagship store in a remodeled bungalow. However, since we are still in a pilot phase, we will explore formats and see what works for us.
What are your expansion plans, for both India and abroad?
At the moment, Taneira is exploring different markets and geographies through our trunk shows across the country. The learning from these markets and their acceptance of our value proposition will determine our expansion plans.
Tell us about your Omnichannel / Online strategy?
Currently, since we are brand new, we do not have an online channel or Omnichannel strategy. Only time will tell if these two will emerge for us or not.
What is your brand’s pricing strategy?
Our pricing strategy is comparable with pricing in the market for similar products – handwoven and pure fabrics. We have a large range of products in all price bands, starting at Rs 1500 for formal/daily wear, while a large part of our range is from Rs 4000-8000 for festive and occasion wear. The more exclusive designs for bridal wear and heavy occasions are available from Rs. 12000 and go up to Rs. 2.5 lakh.
Who is your main target audience?
Our primary target audience is predominantly women over 30 years of age who choose to wear sarees and Indian dress wear. Our secondary target audience is women below 30 years of age who seek Indian wear for important occasions in their lives including weddings, work occasions, festivals, etc. In terms of a mindset, she is progressive yet rooted. Her choices reflect her refined taste and self-expression. We see her as independent, balanced and celebrating tradition while not being bound by it.
What are the core product categories/sub brands offered by Taneira?
While our primary product category is sarees, we also offer the following:
- Ready to wear blouses + custom designed blouses
- Stoles
- Dupattas
- Lehengas (soon to be launched)
The average ticket sizes of customers that come shopping for an occasion is higher than non-occasion based casual customers. What is your take on this?
Most occasions for customers are ones that are celebrations spent with loved ones for a specific reason. It is natural therefore for them to want to look their best for it, and in some customer minds, best is synonymous with high prices. However, this is not the only kind of customer we see. Many come in with a limited price range in mind and are more than able to find something that can be easily styled/dressed up/dressed down for the occasion.
While our price points start at Rs 2000, they go up to Rs. 2,50,000, providing a range of price points to fit occasion and non-occasion based needs.
Apart from the present set of collections at Taneira stores, please share your brand / retail collection expansion plans for the forthcoming season?
The upcoming Fall/Winter season will see Taneira continuing its trunk shows (exhibitions) in new and unexplored markets. We are also in the process of setting up a store in Delhi.
This season will see the launch of 2 lehenga lines, designed by Taneira for the festive and wedding season, as well as a brand new curation of handcrafted festive sarees from weaving clusters across the country.
Customers now come looking for a look more frequently than for a product as in the past. Your views?
Yes, Taneira does have customers who have a certain styling or look in mind when they are picking up sarees. Our in-house stylist and style studio come in handy for these types of customers – we are able to recommend, custom design and stitch blouses, falls, inskirts and therefore help put together an entire ensemble for the customer.
It also helps that we have authentic handcraft from across the country – pure fabrics, diverse workmanships, myriad colours; the idea is to give the customer as much variety and freedom to find nearly any look she has in mind for herself.
Titan, which thanks to Tanishq has 10 million loyal customers, can cross-sell services with Taneira. Over the next one year, the brand will look at studying what clusters are popular and the spending pattern of consumers – something that will help us become a household name.
