REPOSITIONING STRATEGY OF TITAN WATCHES

Degree of

MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Submitted by:
Rutesh Singh
(Roll.No.013030)

To
Research Guide
Dr. Gagandeep Nagra
Associate Professor
School of Management
D.Y. Patil University
CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai
SEPTEMBER 2014

SYNOPSIS APPROVAL FORM

September 30th, 2014

Date of Submission

Name of Student

: Rutesh. Singh

Roll No

: 013030

Specialization

Title of the Project

: REPOSITIONING STRATEGY OF TITAN

Marketing

WATCHES

Name of Guide

Signature of Guide:

: Dr.Gagandeep Nagra

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the REPOSITIONING STRATEGY OF TITAN

WATCHES submitted for the MBA Degree at Dr. D.Y. Patil
Universitys Department of Business Management is my original work
and the dissertation has not formed the basis for the award of any
degree, associate ship, fellowship or any other similar titles.

Place:
Date:

Signature of the Student

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the dissertation REPOSITIONING STRATEGY
OF TITAN WATCHES entitled is the bonafide research work carried
out by Ms.DISHA KATARIA student of MBA, at Dr. D.Y. Patil
Universitys Department of Business Management during the year 20132015, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the
Degree of Master in Business Management and that the dissertation has
not formed the basis for the award previously of any degree, diploma,
associateship, fellowship or any other similar title.

(Dr. R. Gopal,
Director,
Department of Business Mgt,
Dr. D.Y. Patil University)

Place:
Date:

(Dr.Gagandeep.Nagra,
Project Guide)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In the first place, I thank the Dr. D. Y. Patil University, Department of
Business Management, Navi Mumbai for giving me an opportunity to work on
this project. I would also like to thank Maam Dr.Gagandeep Nagra,
Department of Business Management, Dr. D.Y. Patil University, Navi Mumbai
for having given me her valuable guidance for the project. Without her help it
would have been impossible for me to complete the project.
I would also like to thank the various people from the watch industry who
have provided me with a lot of information and in fact even sharing some of
the confidential company documents and data many of which I have used in
this report and without which this project could not have been completed.
I would be failing in my duty if I do not acknowledge with a deep sense of
gratitude the sacrifices made by my parents and thus have helped me in
completing the project work successfully.

Place:
Date:
Signature of the student.

PREFACE
Today, a wristwatch is considered as much of a status symbol as a device to tell time. In
an age when cell phones and digital pagers display tiny quartz clocks, the mechanical wristwatch
has slowly become less of an object of function and more a piece of modern culture.
The Indian watch industry began in the year 1961 with the commissioning of the watch division
of HMT. The first watch model manufactured by HMT was the Janata model in the year
1962. HMT was the leader in the watch market till the Tatas formed Titan Watches in
association with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation in the year 1987. Titan
was the first company to launch quartz watches in India.
The Indian watch market is today of 40 million units, out of which 60% is in the unorganized
sector in which the maximum number of watches are sold are below Rs.300. Quartz
watches form two third of the organized sector and the rest is split between mechanical and
digital watches. Even in the organized sector, three fourth of the sales by volume comes from
watches that are priced below Rs.1000.
Watch is one of the consumer durables whose replacement rate is very high. The replacement
rate of watch is 33.8 %( Source: India market demographics report, 1998). This is also due to
the fact that the estimated scrap rate of wrist watches is 7.8%, which is applicable after 6 years
(Source: India market demographics report, 1998).
So, due to high scrap rate, outdated models, and the shift from the mechanical watches
to the quartz watches it is causing a very high replacement demand for watches. This
along with the low penetration level represents the untapped market potential for watches in
India.After liberalization of Indian economy in 1992 many international players have
entered the Indian Watch market posing as competitive threat to the Indian companies.
Lately Titan has tried to reposition its Brand to capture more segments of the watch market
retaining the already served market segment. The strategy has been studied in deep during the
project.

INDEX
Chapter No

Title

List of Tables

List of Figures

List of Abbreviations
Executive Summary

Introduction

Review of Literature

Objective of the Study

Research Methodology

Industry Overview
5.1

History

5.2

Porters five forces

5.3

Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning

5.4

BCG matrix

5.5

Ansoff Model

Company Profile
6.1

Introduction

6.2

Product

Page
No

Titan Watches:Brand
Positioning Strategy
7.1

Strategies

7.2

Brand Positioning

7.3

SWOT Analyses

7.4

Pricing Strategy

7.5

Distribution Strategy

Problem Identification

Alternatives

10

Consumer Awareness
Survey

11

Conclusion

12

Reference Section

12.1

Questionnaire

12.2

Bibliography

Executive Summary
Many brands and companies are constantly reinvigorating their businesses and positioning
them for growth. There is a constant need to innovate, reinvigorate, update, recalibrate, or just
simply fend off the competition in an effort to better explain "why buy me."
Brand positioning creates a specific place in the market for the brand and product
offerings. It reaches a certain type of consumers and delivers benefits that meet the needs of
several key target groups and users.
The actual approach of a company or brand's positioning in the marketplace depends on how it
communicates the benefits and product attributes to consumers and users. As a result, the brand
positioning of a company and/or product seeks to further distance itself from competitors based
on a host of items, but most notably on five key issues: Price, Quality, Product Attributes,
Distribution, and Usage Occasions.
In recent times, consumerism has undergone a sea change. Consumers today are well
informed about the products, as compared to earlier times. Hence, the marketplace has become
customer centric. Recognizing the importance of the customers in the business structure,
companies have started effecting brand repositioning exercises on a regular basis.
In the recent times, a major brand repositioning exercise has been planned by Titan Industries
Ltd. in order to provide more to its customers. The company has first gone for change in logo
and tagline. Then the communication strategy has been revamped to convey its new
position. The present study consists of reviewing the positioning strategies of Titan
watches. An analysis of repositioning strategies of Titan also forms part of the study.
The main objective of the study is to broadly understand the overall brand positioning
and re-positioning strategy of Titan wrist watches and to find out whether the loyal consumers of
titan watches are aware of the new positioning strategies of the company and how they perceive
them.

10

Theory & Concept"A business has two - and only two - basic functions: marketing and
innovation."

-Peter Drucker

The rapid pace of change and intense competitive pressure in today's marketplace demand
that brands continuously innovate and reinvent themselves to maintain their relevance and
market position. In this context, brand repositioning and other revitalization strategies have
become a business imperative for battling brand erosion. The appeal of brand repositioning is
further heightened by the rising costs and high risk associated with launching a new brand.

Brand repositioning has received little attention in the marketing literature and has mostly been
treated as a variation of brand positioning. Biel, for example, has defined brand positioning as
"building (or rebuilding) an image for a brand". The goal of positioning and repositioning
strategies relates to the management of consumers' perceptions.

However, positioning focuses on the creation of brand associations - consumers'

perceptions of the attributes that differentiate the brand from competitive offers while
repositioning also implies managing existing brand associations. The unique challenge of a
repositioning strategy, thus, lies in rejuvenating the brand image to make it relevant in an
evolving environment, while honoring the brand equity heritage.

Repositioning can be required as the market changes and new opportunities occur. Through
repositioning the company can reach customers they never intended to reach in the first place. If
a brand has been established at the market for some time and wish to change their image they can
consider repositioning, although one of the hardest actions in marketing is to reposition a
familiar brand.
11

According to Solomon, position strategy is an essential part in the marketing efforts because
companies have to use the elements in the marketing mix to influence the customers
understanding of the position. During the movement from something less attractive and
relevant towards a more attractive and relevant position several of strategic choices has to be
made. The ones responsible for the repositioning have to evaluate why a reposition is
necessary, and if the offer is the one that will change or just the brand name. There are several
risk factors that have to be taken into consideration when preparing for a repositioning of the
offering or the brand.

During repositioning, the risk of losing the credibility and reliability is high and the need for a
thorough strategy is therefore necessary to avoid this occurrence. Some analyst argue that to
successfully reposition a establish brand name is almost impossible because repositioning of a
brand can make the most loyal customer to switch brand. But, in some circumstances a
repositioning is necessary to gain credibility if the brand is eroded.
Whenever a reposition is in question it has to be of relevance from a customer perspective, is this
achievable? Some brands will on no account be thought on as a luxury brand and therefore an
attempt to reposition will only damage the brand image or the actual company.

Numerous failed attempts at brand repositioning testify to the difficulty of developing and
implementing such a tactic. For example, while the soft drink brand, Mountain Dew has
remained relevant to the youth market through continuous repositioning in its thirty years
of existence, Levis' Jeans has been losing market share to newcomers such as The Gap,
despite numerous campaigns designed to reposition the brand as trendy.

The strategic importance of brand repositioning in preserving and enhancing brand equity,
coupled with the mixed results of repositioning attempts, underscores the need to develop a
better understanding of the dynamics of brand repositioning. Specifically, questions of whether,
when and how brands should be repositioned need to be addressed.
12

13

Literature Review
The repositioning strategy will be rolled out in three stages: introductory, elaboration and
fortification stages. This involves the introduction of a new or a repositioned brand,
seeking to underline the brands value over others, and to broaden the brand proposition. It
is truly tough to change the customers perceived attitude towards a brand, and therefore the
risk is great that the attempt to repositioning might be unsuccessful.
After rolling out the strategy, it is time to modify the proposition through update of the
personality and through repositioning. There are benefits and risks with both of this segments
and it is of great significance that they are truly evaluated when deciding the next step in
the process.
The implication with the term repositioning is that a company modifies something that
is already present in the market and in the consumers mind. The definition of
repositioning changes different individuals and professions. Repositioning is built upon the
change of unique and differentiated associations with the brand in some kind of direction, it is
about having a balance between the category party and differentiation when using reposition
strategies (Titan brand strategist)
From these definitions, it is obvious that reposition is about moving something to a newer and
hopefully to a more attractive and relevant position. The purpose of the movement differs with
regards to what the company wants to achieve. A company might want to reach out to a larger
target group, or be involved in several different positions at the market. There is also a
visible relation between price and quantity aspects. When a company perceives the market as
a demand curve, the purpose is to down stretch or up stretch in this curve. When moving down it
is often spoken of as an expansion down wards, and when moving up and there is a need for
reaching the premium segment and expand upwards.
As stated in the literature, repositioning is a very complicated matter and therefore there
are no detailed theories or models. The aim with repositioning differ from person to person, and
the only connection between all the different theories is that repositioning is moving something
from somewhere towards a greater position at the market.

14

Corstjens and Doyle (1989) identified three types of repositioning strategies:

(1) Zero repositioning, which is not a repositioning at all since the firm maintains its initial
strategy in the face of a changing environment;
(2) Gradual repositioning, where the firm performs incremental, continuous
adjustments to its positioning strategy to reflect the evolution of its environment; and
(3) Radical repositioning that corresponds to a discontinuous shift towards a new target
market and/or a new competitive advantage.
After examining the repositioning of Titan Watches from the Indian market, the following 8
types of repositioning have been identified. These are:
o Increasing relevance to the consumer
o Increasing occasions for use
o Making the brand serious
o Falling sales
o Bringing in new customers
o Making the brand contemporary
o Differentiate from other brands
o Changed market conditions.
It is not always that these eight categories are mutually exclusive. Often one reason leads to the
other and a brand is repositioned sometimes for a multiplicity of reasons.

A four-phased brand repositioning approach can be followed to achieve the intended

benefits:
Phase I. Determining the Current Status of the Brand
Phase II. What Does the Brand Stand for Today?
Phase III. Developing the Brand Positioning Platforms
Phase IV. Refining the Brand Positioning and Management Presentation

15

The benefits that can be derived from brand repositioning exercises can be summarized
as:

Value over others

Updated personality

Relevant position

The risks associated with such strategies are:

Loss of focus

Neglecting original customers

Losing credibility for the brand

Confusing the brand

Therefore, brand repositioning is more difficult than initially positioning a brand because one
must first help the customer unlearn the current brand positioning (easier said than done).
Three actions can aid in this process:
(1) carefully crafted communication,
(2) new products, packaging, etc. that emphasize the new positioning and
(3) associations with other brands (co-branding, co-marketing, ingredient branding,
strategic alliances, etc.) that reinforce the new brand positioning.This exercise is so
critical to an organizations success that the organizations leadership team and its
marketing/brand management leaders should develop it, preferably with the help and
facilitation of an outside brand-positioning expert.

16

17

Objectives
1. To study the current scenario of Indian wrist watch industry-TITAN.
2. To review the brand positioning strategies of different sub-brands of Titan watches.
3. To analyze the brand repositioning strategies of Titan watches.
4. To study consumer awareness and perception about the brand repositioning
strategies of Titan Watches.
This study would help titan industry to understand the gaps in its communication strategy
regarding brand repositioning exercises and the further measures to be taken for effective
marketing communications.

Limitations

The study is confined to limited audience only.

There is possibility of sampling errors in the study.

The responses of the consumers may not be genuine.

The questions included in the questionnaire may not be comprehensive.

18

19

Sources of Data Collection

The relevant data will be collected from both primary sources and secondary sources. The
starting point of my information gathering will be the secondary sources such as internet,
books, and journals and so on.
First, I will make a study of the brand positioning and repositioning strategies of Titan watches
through secondary sources such as internet, insurance magazines, and journals and so on.
Then I will conducted a consumer awareness survey on brand repositioning strategies undertaken
by Titan watches in recent times.

Sampling Procedure
A sample of 100 consumers who are brand loyal to Titan watches since more than a year and
in the age group of 20 30 years will be considered for this study. As Titan has taken
up brand repositioning strategies since July 2008, consumers who have seen the previous and
new campaign have been targeted.

20

21

History of the watch market

The Indian watch industry began in the year 1961 with the commissioning of the watch division
of HMT. The first watch model manufactured by HMT was the Janata model in the year
1962. HMT was the leader in the watch market till the Tatas formed Titan Watches in
association with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation in the year 1987. They
took a major strategy decision, which later changed the face of the Indian watch market- to
manufacture only quartz watches.
Liberalization in 1992 and the removal of quantitative restrictions due to WTO has opened
the doors for many foreign brands in the Indian market viz. Tissot, Swatch, Omega, Rado, TAG
Heuer, Rolex and many others. The import duties on watches are falling which makes the Indian
market look attractive for the global majors like Casio, Swatch and Citizen.

22

Supplier Power:
HMT has its own fully integrated operation for production of its watches. Titan has its own
production facilities for which it has invested roughly 120 crore rupees over the years, the
manufacturing capacity of which is 6 million units. Also there has been a rise of low cost
producers in China & Taiwan which has provided an opportunity for watch makers to outsource
watches at low cost, just as Titan has done to outsource the components for Dash. Due to the
large supply of watch movements available, there is little supplier power in the watch market.

Buyer Power:
The Indian watch buyers are very price sensitive, especially in the lower end of the market.
There is still a huge untapped market in India with market penetration of only 20 units per
thousand people while the world average is more than 100. At the same time there are a segment
23

of people who are willing to pay a premium for watches with good performance and with a
recognized brand name. So understanding the buyers preferences is very crucial in this industry
in order to gain a substantial market share.

Entry Barriers:
The Indian watch market in the recent years has shown a dramatic increase in the number of
brands available in the market due to removal of quantitative restrictions. So the new entrant has
to have an offering, which can be positioned and differentiated from the other players in the
market. This could be either price or functional or emotional appeal. So the prime barrier for
entry, in the current context, for a new entrant is to build a brand image and price competitively.

Threat of Substitutes:
There are no such substitutes to watch as a product. However, in terms of the companies offering
various variations for watches such as pendant watches and jewellery watches, some sort of
substitution has developed. Rich consumers prefer to purchase watches more as a fashion
accessory rather than simply for its typical use.

Degree of Rivalry:
There are many companies in the Indian watch market, however, the product ranges offered by
them are manifold. This makes the competition very stiff. Also at the lower end of the market it
is basically the Value for Money, which differentiates the players. The strategic stakes for the
producers are very high. Titan Ltd., the largest company in terms of market share in the
organized sector has faced losses in the quarter ended June 2001 despite increase in the market
share due to macroeconomic situation. HMT faced a similar situation when Titan was introduced
in the 1980s leading to a sharp fall in its market share.
Present Situation of the Indian Watch Market
The Indian watch market is today of 40 million units, out which 60% is in the unorganized sector
in which the maximum number of watches are sold are below Rs.300. Quartz watches form two
thirds of the organized sector and the rest is split between mechanical and digital watches. Even
in the organized sector, three fourth of the sales by volume comes from watches that are priced
below Rs.1000.
Plastic as such is not acceptable to average Indian consumers, especially those from the small
towns and rural areas who regard it as cheap and flimsy. They want toughness- which translates
into a good quality metal model at a reasonable price.

24

Watch is one of the consumer durables whose replacement rate is very high. The replacement
rate of watch is 33.8% (Source: India market demographics report, 1998). This is also due to
the fact that the estimated scrap rate of wrist watches is 7.8%, which is applicable after 6 years
(Source: India market demographics report, 1998 ).
So due to high scrap rate, outdated models, and the shift from the mechanical watches to the
quartz watches is causing a very high replacement demand for watches. This along with the low
penetration levels represent the untapped market potential for watches in India.

25

Major brands in the Indian watch market

The major players in the Indian watch market include HMT, Titan and Timex. The other players
include Westar, Shivaki, Maxima, SITCO. Foreign brands such as Cartier, Piaget, Omega,
Tiffanys and Corrum, Gucci, Longines, Casio, Citizen, Tag Heuer and Espirit are also making an
inroad into the Indian market.Titan has been consolidating its market share over the past decade.
Timex watches, which entered in India with collaboration with Titan, now independently has also
gained substantial market share.

26

Segmentation
TITAN
Titan had traditionally focused on premium segment , in the late 90s Titan segmented the market
in to different groups based on different parameters.

Demographic segmentation :
In this the market is divided into groups on the basis of variables such as age, family, size, life
cycle, gender, income, occupation, education, religion, race, generation, nationality, social class.
These variables are the most popular basis for distinguishing customer groups. The
following are some of the demographic variables used to segment the market:

Age and life cycle stage :

Consumer wants and preferences change with age. These tastes and preferences are not constant
and change with time.

TITAN PERSPECTIVE
Titan markets its products for all following age groups:

Less than 12 : Dash, Zoop.

Between 12-20 : Dash, Fast Track, Sonata, WWF.

Between 18-30 : Fast Track, Flora, Sonata, Raga, Edge, Bandhan, WWF, Nebula,
Octane, Technology, Spectra,

Between 30-55 : Edge, Nebula, Raga, Steel, Xylus, Regalia,Automatic,Heritage,

Bandhan, Orion, Exacta, Royale, Insignia.

Above 55 : Regalia, Classique, Sonata.

27

Gender :
Gender segmentation has been applied to clothing, hairstyling cosmetics, wrist watches,
magazines etc. There are certain brands, which are positioned exclusively for a specific gender.

TITAN PERSPECTIVE
Titan markets its product across:

Gents : Automatic, Octane, Orion,

Ladies : Raga, Raga Diva, Flora, Nebula, Heritage,

Married couples : Bandhan

Income

Marketers tend to segment product and services on the basis of income groups. Nowadays,
companies have recognized the potential of lower end income groups and have started
segmenting them.

TITAN PERSPECTIVE
Titan offers its products with a price range to suit the different income groups such as:

Low ( 1 lakh) : Sonata,

Lower Middle (1 to 2.5 lakhs) : Fast track, Regalia,

Middle(2.5 lakhs to 4 lakhs ) : Steel, Fast track Ladies, Raga

Upper Middle( 4 to 6 lakhs) : Nebula, Edge, Steel.

High ( Above 7 lakhs) : Nebula, Xylus, Bandhan, Insigna

28

Generation :
Generation plays a major role in segmenting markets. Every generation is deeply influenced by
various activities. Such influences deeply impact their product purchase pattern.

TITAN PERSPECTIVE
Titan has many products to satisfy all the generations. And through constant innovation Titan
developed many products for new generations too.

New Generation : Fast Track, Technology, Flip

Old Generation : Sonata

Social Class :
Social Class segmentation is influenced by customer choices of automobiles, interior decoration,
clothing preferences etc. The tastes and preferences of the social class also change according to
time.

TITAN PERSPECTIVE
Titan has realized the demand of the society and has marketed its products for each of the
following social strata.

First segment: Fashion statement :These products have specialties like European
leather, sapphire crystal, scratch resistant, crafted with 18 ct. solid gold & inlaid with
precious stones.
Example: Fast Track, Royale, Aurum, Nebula

Second Segment: For this segment also, watch is all about fashion but price does
matter to them. These products have digital technology & of trendy shapes. Always
splash oomph on to your ward robes and smear danger on your look.

In this range, Titan has : Raga, Technology, Fast Track etc.

29

Third segment: For this segment, watch is just an device to show the time. They
invest after a lot of thoughts. In this category, Titan has Sonata, Karishma.

Psychographic :
Buyers are divided into different groups based on personality, values, belief, lifestyle,
motivation, etc. People within the same demographic group can exhibit very different
psychographic profiles.

Lifestyle :
People generally exhibit different lifestyle depending upon their income, social group etc. People
usually buy the product which suit their lifestyle

TITAN PERSPECTIVE
According to the life style of people Titan has segmented its product to fit the box. Like in the
luxury section it has Nebula, Aurum etc. In the mid-premium section Raga, Gold -Steel,
Technology etc. And in the mass section, it has Sonata, and Karishma.

Personality :
Marketers can use personality variables to segment markets. They endow their products with
brand personalities that correspond to consumer personalities

TITAN PERSPECTIVE
Titan advertises its products by portraying movie stars as user of its products and it offers a lot of
option to its customers.

The four groups with higher resources are:

30

1. Innovator
Insignalia, AutomaticPeople who are sophisticated, have niche oriented products, and are
very high on self esteem, desires for these kinds of watches. These watches are inspired by
architecture and engineered in steel, this is a watch crafted for take charge people.

2. Thinkers
Steel, Orion.Under this category people are matured enough and try to find out the
functionality in the goods. These products are known for their durability, Functionality and
Value in products.

3. Achievers
Xylus, Edge, Bandhan. In this category titan has tried to fulfil the desires of those people
who are focused on family and career. All these three models come under this category to
satisfy the requirement of a premium product.
The four in the lower resource are:

1.Believers
Raga,HerritageAll those who have a very conservative kind of thinking process people fall
into this group. These people are traditional and conventional , so they dont want to
experiment more and are sticking to the traditional things. .

2.Strivers
NebulaTitan has designed this product for those who are trendy and fun loving and resource
constrained . Here the nebula is made up of 18k gold and precious stones. 3.

3. Makers
Sonata,Dash, Zoop, Royle,These models suits those who are humble and down to earth kind
of people. They are not too much bothered about the fashion and other aspects of the watch,
but he functionality of the watch. 4.

31

4.Survivors
Steel, FloraLastly in this category those people who are elderly and who are loyal to their
favourite brand are included. This catered to all kind of people but always been the favourite
of the elderly people and those who dont want to change their preferences.

Behavioral
Organizations can divide markets on the basis of behavior that consumer shows towards the
usage of the products. Various variables for segmenting market on the basis of purchase
behavior of customers are occasions, benefits, user status, usage rate, loyalty, etc.

Occasions :
Markets can be classified on the basis of various occasions that customers encounter because
people need different products for different occasions.

TITAN PERSPECTIVE
Titan also offers occasion specific products like Formal (Nebulla, Steel, Raga, Gold & Steel),
Dress wear (Regalia, Raga, Gold & Steel, Royale), Fashion (Technology, Gold & Steel, Steel,
Raga, Fast Track)

Benefits :
Market is divided on the basis of the benefits customers seek from theproducts. Benefit
segmentation can be used to position various brands within the Gold & Steel

TITAN PERSPECTIVE
Titan product has benefits like:

It provides theTITAN WORLD SERVICE CENTRE in 174 towns.

It provides a huge product range to choose from.

Its products have good life cycle.

32

TANISHQ
Demographic segmentation :
Age and life cycle stage :
TITAN PERSPECTIVE
Titan markets its products for all following age groups:
o Between 14- 20 : Design Accolades, Fashion Earrings,Bangles of India, Solo, Daisy,
Pahelib)
o Between 20-30: Moham, Aria, Zoya, Diamond Collection, Punjabi wedding, Wedding
collection, Nuvoc)
o Between 30-50: Kundan and Polki, Colours of Parity, Diamond Collection, Ivy, Aqua
o Above 50 : Colours of Royalty, Ivy.

Niche Marketing
After its inception in 1995 focus on exports, Tanishq's designs had beenconceptualized for the
Western markets and were introduced in India withoutany alterations. Tanishq positioned itself as
an international brand for theIndian elite. The brand was targeted at a niche market (However
they lateron started targeting the mass marketing since 1997).

Psychographic Segmentation
Life Style: Tanishq has found that 40% of the Indian women are working and they targeted this
segment wth a specific group of products called collection-G, a 9-to-5 jewellery for the working
women.

33

Geographical Segmentation
Titan realized that, given the diverse nature of Indian ethnicity, it would haveto satisfy the tastes
of all regions. So, the designs became more ethnic. Titanalso decided to transpose designs by
stocking Bengali designs in Delhi,Keralite designs in Tamil Nadu and typical designs from Tamil
Nadu inBombay in order to appeal to a variety of people.

FAST TRACK
o Based on price Mass (Rs.350-800) - Essentials, Bikers, Fall
o Popular (Rs.800-1200), - Bikers, Summer 08
o Premium (Rs.1200-1800), - Bikers Reloaded, Summer 07, Sports, Campus,
o Super-premium (Rs.1800-2500) - Army, Sport

Gender :
Though we can classify the products according to gender, most of the fast track glass brands are
having both varieties of men as well as women. And there are glasses which fit for both men and
women which comes under the category Unisex. For example under the brand Sports it has all
the varieties include Guys, Girls and Unisex. So we cannot say this brand segmenting this
gender. The below classification is based on general basis.

TITAN PERSPECTIVE
Titan markets its product across:
o Gents : Army, Bikers, Bikers Reloaded, Fall
o Ladies : Essentials, Fall
o Unisex : Sports, Summer 07, Summer 08, Campus,

34

TARGETING
After the market has been separated into its segments, the marketer will select a segment or
series of segment and target it/them. Resources and efforts will be targeted at the:
Titan
1. The first is the single segment with a single product. In other word, the marketer targets a
single product offering at a single segment in a market with many segments. For
example, Titans sub brand, Raga is targeting the upwardly mobile ladies in the
upperpremium segment.

2. Secondly, the marketer could ignore the differences in the segments, and choose to aim a
single product at all segments i.e. the whole market. For example, Sonata and Fast track
brands of Titan are targeting mass and mid premium segment. Example : Sonata, as it
caters to all segmentation.

3. Finally, there is a multi-segment approach. Here a marketer will target a variety

ofdifferent segments with a series of differentiated products. For example, Titan
itselfprovides with the number of different brands/products which are targeting
differentsegments in the market. Following is the table which represents the various sub
brandsand their targeted segments of TITAN

35

Targeting of Titan Watches

FAST TRACK
A collection of watches will contemporary styles that are young and distinctive. Designs that go
from the relaxed and informal to the definitely sporty.
The womans collection presents the all new international `Frosted look, which is trendy and
chic.
The Fastrack collection has elements like cool mesh straps and features that include EL backlight and dual time. Also presenting a range of fashion digitals in contemporary wrist hugging
cases with oversized displays and features that include countdown timers, chronographs lap
timers, hourly chime, alarm and Hi-light glow.
Price : Rs.550-1,430
Category Aimed at : Urban youth

EXACTA
A perfect combination of dateless styling and design simplicity, Exacta is the all-steel look
in Titan. Everyday watches for those who value fundamental principles of durability,
reliability and affordability.
Price : Rs.595-1,140
Category Aimed at : Lower Middle Class (Office Wear)

SPECTRA

36

A truly unique collection of watches that combines the sturdiness of steel with the richness of
gold. International in styling the `Spectra collection is designed for those who look beyond the
ordinary.
Price : Rs.650-1830
Category Aimed at : Common Class

ROYALE
A stunning collection of alluring gold-plated cases matched with exquisite gold-plated straps, the
`Royale collection has designs that suit everyday wear.
Price : Rs.960-2,830
Category Aimed at : Upper Middle Class

RAGA
Exclusive watches for women. The Raga and Silver Raga collection is elegant, delicate and
feminine with each piece being truly unique. An existing 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 lan, the Silver Raga makes a perfect accessory that completes a womans
wardrobe.
Price: Rs : 1,420-4,000
Category Aimed at : Upper Class

BANDHAN
Watches for him and her. The pair watches of the `Bandhan range are Titans tribute to the
everlasting quality of a bond between a man and woman The Bandhan Collection is available in
both leather straps and gold bracelets and its presented in uniquely designed packaging.
Price : Rs.1,675-8,085.
Category Aimed at : Couples

37

REGALIA
Magic in gold and unique futuristic material. Finely crafted sleek cases and patterned dials with
special appliqu flowing into intricately designed bracelets. A unique combination of an all-gold
and bicolor look, the `Regalia range represents the essence of dress-wear.
Price : Rs.1725-7770
Category Aimed at : Upper Middle Class Upper Class

EDGE
The Titan EDGE is the Slimmest Watch in the Universe; a mere 3.5 millimeter thick, the watch is
practically invisible. Delicately crafted with precision, it has an incredibly Slim Movement of
1.15 millimetes. Furthermore, the Titan Edge is Water Resistant to a depth of 30 meters, an
attribute rarely ever seen in slim watches. Titans Edge comes with an elemental One-Piece case
made from Non-Allergic Stainless Steel, and a Sapphire Crystal that market it Scratch Resistant.
Price : Rs. 4,500-5,200
Category Aimed at : Business Clas

NEBULA
Nebula, a range of watches crafted from solid gold embellished with precious stones, available
with both leather straps and intricately designed bracelets. With Nebula, Titan turns watches into
precious jewellery. The finishing touch to this exquisite collection is the sapphire crystal that
crowns each of the watches.
Price : 20,000-85,000
Category Aimed at : Upper Class

Eye wears
Fastrack:
Fast track eye wears are obviously targeting the urban youth. That is the college students
between 18 and 22 years and an extended audience of 15 to 25 years. Fast track is understanding
the needs and limitations(in terms of money) and mentality of targeted group.

38

Eye +:
The range of products that Titan Eye + offers include eye-glass frames, lenses, contact lenses,
sunglasses that follow the international designs and style trends. Titan Eye + also provides an
array of optometric services. The friendly environment at the stores and the specially trained
retail as well as clinical staff make the customers experience pleasant and productive
Fast track is aiming to re-define eyewear and fortify the industry with quality standards,
unparalleled in the history of Indias eye-care industry. Given the importance of vision to quality
of life, Titan Industries foresaw the need to venture into the realm of optometry and establish a
presence in clinical optical expertise.
First steps were a technical collaboration, under which Sankara Netharalaya ably trained the
clinical and retail staff. Titan Fast Track stores are now staffed with professional optometrists
who deal with every eye-care requirement be it a need for prescription eyeglasses for
distance or nearsightedness, reading, vision correction, contact lenses or eye protection. Titan
Fast Track stores are equipped to fill prescriptions for single vision lenses, progressive no line or
bifocal lenses.

Tanishq
Colours of Royalty
Colors of Royalty a range of exquisite studded jewelry, reminiscent of the magical Victorian era.
The collection is inspired by the classic design essence and sensibilities found in the architecture,
fashion, design, drapes and patterns of the Victorian period.
Aimed at : Those who are fashionable but love classicalstyles.

Zoya
It is simplicity along with magnificence. The magnificence of history interwoven with linear
contemporary; Secrets of the pharaohs masked with the mystery of the cosmos; oriental art
embellished with occidental architecture; nature's bounty matched with man's ingenuity.
Aimed at : Extreme luxury market

39

Moham
The collection comprises designs, motifs inspired by nature that have been beautifully crafted.
Moham is a range of exclusive ruby studded jewelry that embodies the auspiciousness the color
red has in our lives.
Aimed at : Premium segment but relatively young women.

Aria
Mysteries of love; Mysteries of passion; Mysteries of envy; Bewitching; Fascinating;
Enchanting; Hypnotizing; Sensuous; Captivating.
Aimed at : Those who want to be fashionable as well as trendy.

Kundan and Polki

Influenced by the Mughal era Kundan work requires special craftsmanship and a myriad of
stages, each crafted by a different set of highly skilled karigars. Tanishq as a revitaliser of
traditions bring to life technologies and traditions through the exquisite collection of Kundan and
Polki( Uncut Diamonds).
Aimed at : Super Premium customers , who love the traditional.

40

BCG MATRIX
It is used to identify how corporate cash resources can best be used to maximize a companys
future growth and profitability

Star
for titan the star is undoubtedly the fast track. Since titan is promoting Fast Track than any other
product and it gives high revenue in return the star is Fast Track. B.

Cow
Sonata was a star of yesterday. Today without spending much on sonata they are getting high
profits from sonata( Sonata is the most selling watch in india)C.

Question
These can be the stars, cow or dogs. Here the Edge and Xylus were launched recently and the
company is spending good amount of money in these products. But it is too young to predict the
future D.

Dog
Though titan is not having any product as dog, these two products are comparatively less in
sales. And Business is situated at a declining stage.
41

Ansoffs Product Market Expansion Grid

42

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.
o The objectives of TBEM are:
o To provide a framework for the group to become competitive.
o To work as a competition to ensure participation.
o To acquire competitiveness using quality as the route.
o To monitor the progress through ratings.
o To become a transformational tool for every company.
The TBEM drives excellence across functions in the following manner:
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.
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.
. 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.
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.

43

OUTSOURCING
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:
o Provides flexibility and versatility to in-house staff.
o Frees up capital and cash for other activities that are the company's core competencies,
such as R&D or marketing.
o Helps shorten the time-to-market'by focussing on core activities
o Provides access to industry leading process development expertise and manufacturing
technologies.
o Helps avoid long-term investments in potentially under-utilized production capacity or
excessive inventory.
44

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).

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.

45

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).

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.
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
46

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 millionThis 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.

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.
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,

47

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.

Objectives for 2008-09

o Turnover to grow by about 30% over previous year, to target Rs 4,000 crores
o Operating Profit to grow in similar fashion
o Significant retail network expansion

48

In Dec 08
The Titan Industries stock has remained fairly resilient to the recent meltdown thanks to the
companys 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.
49

50

Introduction
Titan Industries was established in 1984 as a joint venture between the Tata Group and the Tamil
Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. The company brought about a paradigm shift in the
Indian watch market, offering quartz technology with international styling, manufactured in a
state-of-the-art factory at Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Leveraging its understanding of different segments
in the watch market, the company launched a second independent watch brand-Sonata, as a value
brand to those seeking to buy functionally styled watches at affordable prices. In addition it
focused on the youth with its third brand Fastrack. It has also premium fashion watches by
acquiring a license for global brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss, while. It has also
in its portfolio its first Swiss Made watch brand Xylys.
In 1995, the company diversified into jewellery under the brand Tanishq to capitalize on a
fragmented market operating with no brands in urban cities. In 2005, the company launched its
second Jewellery brand, Gold Plus, for capitalizing on the opportunity in small towns and rural
India.
The company has now diversified into fashion Eyewear by launching Fastrack Eye-Gear
sunglasses, as well as Prescription Eyewear. The Company leveraged its manufacturing
competencies and branched into Precision Engineering Products and Machine Building from
2003.
Today Titan Industries is India's leading manufacturer of watches and jewellery employing 3,800
people. Titan and Tanishq are among the most admired brands in their categories.

PRODUCTS
The company manufactures over 8 million watches per annum and has a customer base of over
80 million. It has manufacturing and assembly operations at Hosur, Dehradun, Roorkee and
Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and an ECB plant in Goa. Its main products are:

Watches : Currently manufactures four main watch brands viz. Titan for the premium
segment,

Fastrack
focused on the youth and trendy fashion space,

51

Sonata
for the mass market.

Xylys
for the premium market. The Titan brand architecture comprises several sub-brands, each of
which is a leader in its segment. Notable among them are:

Titan Edge
-The world's slimmest watch which stands for the philosophy of "less is more";

Titan Raga
The feminine and sensuous accessory for today's woman,

Nebula
- Crafted in solid gold and precious stones and several other collections like Wall Street,
Heritage , Regalia, Octane, Orion, Diva, Zoop, WWF and the Aviator series, all of which form
a part of the Titan wardrobe. Sonata is today India's largest watch selling brand and is priced
between Rs 295/- and Rs 1200/-. The company's first Swiss Made watch Xylys is for the hi-end
connoisseur and new age achiever. It also markets Tommy Hilfiger watches under a licensing
arrangement and is introducing Hugo Boss.
Today, the Titan portfolio has about 65% of the domestic market share in the organized watch
market. The company has 255 exclusive showrooms christened 'World of Titan' , making it
amongst the largest chains in its category. Titan watches are sold through over 12,000 outlets in
over 2,500 cities and internationally in over 30 countries, primarily in the Middle-East and Asia
Pacific. Its after-sales-service is itself a benchmarked operation with a network of 750 service
centres and amongst the world's fastest turnaround times. The company has a world-class design
studio for watches and accessories.

Jewellery :
Tanishq is India's largest and fastest growing jewellery brand with a premium range of gold
jewellery studded with diamonds or coloured gems and a wide range in 22kt pure gold. Platinum
jewellery is also a part of the product range Tanishq is one of India's largest speciality retailers
and is transforming the jewellery market in India
102 boutiques in 72 cities across the country. Gold Plus' is the recent retail offering for the
mass market with plain gold jewellery selling through 19 stores in 19 towns. The jewellery
division has its own design studio.
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Eye wear :
Titan Eye+ is currently on a pilot mode with 5 stores in 2 cities and has sunglasses under
Fastrack brand and prescription eyewear consisting of Frames, Lenses, Sunglasses, Accessories
and Contact Lenses of in-house brands and other premium brands.

Precision Engineering
The company's Precision Engineering Division supplies precision components to the avionics
and the automotive industry. It also manufactures dashboard clocks as OEM to car manufacturers
in Europe and America. The division also provides fully integrated Automation solutions

Awards
The company has been awarded the following distinctions:

Being named the No.1 Brand in the Consumer Durables category in the "Brand Equity"
Survey of The Economic Times, a leading Indian financial daily.

The Titan Design Team won the Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year award at the
design awards instituted by the National Institute of Design and Business World, a
leading Indian magazine. The team has won 7 accreditations also.

Both Titan and Tanishq have been adjudged "Most Admired Brands" as well
as "Retailer of the Year" by Images Fashion Forum in consecutive years.
Retail Asia and Media Magazine Singapore adjudged Titan Industries as
amongst the leading Retailing Companies in India.
Titan has won the Brand Leadership award at the India Brand Summit.
The Time Products Division of the company was awarded the JRD QV
Award in 2006.
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54

Overall 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 analyzed as given below:

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! As Magic in 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.

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:

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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 Indian 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

POSITIONING

TITAN PERSPECTIVE
Titan initially pioneered the concept of "Gifting watches". The ads captured the essence of
gifting and along with the trendy music, easily caught the imagination of the market. Customers
who were fed up with ugly time machines welcomed the brand and Titan had a dream run for
many years. Titan then moved away from gifting. Titan was positioning itself as a fashion
accessory rather than a time keeping device.
Titan also found its persona in Mr. Aamir khan which provided the much needed edge to the
brand. Titan was careful in keeping the brand above the celebrity. The ads were fresh and neatly
executed. The idea was to make watches that would be seen as style and fashion accessories
rather than just utilitarian devices. The company decided to use Aamir in brand and product
communication on television and in the print and outdoor media. Though, the vast distribution
and service network of TIL had served as an effective entry barrier in the 1990s, foreign brands
56

were becoming increasingly popular in the early 2000s, thanks to the paradigm shifts in the retail
scenario and the growing affluence of the Indian consumers.
And TIL found that it was not safe even at the bottom of the pyramid. The grey market with
cheap Chinese imports and the unorganized sector had cornered a sizable chunk of the low-end
market. The appointment of Aamir Khan as brand ambassador for the Titan brand was seen as an
attempt to broad base the appeal of the Titan brand.
Titan also was pushing another strategy. Watches were perceived as a onetime buy and
consumers seldom owned multiple watches. So Titan pushed the concept of "Matching Watches
to Clothes" in the recent commercials. Since men are becoming more serious customers of
fashion accessories, this is strategy that is worth trying out. For Titan, even if the concept fails, It
has created the much needed freshness in the brand.
Earlier Fastrack was targeted at 20-25 year olds and positioned along the line "Cool watches
from Titan". Then the company found out that the youth in the age group of 11-20 years account
for 42% of watch buying in India. Based on this insight, the company relaunched the brand
lowering the target segment to 18-30 year olds with the baseline How many you have?". Again
the strategy aimed at promoting the multiple watch owning concepts. Fastrack also launched a
range of fashion accessories like Sunglasses trying to be a lifestyle brand.

Positioning According to Product

WATCHES
Raga
The slimmest watch in the universeAll good things are packaged small. Or we can say they are
packaged slim. Titan presents a large range of Titan Edge watches the slimmest in the world.
Clean cut, elegant designs that speak of who you are. Go ahead , choose a style that says so
much with so little. And you can see it is adding an edge to your persona.

Orion
A unique range of watches inspired by the astral wonders of the universe. The collection
celebrates the intelligence and masculinity of todays men.

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Octane
Be speed, Be moreA range of high octane sports watches personifying speed and power with
multi-functions, retrograde, analog-digital and chronograph.

Nebula
Inspired by the noble metal. Titan presents a classic collection of stunning jewelry watchesNEBULA. Crafted superbly from 18 karat solid gold and inlaid with precious stones, each piece
comes with a lifetime guarantee.

Zoop
Titan presents Zoop- timepieces for young stars. Take your pick from floral, butterfly, duckling,
and base ball themed watches or go digital with features such as dual time, countdown timer, 50
yr calendar, compass, stopwatch, alarm, EL backlight and more.

WWF
Titan & WWF have joined hands to celebrate the beauty & behavior of six endangered species
with the launch of six new animal themed watches. A part of the proceeds from every watch sale
is contributed to WWF towards the preservation of these animal.

Raga
Unveil the real you, Be more The magic of ornate motifs and blushing enamel casts a spell on
you. From intricate dials glowing with inner radiance, to delicate bracelets that flow around you
in familiar embrace. The essence of woman, Revealed at last.

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FAST TRACK
Titan Fast track is positioned as an essential thing for the trendy youth of today. With its special
offerings it is really serving the urban youth. Its strongest offerings are availability and
affordability.
Titan Eye+ of Titan Industries offers sunglasses under its Fastrack brand. Prescription eyewear
such as lenses and contact lenses is also part of the range. Titan Eye+ offers frames,
sunglasses, and accessories of Titan Industries in-house brands as well as other premium
brands.
Fast track was spun of as independent brand of watches targeting the urban youth In 2005. Since
then it has carved a niche for itself with designs that were refreshingly different and affordable.
During that time, Fastrack also extended its footprint into eye gear and in the last 4 years has
quickly notched up the title of being the largest sunglass brand in the country.
Fastrack has now chartered into newer categories bags, belts, wallets and wrist bands as part
of its vision to become a complete fashion brand for the youth. With enough categories to fill up
one cool store, Fastrack has moved on to open its own stores for its young consumers.
The store is positioned as a complete accessories destination with all Fastrack gear under
one roof.
Titan Fast Track provides an impressive range of stylish and contemporary eyewear,
through exclusive optical outlets. Currently, Titan Fast Track boasts 70 stores across 41 cities.
Titan Fast Track heralded standardisation by benchmarking with the worlds best, in sync with
the TATA principles of quality and trust. Sales counters now
offer products and services of international quality standards coupled with transparency in
pricing, style, and upbeat designs.

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Tanishq
Colours of Royalty : Coloured jewelry corrected the impression of tanishq having only
modern design.

Aarka : Positioned thanishq as high fashion 22 karrat gold collection.

Fashion earrings : A collection of studded jewelry , an attempt to move tanishq from being a
traditional studded collection.

Brand Positioning of Tanishq

o Promise of purity and a unique experience. Design and retail innovation have been the
hallmark of tanishq all these years.
o Promise of purity and unique experience.

Design and retail innovation have been the hallmark of tannishq all these years

First and only jeweler to guarantees the purity of its gold jewelry and certifies the
quality of its diamonds and coloured gems in writing.

o Trust

It has established itself as a highly ethical player in a market that was rated as
having the highest incidents of under karatage (bis)

They even have gold meters where one can check the purity of the gold.

o Luxury

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Tanishq also has been positioned as a branded jewelry of luxury rather than
commodity. It moves jewelry beyond investments to the fashion and adornment
sector.

Superionr Product

In order to compete with the regional players tanishq introduced the concept of
consistency in delivering promise

Tanishq is known for its ability to develop specialized design collection. It is the
only jewelers that houses a full fledged design studio with a team of several
international award winning Indian designers.

Offer a totally new perspective to jewelry buying especially when it comes to

exquisite oriental jewelry.

Swot Analyses
Strengths:

Mechanical watches: TITAN is the market leader in mechanical watches which serves to
the lower segment of the society.TITAN has a strong hold in this segment but to make
sure that players like titan and timex do not occupy the stance TITAN needs to do its
homework.

Brand equity: TITAN has a very strong brand image. People know TITAN because of its
quality and reliability.

Production and training facility: production facility is flexible enough to adapt to new
technologies. Training program is one of the best in the country.

Industrial relations: company has very good industrial relations. Till today company did
not encounter any kind of labor or industrial relations problem which can put company in
to jeopardy.

Adequate assets: company has commensurate amount of land, building and machinery
available.

Weaknesses:

No emphasis on R&D and design: TITAN did not pay much attention to aesthetics and
design. While its competitor titan kept innovating its products with latest technology,
features and design, TITAN was still grappling with its basic design models.

Retailer policy: TITAN did not have control measures over its retailers; hence they lost
control over prices and the trade.

Lack of team spirit and awareness: TITANs motivational strategiespunishment/reward have been inadequate, resulting in low utilization of human and
machine capacities.
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Trade audits: No regular trade audit was being carried out by the company to check what
was actually happening in the market.

Management levels: The ground level TITAN staff has nearly six rungs of bureaucracy
to go through before a general manager in sales or marketing could take a field decision.

Opportunities:

Diversification of products: there are good diversification possibilities in products.

Apart from mechanical watches TITAN can also focus on anadigi, digiana, multifunction,
digital, stopwatch, alarm, thin etc.

Exports: export market can be tapped.Market segmentation: company can expand the
market launching products suitable for different customer profiles e.g.: youth, gift
fashion, sports, novelty etc.

Enlarge network of sale outlets: An effective distribution system is mandatory for

companys success.

Product improvement: Company can manufacture product based on current customer

preferences, combining technology and aesthetic appeal together to enhance the
experience.

Threats:

From competitors: titan, timex, citizen, swatch etc.

Spurious operators: People who indulge in fraudulent activities. Misusing the brand
name.

Authorized service agents: For foreign smuggled watches.

Regional players: With their cheap prices and availability.

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Unorganized manufacturing

Pricing Strategy
Titan consists of watches that cater to various segments and to various categories and so their
pricing strategy is also in accordance to their products and the features offered by them cashing
in on monopoly, unique features, outstanding performance and the name TITAN.
Titans primary pricing objective is to kill Competition. Being an Indian manufacture and
infusing the advantages of the Indian market with the dynamics of the western market the
company has carved itself a place difficult to achieve by foreign players.
The Objective for pricing are mixed with them being
Survival : Exacta, Spectra, Raga
Maximum Market Share Sonata, World Watch
Market Skimming- Nebula, The Steel collection Insignia
Product Quality - Leadership All watches in their respective segments.

PRICING METHODMARK UP PRICING Titan goes in for the mark up pricing strategy.
The Titan product carries a maximum retail price on it. Now shops such as the world of titan
exclusive showrooms buy directly from the dealer and hence the element of the middleman is not
there.
A retailer in this category buys the watch for 17-18% lesser than the MRP and hence he is able
to get the 17% profit margin on sales. It is up to the discretion of the retailer to offer any discount
on the MRP as it would affect what he gets in return. In the recent past Titan has also used the
PERCEIVED VALUE PRICING to its advantage. It is managing to successfully convince the
customer of the perceived value of the WORLD WATCH using billboards and hoardings all
around the city, increasing buyers image, trust worthiness, innovation, differentiation, value for
the product. The hoardings go about to say the international presence of an Indian Watch. Titan
has also in the past done so for its steel collection but using Commercial Advertisements.
There is always a positive relationship between high prices, high quality, and a high advertising
budget. Titan too demonstrates this feature. People are willing to pay the price for the quality and
titan spends 25 crores a year on advertising its products. This is the highest spending done in the
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watch industry in India. More so ever with high value and lower prices in case of the sonata, the
product is the heart throb in the watch industry.

APPLICATION OF THE PRICING STRATEGY IN PRODUCTS

The main plank of the watch market is in the less-than-Rs.1,000 price category. Effectively,
about 70 per cent of the sales in the watch industry in India is in this category. None of the
foreign brands has a presence in this category. Only cheap Chinese watches are present in this
bracket and they compete with the unorganized manufacturers, who are more expensive than
them. So, the unorganized sector is getting hit from the bottom by Chinese products and at the
top by the organized sector brands, such as Sonata.

LOWER SEGMENT
The SONATA Brand which proudly emphasizes it to be a TATA product is the watch for the
common man and for the lower class of the society. Pricing itself between Rs.300 Rs.900 is
Titans fastest selling watch. This watch was launched to make titan everybodys company from
the image of it being a Richmans company. Watches were offered for as low as Rs.300 with a
guarantee of 1 year and the styles were very appealing for the price. Titan in this case has
followed the Penetration policy. Maxima Quartz is a competitor with similar offerings at Rs.350.
The lower end market being price sensitive, such pricing used to drive away competition, making
people buy the product to make one trust what a Titan is all about was promptly why this low
price was offered. There are many in the stable such as the Exacta, Spectra and Fast Track which
is priced at what one would pay for a simple but impressive watch. These watches deliver value
for money with Titans name and the innovation done by the company to deliver better models at
the same price.

THE 1000 PLUS SEGMENT

The TITAN market share is actually growing because of the increased share that has been
cornered in the Rs.1,000 2,000 range, which is the main strength for Titan plus a growing
contribution from people upgrading to Rs.1,500 range. In the last 2 years TITAN has been
introducing lot of products in this range and have been growing in this segment. The Indian
watch market itself is expanding in the price bracket of greater-than-Rs.2,500. This has been
happening for the last couple of years. The greater-than-Rs.2,500 price bracket is the highest
growth category, though it might be a small contributor to the total watch market. This segment
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is growing because of the interest that has been created by the international brands. Titan was
quick to launch the steel collection, the world watch and its bandhan, insignia comes in these
ranges. Titan used its technological prowess as its unique selling point. Priced in the Rs..4,500Rs.5000 range, Titan targeted the brand at the techno-savy consumer looking for a prestigious
watch, who would otherwise go in for a foreign brand.
`The WORLD WATCH TITANS latest offering to the Indian market is a watch which is
made in India but which shows off a truly international look with styling rare to the Indian
market. This is a product which none of the Indian watch makers can offer as of today but meets
with competition from foreign players like Swatch and Esprit. The watches taken out are priced
between Rs.2700 Rs.5500. This range of pricing can be associated with Skim the cream pricing
used by titan. These watches represented true international quality for an Indian price.
The same watch by Calvin Klein would cost the Indian customer about 4 times a titan watch and
hence he would prefer the titan watch for the same value for lesser price. There has been societal
changes and a growing demand for these price watches with the culture of the west coming in
and the smart move to get these watches to India. The Indian consumer is still a price sensitive
player even though it be a high value product.
The NEBULA is Titans price catch and is also watch selling in top of the line. These solid gold
watches gracefully and elegantly shows off richness of the gold and the design makes it stand out
from a regular gold watches. Preferred on occasions of Diwali and marriages it is priced between
10000 to 40000. Titan is able to do so for the reason it is a pure gold watch and the same time no
one else in the market can offer these watches. A pure gold watch for a festival or marriage
would be 90% of the times bought by titan.
Thus whatever may be the price titan carefully chooses it to see that its product is able to survive,
rise and become the product leader and at times after skimming the market it attains price
leadership with cutting prices slightly or waiting for competition to come in and promote the
market. One final statement that can be made is the objectives and the price go hand in hand as it
should always go.
Titan has tried to achieve a balance of cost focus and differentiation focus. By this we mean that
in the lower - end (Popular segment) of the market, it seeks to achieve a cost advantage by
exploiting the differences in cost behavior. In the mid-and higherend (Mid Premium segment)
of the market, it seeks differentiation by providing better designs.

PROMOTIONS: Price Discounts and Allowances

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Titan once a year comes out with a Price discount sale on the MRP of the watches. Now this is
entirely based on the stock carried by the company at the year end. Allowances are more on the
company to the retailer where the retailer gets a special allowance if the store picks up more than
a certain quantity.

Warranties and Service Contracts

Titan promotes sales by adding a free warranty or service contract to its watches and this is
backed up by the name TATA which is especially needed to convince and march ahead in the
lower segment market.

Product Line Pricing

The differences in the prices of the watches are justified by the features, the style, and the
differences which makes up each watch. Titan prices all its watches in such a way that it
maximizes the total profit on the total mix.
Captive Product Pricing There is a general buzz in the market about titan being more expensive
than the rest in terms of servicing and the parts used by TITAN. Titan watches, the lower end
ones are cheap but the straps and the battery with services is generally expensive.
For the past few months, the one-point agenda of the Tata group has been to bring about synergy
among its individual companies, and to promote Tata as a single, unified, central brand. The
Tatas have realized that many of their companies are addressing the same target clientele and
share a common customer base. So it makes sound business sense to synergies the marketing
efforts for these companies.
The main reason behind Tata doing this was the results of a survey which revealed that: the Tata
brand is like sameone who is established, but not modern, large but not focused, profitable but
not in top gear, a warm person but not efficient, Tata group is so large and fragmented that the
central brand gets lost in the vastness of the empire. As a result, the top-of-the-mind recall of the
Tata brand-pegged at Rs.10,000 crore is not so strong amongst its various products, be it Taj
hotels, Titan watches or Westside garments.
Tata has come to realize that their biggest asset is their name TATA and not their factories and
hence like the value of the assets the value of a brand can also come down and so is the name
coming down, now the Tata Brand Equity and Business Promotion Agreement states that
advertisements and commercials by any Tata company must carry the TATA mark.

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The Tatas may be a 102-year-old company, but they want to be seen as a young, contemporary,
new, entity,. Besides evolving a central brand for all companies, the Tata group has also
redefined its objectives and laid down three key themes that would guide the philosophy of the
new Tatas global, futuristic and modern. The target audience? Generation next.The Tata
Open The battle ground for this new strategy of synergy started with the Tata Open (Indias
biggest tennis tournament) held every year in December January. The tatas have paid Rs.10
crore for the three-year contract. For the Tatas themselves, it meant more than just sponsorship
it signaled the beginning of a new era in the Tata regime.
One of the main reasons for the sponsor of this event is Global event like these provide a great
opportunity to corporates to satisfy their marketing objectives and cross-promote their
brands,Creative AdvertisingTitan introduced a contest on cartoonnetworkindia.com which
invites children to use their creativity and imagination to design a watch. The prize winning
design was launched as a new watch in the Summer 2002 collection and the winner received the
first watch of this collection. The Top 5 won a Dash! Watch each and all participants were
awarded certificates. Type Of Advertising Titan believes in making its ads clean, well made,
touch an emotional chord, convey the message, have catchy jungles and make an impact. The use
of celebrities, superstars is not there. These only ad to the expense packet of the company and
companies only catering to the niche market of the upper cream like a Rolex or an Omega afford
these. Majority of the people are rational buyers and very rarely get carried away by celebrity
endorsements. They also know that they will eventually end up paying for such celebrity
endorsement. Rich kids, Young DINKS (Double income, no kids) and Yuppies may fall for such
ads but not ordinary people. At the end of the day, if your product or service is not good enough
or does not offer value for money, your advertising will get no where. Promotion On Occasions
Titan is one of the companies which formally believes in the policy of promotion the product
based on the occasions of the calendar. With every occasion having a special memory attached to
it exploits this memory aspect and pushes its products. Not only the promotion of the existing
products is done on these occasions but new products which would sell like hot cakes are
launched for the sole reason it creates an impact in the minds of customers and appeals to the
occasion thus making it even more special. In this context TITAN launched the
THE BIG HEART OFFER FROM TITAN FASTRACK where fashionable jewellery was a
gift on purchase of any Fastrack watch. This jewellery set of a pendant and earrings is
contemporary and unique in form and material, with steel and acrylic being used together for
stunning effect. This was launched for Valentines day where the name scheme, The watch being
advertised for (Fast track) as it pertains to the youth, jewellery (for the youth), valentines day
(more so for the youth) and adding to the excitement is A LIMITED EDITION FASTRACK
VALENTINE'S COLLECTION that is being made available in four designs. Only 300
watches of each design will be on sale across cities during this fortnight. These watches are
designed is steel with leather straps in the colors of the season black, red and silver. The dials
are in matched colors with heart patterns, making the collection a true blend of fashion and
romance. "Young couples are looking for new ways to discover their relationships and this set of
special watches and matching jewellery from Fastrack, gives them just the reason to do so. The
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`promotion was in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Bangalore from Feb 114.Musical Advertisements
Subtle Advertisements
With changes coming up in the way one advertises Titan has changed too from the trend of
constantly bombarding the consumer with the name of advertisements to subtle advertising.
Through this titan is reinforcing just the name Titan and not any one of its products. The tune
used by titan is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 24th symphony as its signature tune. In the recent
trend of advertising Titan uses only music to get its message across, with the company name
making only a brief appearance.
Segmentation
Titan started its activity of marketing under the name TITAN as a brand not promoting on basis
of the models it had. Gradually when markets became more demanding it felt that the brand
needed to be segmented. This was in the years of 96 and onwards titan segmented because it felt
the need that people know about different brands and the target audience was easy to identify.
This was because titan was just entering the market and needed to meet specific people for their
needs. For eg, it went on with the regalia, sonata brand which met different needs of different
sets of people in the market. Thus titan got known among every one in the market cause they
knew what was in store for them from the titan's stable rather than just knowing that titan
manufactures watches.50 Million Concept Titan achieved the 50 million mark and hence it had a
great slogan to blow the trumpet loud. The 50 million concept signifies the concept that 50
million happy faces who not only own but a sense of love, care and prestige, associated with
what the titan has given them and will be giving them. This was aimed at all the categories with
the smiling faces of the common man. Seeing this one gets the message of 50 million watches,
the landmark titan has achieved, which means the name has metal in it and is something which
can be trusted at the same time the emotions portrayed in the ad make emotions run high in the
blood and one wants to be associated with the brand rather than buying some other watch.
Strategic Implementations
Implementation is an integral part of strategy. Strategy is not just a set of ideas removed from
reality. It becomes visible only when you implement it. When Titan entered Indian jewellery
market it signaled an opportunity for an organized sector. The customer was moving towards
branded goods in other segments. The concept of brands was not familiar with the Indian
customer. Titan did the process of creating brands in the minds of customer. A consumer goes to
Tanishq because she believes the brand stands for purity and good design. This insight, along
with the increasing mobility of Indian customers, is helping Tanishq mature into a national
jeweller.

Focus
The strategy that Titan adopted in recent years is that of focus. It has segmented the market into
different need groups and tailored its strategy to the exclusion of others. By optimizing its
strategy for the target segments, it seeks to achieve a competitive advantage in its target
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segments. Market segmentation is concerned with identifying differences in the buyer behaviour,
allowing a firm to match its capabilities with distinctive products and related marketing
programs. Market segmentation tends to focus on the marketing activities in the value chain in
which Titan commands a very formidable position. This also allows Titan to find out how it
should serve each segment.

Strategic implementation
Companies must have robust processes to develop strategies irrespective of the personality of the
CEO. `THE WORLD OF TITAN our exclusive showrooms for watches are our assets. As retail
formats change the role of the showrooms may also change. Initiatives need to be prioritized.
Some of the showrooms have been done up last year. However we must start today. Pragmatism
has also set in perhaps because of the downturn. The depth to Equity ratio in titan is high where
Titan faces a financial risk and hence their current initiatives involve any thing which do not
require much financing.

Banners-Hoardings
It is not difficult to see TITAN hoardings displaying its prominence in the streets of an urban
city. The prime locations, next to dealer outlets hoardings with attractive, clear, simple but catchy
slogans are put up and a particular product or some times the name TITAN in general. One of the
hoarding promotes the World Watch where the hoarding states MADE IN INDIA
CHERISHED IN GREECE. Like this many catchy ones are there. Older ones state THE
PERFECT VALENTINE GIFT was released a month before valentines
day.SponsorshipTitan is involved in sponsoring major events, culturals and other fests in
colleges, schools and nation wide happenings. This way of promotion gives it the extra mileage
to increase its data base by directly tapping the customers to convince them about a TITAN.
Revamping the titan Brand Image Titan after all its marketing efforts in the market is going back
to step one where it started when its first marketing activity concentrated on titan name rather
than the different watches it offered. Then came the segmentation of the brand where every
different product was advertised individually that is every product got its own identity. Titan felt
that the segmentations was high and the brands have got their own name rather than titan being
associated with them, so titan has gone back to revamp the brand image and market this product
on the name titan. For this all its ads from September 2003 onwards would focus on titan as a
name, this includes the showrooms are being re modeled to suit the strategy. The focus now is on
titan rather than fast track and regalia the logo would promote TITAN. The policy is in
accordance with the advertisement released on television which simply and subtly promotes
TITAN.
Seasonality One major way of promoting the titan product is through seasons. To understand a
little more about it for Example. During a wedding season or for Diwali Titan promotes Nebula,
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Bandhan because there is demand for the product. Gold watches and pairs are the likes of a
wedding occasion., similarly the fast track brand is promoted in the months of June August
when schools and colleges re open and since these watches cater to the segments of youth, these
watches get the extra mileage on sales if promoted during these seasons.
Gifting Concept Titan initially started of as a brand which was associated with gifting and
relations. Today also titan is associated with the image it stated off with. The fight concept sells
well for people have come to associate titan with love, care and makes emotions run high. More
so ever the product is that of quality and style. The titan Nebula and Bandhan would fall more
aptly in this category and the Dash is promoted with the gifting concept in mind because a parent
gifts the child a watch.
Strategic FlexibilityKeeping your options open means building flexibility in the strategy. For
instance in 1998 99 Titan announced its intention to become a global player, to address the
multiple segments emerging in the Indian market through multiple brands and sub brands, and to
offer terrific value for money through differentiated design, retailing and brand image. The
company addressed multiple segments through brands such as sonata, fast track, Raga etc. it
realized that as the market became more competitive multiple brands would be the best way to
address the needs of the market. When you have multiple brands you are more flexible and less
vulnerable. Titan has gone in for multiple brands.

Promotion Through ContestsTITAN ties up with various magazines, televisions, outlets where
TITAN gifts could be own for winning the contest. One of them is THE WEEK magazine where
one could win TITAN watches and also many magazines offer many watches depending upon
their needs. TITAN also offers bulk discounts to players who pick up in lots offering it as a gift
to schemes and to companies for their employees.Promotion Through Television
ProgramsTITAN sponsors a program or a serial or ties u with for example a show like MTV
TIMECHECK done by ESPRIT, time wear. Such promotion done as an exclusive sponsor and
targeted at a particular segment. For example, if a youth program then fast Track would be
focused on and on CNBC or CNN business programs the Steel or the World watch.

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Distribution Strategy
Titan firmly believes in providing total customer convenience in shopping. This fact is justified
by the location of their outlets and the recent move by the company to go in for a major
renovation of all the WORLD OF TITAN show rooms updating it to modern selling concepts,
saving space, making it more attractive for the customer, easy maintenance, a show room which
stands out from the rest. This has been done to the highest standards taking care of even of the
minute details.
Titans retail operations are a mix of company-owned and franchisee outlets, with the idea being
to ensure a dominant presence in all market areas through different kinds of stores, and to assure
the availability of every Titan product. Titan has concentrated on customer perspective, and have
engineered the entire chain to suit different customers.
Titan concentrates more on the customer theme. Earlier there was no attempt in the retailing
sector to entice customer to buy a watch, but Titan has tried to bring the brand to the customer in
an appropriate setting. The company does this through its `World of Titan show rooms.

The franchisee is a critical cog in Titans retail matrix. The company organizes various
programmes for franchisees, their managers and customer relationships officers. These include
training workshops and seminars on market trends, visual merchandising, store operations and
maintenance, and customer service initiative. However, the real challenge in retailing is
managing the franchisee network through processes and systems that ensure a superior brand
experience for every customer. Franchisee relationship management is important because of
increasing competition, not only from the watch business but also from other business in the
retail industry.
Besides the franchisees and its own showrooms, Titan sells its product through other outlets as
well. Among them are the Time Zone stores, which stock all the leading brands, and the Value
Mart outlets, which operate in Bangalore and Chennai and sell surplus to export watches at a
discount. For its many customers Titan has Tata Signet, a 1,36,000 member club that looks to
build relationships through rewards, regular discounts and special offers. Customers can also
count on a service-centre network thats 550-strong and spread over 30-odd cities and towns
across the country.

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The service centers have been deliberately kept apart from Titans showrooms. The business is
different and the customer is in two different moods at the two places Titans blueprint for the
future including making watches for international heavyweights such as YSL, Christian Dior and
Gucci. Titan believes there is huge potential at the designer end of the market. The marketing
investment is however lower because the brand is doing the marketing for you. Also on the
anvil are specialty stores for niche customers, and an expansion into product categories like
sunglasses and leather goods.
However, it is staying ahead of the competition that is the overall priority: We have to ensure
Titan has the best wristwatch store in any given city or town. You dont really have to watch this
space for confirmation on that count.
Titan stores can be broadly classified into 4 stores each having its different features making
TITAN attractive to everyone.

WORLD OF TITAN
experience the touch of Titan, all you have to do is walk into the stylish World of Titan
showroom anywhere in India. Prepare to be floored by the cool international ambience and the
staggering choice of over a 1000 watches and trendy accessories. And because the customer has
to be given special treatment, we deliver your gifts, offer gift vouchers for your loved ones, and
whats more, we invite you to join the Signet Club, our loyalty programme with lots of special
privileges. Come closer to us at The World of Titan!The world of Titan is the biggest among all
stores of the company and is an exclusive dealer in Titan watches. These showrooms are
generally about 1000-2000 sq.ft and have an extensive range of watches. These showroom are
the major revenue generators of the company and every 5 years the showroom is fully done up
updating it to modern international standards.

TIME ZONE
Titan Industries brings together the countrys leading watch brands under one roof, providing the
customer with variety in brands, looks and price ranges backed by efficient after-sales service.
Presenting Time Zones the chain of trusted watch shops. Conveniently located, these 1142
Time Zones across 89 towns offer you the complete watch shopping experience.

VALUE MART
These outlets sell surplus stocks of Titan watches at reduced prices, offering fabulous value for
money with the same warranty as a regular, full-priced watch. These concepts in the recent past
have caught up with any product with it being total value for money. However these shops would
not be placed in the main locations so as to interfere with the working of the normal shops. This
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is to make the customer go to the shop rather than the shop calling the customer and hence the
locations are not very suitable for shopping.

SONATA STORE
If youre looking for Sonata watch, visit these exclusive Sonata outlets which also have an
Authorised Service Centre for Sonata & Titan brands. The idea of a Sonata store came upto cater
to the large scale demand for the watch and to open Titan to more customers. More over these
shops had full stocks of the watch in demand whereas the others could afford to maintain only
limited stock.

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74

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
o Overlapping of sub brands
o Competitors entering mid price market range (RS 1500-3500)
o Stiff competition in premium segment market by international players.
o Premium segment market are the only revenue generating market.
o Failure of launch in European market.
o How to create global brand identity like TOMMY,ESPIRIT etc

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o Mid price market price range (up to RS3500) and sec C & D brands can go with umbrella
branding strategy.
o Brands like Fastrack can diversify further in other accessories like MP3 players, digital
cameras.
o Repositioning Xylis and Nebula with powerful emotional attribute.
o Creating a joint ventures with the high end international brands.a) when an international
brand entering Indian marketb) when Titan is entering foreign market
o Entering new international geography by acquiring Me too players and positioning as
durable product.
o Endorsing the product through international events like FIFA, World Cup, Olympics, etc.
o Establishing a chain of after sale services in international market.

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Titan sub-brand owned

This was a multiple choice question where respondents were asked to choose sub-brands of Titan
which they possess. It was found that around 72% of the consumers in the age group of 20-30
years possess Fastrack brand, 14% Sonata, 6% Raga, 4% Nebula and only 2% own WWF and
Edge.

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Period of use
The respondents were asked to mention since how long they have been brand loyal to
Titan. This was an open ended question and hence various responses were received. The
minimum period of use was set as one year, as mentioned earlier, while the maximum
period of use was determined.
For convenience, the different responses are categorized into three: 1year 4years, 4years
7years and 7years 10years.
64% of the respondents fall into first category, i.e., they are using Titan watch in the range of one
to four years. 24% respondents are in second category and the rest 12 % are using it for more
than seven years.

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Reasons for brand loyalty

The respondents were asked to select the reasons from the options given for their preference for
Titan watches. For this question, multi-responses were received from the respondents.
Reasons
Attractive designs
Reasonable Price
Brand image
Good quality

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No. of respondents ( out of total 50)

39
7
22
25

Recall of Titans tagline

Titans tagline, before brand repositioning exercise has been undertaken, was Whats your
style. This tagline was adopted during first rebranding exercise in 2004.
The respondents were asked to indicate whether they remember the tagline in dichotomous way,
i.e., as yes or no. It was found that only 22% of the respondents were able to recall
the tagline and the remaining 78% answered in negative.

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Titans advertisements
Titan advertises its watches in almost all media vehicles. The advertisements can be seen in TV,
magazines, newspaper, hoardings, billboards, radio and so on.
All the 50 respondents have seen the advertisements of Titan watches in various media.
This was a multi-response question and the options given to select were restricted to TV,
magazines, newspapers, hoardings and radio. The findings of the survey have been summarized
in a table as follows:
Types of media
TV
Magazines
Newspapers
Hoardings
Radio

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No. of respondents
46
25
36
15
4

Brand Ambassador of Titan

Aamir Khan is the brand ambassador of Titan since 2004. When the respondents were
asked to recollect the same, it was found that 46 of 50 sample size were able to correctly
mention the brand ambassador while the remaining 4 did not give any response implying that
they are not aware of it.

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Awareness of new tagline Be More

The survey has revealed that less than half of the total numbers of respondents (36%) are
aware of new tagline.

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New designs of Titan

Titan has launched several new designs in 2008 and 2009 in its existing collections and as per
its plans introduced new product collections also.
The respondents were asked to rate the new designs as poor, average, above
average, good and excellent.7 respondents feel that their designs are excellent, 39 have
rated them as good and 4 have rated as average.

New Campaign of Titan

The survey has revealed that the percentage of respondents who have seen the new campaign
focussing on be more featuring Aamir Khan is 50%.

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Rating of New Campaign

The 50% of the respondents who have seen the new campaign were asked to rate it with respect
to how effective the campaign is in inspiring consumers to have a new look everyday and be
more in lives.
16 out of 25 respondents consider the new campaign to be highly effective while the remaining
9 rated it as effective

Titans exclusive showrooms

The respondents were asked to rate Titans exclusive showrooms on 5 point rating scale Poor,
Average, Above Average, Good and Excellent. The factors related to showrooms that were
provided to the respondents for rating are store ambience, sales personnel, after sales service
and display of watches.

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Consumer perception of store ambience

36 of the 50 respondents have rated store ambience as Good and 7 each rated as Above
Average and Excellent. This proves that store ambience plays an important role in consumer
perception of service quality.

Consumer perception of sales personnel

With respect to sales personnel, 35 respondents rated them as Good, while 4 each rated as
Poor and Average, 7 respondents gave rating of Above Average.

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Consumer Perception about after sales service

In the survey, 31 out of 50 respondents rated after sales service as Good, 4 each as Average,
Above Average and Excellent while 7 respondents rated as Poor.

Consumer perception of Display of watches

Most of the respondents have given high ratings to the display of watches in Titan showroom. 22
respondents rated it as Excellent, 24 respondents as Good and only 4 respondents gave
rating of Average.

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Overall perception about Titan showrooms

The respondents were also asked to give overall rating to Titans exclusive showrooms. It
was found that out of total 50 respondents, 30 rated as good while the remaining considered
the showrooms to be excellent.Around 50% of the respondents rated all the variables
related to Titans exclusive showrooms as good.

Suggestions given by the respondents to improve brand image

Varied responses were received for this question. All the responses have been summarized
as follows:
o Introduce more trendy and innovative designs
o Focus on niche markets such as working men and women
o Spread awareness about availability of watches in lower segments as most of the
consumers feel that Titan brand is synonymous with premium watches.
o Take steps to change consumer perception that Titan watches are high priced.
o Improve after sales service.

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Findings of the survey

The findings of the consumer awareness survey are listed below:
o 72% of the respondents in the age group of 20 30 years possess Fastrack watch. This
shows that the positioning strategy of these watches has been good.
o Most of the consumers prefer Titan watches for their attractive designs and good
quality. However, there is a misconception about pricing of Titan products among
the consumers. They perceive them to be high priced.
o Logos and taglines are rarely noticed by the watch consumers. Hence, any change
in them also goes unnoticed.
o Advertisement in mass media such as television, newspapers, and magazines are best
means to spread awareness about brand.
o Celebrity endorsement of watches not only increases the visibility of the product
but also gives an assurance to the consumers that it is of high quality.
o Titan watches designs are rated as good by 78% of the respondents. This indicates that
they are looking forward for more innovative designs to be introduced by the
company.
o Only 50% of the respondents have seen the new campaign launched by Titan watches in
2008 and 2009. This implies that the reach of the campaign in six months has been
to more or less half of the consumers. However, those who have seen the new
campaign consider it to be effective in conveying the message it intended to deliver,
i.e., to be more in lives.
o The after sales service and behavior of sales personnel have been given low ratings
compared to other variables mentioned in the questionnaire with respect to Titans
exclusive showrooms.

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The suggestions to improve consumer awareness about brand repositioning strategy of Titan are
as follows:
o To increase its visibility, Titan Company can sponsor events similar to fashion shows in
which all latest designs launched are displayed. This would have multiplier effect as
the latest designs launched by the company get noticed by different segments of the
customers in varied ways.
o Tie up with FM radio channels for reminder advertisements and informing
customers about various sales promotion offers from time-to-time.
o Invest more in R&D as customer expectations are changing rapidly. Though Titan has
got more product collections, it should focus on introducing more varieties in
already existing product collections. In other words, having a limited but more depth
in product collections would be more advantageous.
o Introduce exclusive collection for working women which is more contemporary and
complements both traditional and western wear.
o Majority of the population in India live in rural areas. So, showrooms should be set up at
places nearer to them. Introduce cheaper and rough use watches for this segment.
o After sales service has to be improved. That is, the process of servicing and repairing of
watches should be made faster. This can be done by ensuring the spare parts availability
and training all sales personnel in Titan showrooms to undertake these tasks.
o Tie up with international watch brands and make them available locally.
o Make use of internet to spread awareness among consumers about the brand.

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1.Which sub-brand of Titan watches do you possess?

A. Fastrack
B. Sonata
C. Raga
D. Nebula
E. Edge
F. Others, please specify.

2.Since how many months / years have you been using Titan watch?
---------------------------3.Why do you prefer Titan brand?
A) Attractive designs,
B )Reasonable price
C )Brand image
D) Good quality

4.Do you remember the original tagline of Titan watches?

If yes, please mention.

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5. Have you seen the advertisement of Titan watches?

a) Yes
b) No
6.In which media have you seen the advertisement?
a) TV
b) Newspaper
c) Magazines
d) Hoardings
e) Radio
7.Who is the brand ambassador of Titan watches?
____________

8. Are you aware of the new tagline of Titan?

a) Yes
b) No

9.How do you rate the new designs of Titan?

a) Poor
b) Average
c) Above Average
d) Good
e) Excellent

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10.Have you seen the new campaign of Titan?

a) Yes
b) No
11.Do you think the new advertisement is effective in inspiring consumers to have a new look
everyday and be more in lives?
a) Not at all effective
b) Effective
c) Highly effective
12.How do you rate Titans exclusive showrooms with respect to the following:(1Poor, 2Average, 3-Above Average, 4-Good, 5-Excellent)
a)Ambienceb)Sales personnelc)After sales serviced)Display of watchese)Overall showroom13. What suggestions would you like to give to improve Titans brand image among customers?

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Bibliography
References

o Sengupta Subroto (2006), Brand Positioning: Strategies for Competitive Advantage.

Second Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi.
o Gopalakrishnan PS (ed.) (2007),Rebranding: An Introduction. ICFAI University Press,
Hyderabad.
o ICFAI Journal of Marketing Management
o ICFAI Journal of Brand Management
o www.marketingprofs.com
o www.brandingstrategyinsider.com
o www.thehindubusinessline.com
o www.economictimes.com
o http://www.flickr.com/photos/20714224@N02/
o http://www.fastrack.in/offer/fastrack-offer.aspx
o www.googlesearch.co.in
o www.titanindustries.com
o www.financialexpress.com
o www.tatagroup.com
o www.economictimes.com
o www.naukrihub.com

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