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Introduction

Changing dynamics in wrist watch marketing in India


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Wrist Watches form an integral part of the personality of individuals in the
present era. Earlier seen as a luxury item, they are now witnessing a fundamental
change in perception, and are now gaining respect as an essential utility item. For
the watch industry, time seems in its favour what with the liberalization of the
Indian market coupled with the rising purchasing power of the young and
consumerist Indians.

Indian watches market was for long dominated by public sector organisations
like Hindustan Machine Tools Ltd. (HMT) and Allwyn (also famous for its
refrigerators once upon a time!), and has now left the pioneers far behind or
nowhere in market by private sector enterprises like Titan, Sonata, Ajanta and
Timex along with foreign entities jostling for display space in the smallest of shops
selling these products.

Before the establishment of HMT as the dominant player in the Indian


markets initially, the country was solely dependent on imports to meet the internal
demand. However, establishment of HMT as the leading player in the wrist watch
segment in the 1960’s, changed the scenario. In post liberalization India, the market
stood to witness intensive competition between foreign and Indian manufacturers
like Timex, Titan, Movado, Longines, Rado, Rolex, Fréderique Constant, Mont
Blanc, Swatch, and many others. Many watch makers have made significant
inroads in the industry and others are in the process of establishing themselves,
currently.Besides this, buyers are extremely choosy about the brand and type of

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wrist watches they wear. Being extremely brand conscious, their tastes have evolved
over the years and have gone beyond the realms of durability to choose in terms of
aesthetics and elegance. Thus it is a buyers market with multitude of designs that
have entered and flooded the market place.

The size of the watch market currently is estimated to be around 40 to 45


million pieces annually. The organized sector alone contributes up to 30 percent of
this figure, and the rest of the demand is being met by the unorganised grey sector.
This data is significant indeed in view of the socio economic distribution of the
Indian populace. More than 58 percent of the population is under twenty five and
more than 80 percent of the population is below 45 years of age.

In dollar terms, the estimated annual market size is around USD 195 million,
despite the fact that the penetration of watches is the lowest, compared globally.
Looking into this fact and the long standing Indian tradition of comparing watches
with jewellery and other traditional items, many watch companies are interested in
setting up base in India. The average growth in the size of the market is slated to be
around 10 -15 percent per year.

A casual study of the watch market reveals that it is segmented on basis of


multiple proportions such as price, benefits and types of watches. The price of the
watches is a major motive in the minds of the customer. Accordingly, three
segments can be identified here, namely low priced, medium priced, and high priced
watches.

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The lower priced segment consists of watches priced less than INR 500; the
medium price range consists of watches in the INR 500-1500 range and the high
priced watches come in the INR 1500 upwards range. There are other higher
categories as well such as the premium and luxury range, but they appeal to only a
small category of the watch market in India.

According to a recent study, more than 90 percent of the watches were from
the lower price ranges with international costs being less than 20 euros. Moreover,
around 20 to 25 watches are being sold for every 1000 citizens. Thus there is
enormous potential for growth of the industry in this untapped segment. Some
customers look out for features like fashion appeal, technology, sophistication and
status. Others go for durability, economy and precision.

Many customers prefer mechanical and automatic watches, while others


prefer quartz watches. Newer segments are also on rise such as ladies watches,
children’s watches and gent’s watches. Customers usually base their preferences and
buying decisions on a variety of factors like price, durability, utility, aesthetic appeal

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and brand name. A combination of all these points ultimately forms the customer’s
buying decision that translates into the purchase of a watch.

The retail sector has just begun to boom in India. Since the early 1990’s,
Indian customers are relying more on departmental stores and shopping malls to
purchase their wants and needs. This has come as a boon for watch manufacturers
and dealers, who are now looking forward to utilise these new outlets to reach out to
the Indian masses. Watch manufacturers are looking at a suitable mix to market their
products ranging from exclusive retail outlets to display sections in malls and large
departmental stores.

In the end, though India is still considered to be a difficult market to penetrate,


due to reasons like price sensitiveness and its largely unorganised sector. However,
with the right planning and the right partners and experienced collaborators, it is
expected that both international and domestic watch manufacturers will do well in
the Indian markets.

Luxury watches aim for a higher plane of brand consciousness, even as retail trends
display new dynamics.

Spending anything close to a lakh on a wristwatch was unthinkable just some years
ago. After all, a Titan watch made quite an impressive personality statement for no more than
Rs 5,000.

But then, along came the Swiss brands at the turn of the Millennium, and with them a
new sensibility of timewear that’s reaching higher still.

Omega, Tag Heuer, Rado and many others are here in India, selling at prices
anywhere from Rs 25,000 to a few lakh, and establishing relationships with customers that
are intimate beyond easy description or analysis.

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History of wristwatch

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 wrist watch has slowly become less of an object of function and more a piece of
modern culture. Walk into the boardroom of any Fortune 500 company and you’re likely to
see dozens of prestigious wristwatches, including such names as Rolex, Vacheron
Constantine, Frank Muller, Jaeger-LeCoultre and even Patek Philippe.

However, this was not always the case. Less than 100 years ago, no self-respecting
gentleman would be caught dead wearing a wristwatch. In those days, real men carried
pocket watches, with a gold half-hunter being the preferred status symbol of the time—no
pun intended. Wristlets, as they were called, were reserved for women, and considered more
of a passing fad than a serious timepiece. In fact, they were held in such disdain that many a
gentlemen were actually quoted to say they “would sooner wear a skirt as wear a
wristwatch”.

The established watch making community looked down on them as well. Because of
their size, few believed wristlets could not be made to achieve any level of accuracy, nor
could they withstand the basic rigors of human activity. Therefore, very few companies
produced them in quantity, with the vast majority of those being small ladies’ models, with
delicate fixed wire or chain-link bracelets.

This all started to change in the nineteenth century, when soldiers discovered their
usefulness during wartime situations. Pocket watches were clumsy to carry and thus difficult

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to operate while in combat.Therefore, soldiers fitted them into primitive “cupped” leather
straps so they could be worn on the wrist, thereby freeing up their hands during battle. It is
believed that Girard-Perregaux equipped the German Imperial Naval with similar pieces as
early as the 1880s,which they ore on their wrists while synchronizing naval attacks, and
firing artillery.

In 1906, the evolution of wristlets took an even bigger step with the invention of the
expandable flexible bracelet, as well as the introduction of wire loops (or lugs) soldered onto
small, open-faced pocket watch cases, allowing leather straps to be more easily attached.
This aided their adaptation for military use and thus marked a turning point in the
development of wristwatches for men. Another timely issue was the vulnerability of the glass
crystal when worn during combat. This was addressed by utilizing “pierced metal covers”,
frequently called shrapnel guards. These were basically metal grills (often made of silver),
placed over the dial of the watch—thereby protecting the glass from damage while still
allowing the time to be easily read. A less common solution was the use of leather covers,
snapped into place over the watch. While they did offer protection from damage, they were
cumbersome to use, and thus were primarily seen in the extreme climates of Australia and
Africa Over the next decade, watch companies slowly added additional models to their
catalogs, and finally, by the mid-1930s, they accounted for 65 percent of all watches
exported by Switzerland. It was an uphill battle, but the wristwatch had finally arrived. They
were now accurate, waterproof and, by 1931, perpetually self-winding, when Rolex
introduced the Auto Rotor, a revolutionary design, which is used to this day by watch
companies around the world.

The success of the wristwatch was born out of necessity, and Rolex continued this
tradition by introducing a series of Professional, or “tool watches” in the early 1950s. These
models, including the Submariner, Explorer, GMT-Master, Turn-O-Graph, and Milgauss
were also designed out of necessity, as they included features and attributes that were
essential for a specific task or profession. Because of its rugged design, variations of the
Submariner have subsequently been issued to numerous militaries, including the British

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Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and British Royal Marines, as well as the U.S. Navy
Seals. Over the years, dozens of companies like Omega, Benrus and Panerai have also
supplied specialty watch models for military duty.With the general public now leaning
toward high-tech, digital gadgets,the classic mechanical wristwatch was came to the market.

TITAN

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About the TITAN

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Introduction

Titan Industries is the world's fifth largest and India's leading manufacturer of
watches. The company has manufactured more than a 100 million watches till date; and has a
customer base of over 80 million. The umbrella brand Titan is one of India's leading watch
brands that brought about a paradigm shift in the Indian watch market, offering quartz
technology with international styling.

The brand Titan is committed to offering its consumers watches that represent the
compass of their imagination. Titan's customers are therefore consistently introduced to
exciting new collections, which connect, with various facets of their deep−rooted yearnings
for self-expression. The new brand philosophy of Titan, encapsulated in the words "Be
More", touches this as well as all other aspects of the brand.

The Titan brand architecture comprises several collection and sub−brands, each of
which is a leader in its segment. Notable among them are: Titan Edge The world's slimmest
watch which stands for the philosophy of "less is more"; Titan Raga the feminine and
sensuous accessory for today's woman, Nebula − crafted in solid 18k gold and precious
stones. Several other popular collections like Heritage, Aviator, Regalia, Octane & WWF
also form a part of the Titan wardrobe.

Today, the Titan portfolio has over 60% of the domestic market share in the
organised watch market. The company has 247 exclusive showrooms christened World of
Titan', making it amongst the largest chains in its category backed by 700 after−sales−service
centers. The company has a world−class design studio that constantly invents new trends in

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wrist watches.

The Titan Story

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Early 2001, when Indian consumers rated Titan ahead of all other brands as the
Most Admired Brand in India across all product categories (the first ever such survey done
by Brand Equity), it did not surprise people that a 13 year-old had managed to upstage many
older and more well-known brands: it was expected of Titan to achieve such things, it was so
natural.

It was also a fitting tribute to a brand, which had not only revolutionized the Indian
watch industry, but also brought in world-class benchmarks in product design, quality and
retailing into India.

Back in the early eighties, the Tata Group had identified the watch category as a
potential consumer market for the Tatas to enter. Xerxes Desai, a Tata veteran and the then
MD of Tata Press, was chosen to lead that venture.

In those days of pre-liberalisation the watch market, like most consumer markets in
India, was way behind the rest of the world. The technology in vogue was the reliable, but
outdated "Mechanical" technology, which used the unwinding of a mechanical spring to tell
time. Not only was the accuracy of time-keeping not good enough, but the bulky mechanical
movement did not permit the creation of sleek products. The industry was dominated by the
public sector which had brought in watch manufacturing into India, enjoyed tremendous
goodwill in the market, but had not really invested in evolving itself and its consumers:
styling still remained basic, choice was limited.

The watch shops were narrow, dingy and typically located in the older, traditional

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markets of the city. You went there only to buy a watch, never to browse, never to simply
check out. Visual merchandising was very much at the stage of "decoration" if any, and
neither the brands nor the retailers saw it as important. The companies themselves did not
have much contact with retailers, preferring to sell through wholesalers, doing well that way.
There was hardly any need for consumer contact or research. It was a sellers' market.

All this affected the consumers. Watches remained a time-keeping device, so one
watch was enough, thank you. Since the quality of the watch was quite good, it lasted quite a
while, and the consumers did not change it for 10, 15, 20 years. And when they did change it,
they did not pay a high price for the new piece because, what the hell, they were buying
another time-keeping device.

Xerxes Desai's vision was to dramatically alter this perception of consumers, and
make Titan a fashion accessory. He knew that that was the only way that this new brand
would explode the market and wrest control from the dominant HMT. So he and his team
went about breaking all the rules in the category:

Mechanical technology was the norm - Quartz had not really taken off in India. Titan
would go against that and build its line based on quartz. Accuracy would become a selling-
plank.

Styling was basic - This was a constraint imposed by the technology as well the outlook of
the manufacturers. Titan decided to make style a table-stake.

Choice was limited - You had 200 models to pick from, that was it. Titan decided to
inundate consumers with a wide choice in style, functions and price. The initial range was
350 models.

Shops were dark, dingy and uninteresting - There was no importance given to
presentation, and therefore no attempt made at it. Titan brought in the concept of retailing
into the watch market, established a network of fine showrooms which would later become

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the world's largest network of exclusive watch stores. These stores not only helped Titan to
gain leadership substantially, but also irrevocably altered the retail landscape of the watch
market through a demonstration effect on the traditional dealers.

Advertising was expenditure - Titan saw this as a vital investment. Right from Day 1, Titan
invested significantly in advertising and in that process created a set of memorable and
effective properties over the years.

So Titan, backed by world-class quality created at a world-class plant located just


off Bangalore, backed by the Tata name, was launched into the Indian market on the back of
these new rules. It created waves right in the early days, mesmerized consumers, demolished
competition and rode into the sunset with panache.

Today, in early 21st century India, it is taken for granted that a watch is a fashion
accessory. Titan dominates the market, with a 60% share of the organized sector market (the
total market, including the unorganized sector, is estimated at around 42 million units).
Titan's quality record is impressive, its sales and service network is wide and deep, and its
network of exclusive showrooms, The World of Titan, is one of the most prestigious and
visible retail brands in the country, offering world-class levels of shopping comfort and
customer service.

What is truly amazing about Titan is the sheer scale of its offering and the
consequent choice it offers to multiple segments across taste, age and economic background.
Titan saw this approach as the foundation of its leadership strategy in the early days. Even
the early range had distinct offerings for different requirements: formal watches (gold plated
cases with fine leather straps) for the executive, dress watch (gold plated cases with
ornamental gold plated bracelets) for those with a preference for jewellery, rugged watches
(all steel watches with a skew to functionality) for those whose usage demanded certain
durability.

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Titan has built on this principle over the last 15 years, almost year after year:

In 1989, it was Aqura, the trendy range for the youth, colourful, smart and
affordable plastic watches for the youth: The other side of Titan for the other side of you.

In 1992, it was Raga, the ethnic range, with striking symbolism from ethnic India,
for the sophisticated India woman who appreciated such things.

In 1993, it was Insignia, very distinctive and international-looking top-end watches,


for those seeking exclusivity and status.

In 1994, it was psi 2000, rugged, sporty and very masculine watches with serious
sports features (200-m mater resistance, high precision chronographs) for those with the
penchant for adventure.

In 1996, it was Dash, the cute and colourful range for kids.

In 1997, it was Sonata, the affordable, good quality range for the budget-conscious.

In 1998, it was Fastrack, the cool, trendy, funky range for the young and young-at-
heart.

In 1999, it was Nebula, the sold gold and diamond-studded range of luxury
watches for those affluent people to whom gold is a precious acquisition.

In 2001, it was Steel, the smart and contemporary collection for the young 21st
century executive.

And in 2008, the brand has collections like the Octane, Diva, WWF and Zoop -
each of them unique and fascinating.

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The underpinning of this entire market development and segmentation is
Innovation. Titan has kept innovation core to its strategy, realising fully that the only way to
sustain the fashion accessory perception is by continuously coming out with collections that
make the current ones somewhat dated, thereby creating a certain discomfort in the
consumers' mind, which leads to another purchase. This impact has shown up in every one of
the collections spoken of earlier. They were fresh and distinctive, unlike what consumers had
seen before, and thus created curiosity, walk-ins and sales.

A stellar example of Titan's Innovation is Edge, the slimmest watch in the universe.
Titan's R & D talent created a wafer-thin quartz movement, a mere 1.15mm thin, over 4 years
of development work. The immensely talented Design team collaborated with the
Manufacturing group to create Edge, a 3.5-mm watch, a gem of elegance, with water-
resistance to boot! Edge was launched in India early 2002 to tremendous market acclaim and
sales success. It is a design and technological marvel, which justly received the Best Design
Award in the Lifestyle Product Category in the first annual design contest organised by
Business World and NID.

Titan also chose to invest heavily into showcasing all this innovation to the
consumer through advertising. From Day 1, the 'catalogue" advertising of Titan became its
trademark as it was used regularly and effectively to merchandise new models. The catalogue
ads also helped customers to shop off the page and almost decide which model they wanted
to pick. Retailers also became used to seeing customers walking into shops with newspaper
"cuttings", asking for the models shown there. This approach continues to this day, with
mostly the same effect.

In the early nineties, Titan chose to develop the "Gifting" market. Watches had
always been favourite things to gift, and Titan had benefited from that. Titan was convinced
that there lay a greater potential in that segment. A set of 3 films were developed in 1991
around 3 relationships, where the gifting of a Titan culminated in a moving personal moment
and a strengthening of the bond between the protagonists. These films became a big hit and

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created a genre of advertising films which lasted a good 8 years. During those years, a series
of films involving a variety of characters (father, daughter, teacher, boyfriend, ex-boyfriend,
thief!) and with local flavour (for Onam in Kerala, Puja in Bengal) were created and released.
These not only helped build a good-sized gift segment for Titan, but also became Titan's
Theme Campaign, building strong emotional values for the brand. One of the films in the
series, where a man and his younger daughter conspire to give his older daughter a Titan as a
surprise gift at her wedding, released around 1994, went on to become the most popular Titan
film ever, even voted by the viewers of Zee Television as the second most liked TV
commercial on the channel.

The most enduring part of the Titan advertising has been the music track. Chosen
by Xerxes Desai and the creative head of O & M in 1987 for its class and western vibes, the
segment from Mozart's 25th Symphony has arguably become Indian Advertising's most
memorable track (incidentally, and perhaps not coincidentally, this was the most liked
advertising track in the same Zee TV survey). Starting in 1987 in its pure classical versions,
with a single violin playing the melody, this piece has been rendered in countless innovative
versions over the years: Indian Classical, Indian Folk, Operatic, Rock, Funk,.And has
become such a powerful audio mnemonic for the brand.

Another successful customer-facing aspect about Titan has been its stores.
Organised retailing did not exist in the late eighties. The concept of exclusive brand stores
was almost non-existent. In a pioneering effort that dramatically altered industry standards,
the World of Titan was born. Located in the newer parts of a city, with a good frontage and
layout, the showroom immediately stood out on the street and attracted walk-ins. Once
inside, you were totally impressed with the presentation. You walked along the wall, where
recessed "mood windows" showcased specific collections in the appropriate context with the
help of visuals, decorative props and word (the place looked almost like an art gallery). You
could get a better idea about that collection through such a contextual presentation and could
make up your mind which collection was right for your requirement. Then you would walk
along to the selling area, where the entire range was displayed in style. Smart and helpful

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salespeople waited on you there and helped you choose the best piece by giving you
information and suggestions. You walked away overwhelmed.

This experience now has over 255 branches and has penetrated the width and
breadth of India. Helping the brand increase sales, increase price premium, sell the more
expensive watches, improve image, keep competition at bay and keep the brand name salient
on the high streets of the country. Refurbished with a contemporary look in 2001, this chain
has become even more integral to the brand's destiny today.

Doing all this in style has earned Titan enormous goodwill and respect. Titan was
voted the Most Admired Brand (across categories) in India by consumers, in the first such
study by Brand Equity done in 2001. Titan was voted the Most Admired Consumer Durables
Marketer by industry professionals, 8 out of 9 times (the ninth time it was No 2), in A & M's
annual survey done between 1992 and 1999. Titan was voted the Most Respected Consumer
Durables Company in a Business World Survey in 2003. Consumers and professionals alike
have resonated equally to Titan's successful efforts in bringing international standards to
India. And in 2008, it emerges as the 24th Most Admired Brand in the ET Most Admired
Brands survey done annually, it was also the most admired Consumer Durable brand.

Titan has also done the seemingly impossible reverse thing: taking Indian quality to
international markets. Since starting export operations in a small scale to the Middle East in
the early nineties to exploit the resident NRI population, Titan has come a long way. Moving
into the European market in the mid-nineties and Asia Pacific in the late nineties, Titan today
sells in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Singapore, Dubai, Malaysia, Oman, Philippines and
many more countries. The customers are no longer only NRIs. They are the Thais, the
Greeks, the Arabs, the Filipinos - through a combination of Contemporary Style, Great
Quality and Great Prices, Titan has put together an irresistible proposition for the people of
these countries. With over 100 million satisfied consumers and a track record of breaking the
rules, Team Titan faces the 21st Century with a mix of passion, excitement and energy.

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PROFIL

Of

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TITAN

Profile of TITAN

Titan manufactures two main brands viz. Titan for the premium segment and Sonata
for the below-$25 category. The Titan brand architecture comprises several brands, each of
which is a leader in its segment. Notable among them are:

• Titan Edge - the world’s slimmest watch

• Flip - India’s first and only reversible watch with two movements and dial faces

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• Fastrack -In the sporty casual category.

• Raga - Raga 9 to 5 – for the woman achiever.

• Xylys - It is targeted at new generation achievers

• Dash- Children's watch targeting the age groups of 6-14

Brands Of TITAN

Titan Raga

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Titan Raga, a brand, which deals exclusively in women’s watches, has Chosen Rani
Mukherjee as their brand ambassador. She promotes the Exquisite collection of women’s
watches in TV, print and outdoor ads.

The brand intends to launch 50 new designs, which will be priced at an average of Rs
1500-5000. Titan Raga wants to promote a range of watches that will be affordable to middle
class women. The brand wishes to promote Indianess, sensuality, beauty and feminity and
Rani Mukherjee embodies all these qualities

Titan is a major holder in the watch market and their Raga brand contributes to their
sales in a big way, hence they intend to go all out in their promotion for the Raga brand.
They have come up with a new strategy for Raga, which includes a new brand ambassador
a new campaign and a huge number of new products

Fast track

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Fast Track is a different kettle of fish. This range is broadly aimed at young
Indians looking for watches that are fashionable and stylish. Vying for attention between the
usual array of dignified, restrained steel and gold watches is an eye-catching display of
trendy, young time pieces. The riot of colors’ belongs to Titan's youth brand, Fast track, and
it's been carefully crafted to draw all eyes to it.

Titan released television commercials for Fast track, the first in 18 months, and
planned extensive activities at college functions and other youth-centric activities. The ageing
of the target customer was important The brand extension was a carefully thought-out
exercise, based on in-house research by Titan. Cell phones, deodorants, sports shoes,
sunglasses and handbags were most popular accessories for youngsters. While successful in
its own right, the brand extension has also helped the cause of the mother brand, helping Fast
track gain more visibility and creating more distribution options

Xylys

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Xylys is Titan's latest watch collection. Titan aims to bring about a redefinition of sorts
in the premium watch segment with Xylys. It is targeted at new generation achievers
who go beyond the obvious, who know who they are and set their own standards and
live by their own values. It is a style statement for those who stand apart from the crowd.

Xylys has been created in collaboration with renowned Swiss designer Laurent
Rufenacht and Titan's own design advisor Michael Foley. It is manufactured in a state-of -the-
art factory in Switzerland, which is backed by a heritage of 80 years in the art of Swiss
watch making with all its intricate trappings of exquisite craftsmanship and impeccable
detailing.

Actor Rahul Bose, international supermodel Saira Mohan and tennis star Carlos Moya
are the three brand ambassadors of Xylys.

Sonata

Titan launched Sonata last year as independent of the Titan brand. Sonata was
launched not only as a challenge to Timex and HMT, but also to the grey market and the small
players who cater to the price-conscious consumer. Sonata's pricing ranges reasonably,
between Rs 350-to-1,150. Sonata watches are available in smart plastic, allweather leather,
hardy stainless steel and elegant gold plated-straps. All watches are water and shock-
resistant and carry a one year guarantee.

The company’s Sonata range is targeted at rural customers, and is part of a strategy
where the alignment of price and reliability are crucial. The range costs between Rs 495 and
Rs 1,200, has showrooms exclusively for it, and is sold mainly in small-town India.

Sonata was positioned as a brand for the unconventional achiever - for those who
want to make a unique impression. They believed Dhoni's endorsement of Sonata would go a

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long way towards establishing the new communication platform for the brand. They were
confident that this association will help them in further strengthening the connection between the
brand and their target consumers.

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BRA ND ACTIVITIES

• Understanding the Indian consumer’s psyche has been vital to Titan reaching its
current position of strength.

• The company today has a model for every price segment and every market,
urban and rural, regional and international

• It is the rural segment within this diverse market that Titan is now looking to tap. The
company’s key to success is getting into the rural market on a larger scale.

• 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 that’s 550-strong and spread over 30-odd
cities and towns across the country. The service centers have been deliberately
kept apart from Titan’s showrooms. The business is different and the customer is in
two different moods at the two places.

• Titan is also evaluating the potential to launch a brand priced at Rs 10,000 and above,
which offers the ``consumers a set of values distinct from Titan and competitive

in that space they know that they can’t fight global brands in image and stature. So
they are focused on fashion and style with international quality.

• The company has made efforts to ensure that it is present in all product segments,
and has thus shifted its growth strategy from equipment and manpower addition to

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increased production through fresh ideas and greater operating efficiency by
adopting the best practices followed globally.

• It has started company-owned customer care centers apart from authorized franchisee
service points across the country.

• It’s after sales service is itself a benchmarked operation with a network of over 616
service centers and has one of the world’s fastest turnaround times.

• The franchisee is a critical cog in Titan’s retail matrix. The company organizes various
programmes for franchisees, their managers and customer relationship officers. These
include training workshops and seminars on market trends, visual merchandising, store
operations and maintenance, and customer service initiatives.

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COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES

Ad agencies are modifying jingles to reflect the brand personality and the
mood of the communication.

The Titan signature tune from Mozart's Fifth Symphony quickly became
something of an `earworm': the tune stayed in people's heads, and everyone hummed
along when the tune appeared. Today, the Titan tune composed by A.R. Rahman is
among the most popular mobile ringtones. Given our inherent love for music, jingles have
been used by advertisers to sell everything from detergents to desktops. But ad agencies
have begun to have fun with jingles, while also making a serious effort to tie them to the
branding.

While any communication is a `multi-sensory stimulus' comprising audio and


visual elements, the audio part essentially enhances the visual element of the
communication. Therefore, its form changes with time, but it is even more of a constant, and
even more intrinsically linked to the brand than the visual element, and so there is a need to
keep it relevant. It shows that a switch to a different musical style makes an ad more
distinct, and changing the tempo or the pace of the music helps catch the attention of the
consumer.

The tune has been used in different ways: for example, in the commercials,
the music only begins to play at the moment the person - daughter, parent or wife - realizes
he or she has been gifted a Titan. The tune is so well-known, that when Titan celebrated the
milestone of 50 million watches in January this year, consumers could walk into Titan
watch showrooms or call in radio stations and hum the tune and win a watch.

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Visual Merchandising

Titan, which has retail outlets in 170 locations, has to keep engaging in clever visual
merchandising (VM) to ensure excitement and freshness of the product. Flashing back in
1987 watches as a category was need driven. Retail outlets were very small and extremely
poor presentation of point of purchase (POP) merchandise.

Today, although is a different scenario. Customers of today are driven by desire and
latest trends. Stores have become a lot more glamorous. In the current day and age, VM will
become increasingly significant with more and more international design trends entering the
Indian market.

`g ifting'Titan also changes its positioning and evolved from 'Titan' to 'The World of
Titan' which averred made a world of a difference. Another point in note for store
design specifically was that what was correct today might not be relevant tomorrow.
Also, showing less did not mean selling less. Clusters of product are a definite no-no. On
the display window, it is essential only to showcase a few and the rest to be displayed on the
counter.

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TITAN’S ADVERTISING TECHNIQUES:

Titan only made people wear sleek watches who were used to wearing watches that
looked like Tawas earlier. The customer suddenly discovered he could actually buy his
Titan watch in a relaxed and friendly ambience; one that he had been hitherto
unaccustomed to. The customer also discovered the power of advertising. So much so that
he would actually carry the ad with the model number and shape of the watch he desired,
to show the sales person at the showroom.

Titan had a dream run for several years. Its spirit of innovation guided its fortunes. It
pioneered the concept of gifting watches. People gifted watches and only watches to
parents, spouses, girlfriends, boyfriends and children. The brand was the market leader by far,
and dominated the category. People got used to the stylish faces and looks of the Titan
watch. Everybody seemed to possess at least one. People seemed to be traveling more
often than not and were exposed to cheaper, and in some cases, better-looking watches.

Titan launches off-season discount scheme With a view to riding out the impact of
the off-season due to the monsoon, watchmaker Titan Industries Ltd is launching a hefty
discount scheme for its watches during monsoon season. The scheme has been structured in
such a way that higher the value of watches purchased, greater would be the savings.
The scheme would be in operation across the country. Explaining the logic behind the
discount structure, the company has introduced a multi-tier discount scheme for the off-
season. The discount offer was not applicable on its premium brands - Xylys, the Swiss-made
watch offered by Titan and Nebula, the 18k gold watches that have a different gift scheme.

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PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Titan Raga, a brand, which deals exclusively in women’s watches, has Chosen
Amir Khan as their brand ambassador. He promotes the Exquisite collection of men’s
watches in TV, print and outdoor ads.

• Titan Raga wants to promote a range of watches that will be affordable to


middle class women. The brand wishes to promote Indianess, sensuality, beauty and
feminity and Rani Mukherjee embodies all these qualities

• Titan released television commercials for Fast track, the first in 18 months, and
planned extensive activities at college functions and other youth – centric activities

• Titan promotes fast track by keeping at low price i.e. 700.

• Titan believed Dhoni's endorsement of Sonata would go a long way towards


establishing the new communication platform for the brand. They were
confident that this association will help them in further strengthening the
connection between the brand and their target consumers.

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• Titan, besides the franchisees and its own showrooms, it also sells its Products
through other outlets. Among them are the Time Zone stores, which stock all
the leading brands, and the Value Mart outlets, which operate in Bangalore and
Chennai.

TITAN’S STRATEGIES

• In October 2004, Titan Industries Ltd. (TIL), a leading manufacturer and


marketer of watches, jewelry, eyewear, and other lifestyle products,
appointed Aamir Khan (Aamir) as the brand ambassador for its Titan range of
watches. The company decided to use Aamir in brand and product
communication on television and in the print and outdoor media.

• TIL hoped to promote the latest trends in the industry. The idea was to make
watches that would be seen as style and fashion accessories rather than just
utilitarian devices.

• Titan offered consumers quality products that blended classy designs with
superior technology; it became a byword for success stories.

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• Outstanding service, a wide variety of models, and effective marketing has
helped Titan consolidate its early gains, to the point where the company is a
force to be reckoned with beyond Indian shores.

• Understanding the Indian consumer's psyche has been vital to Titan reaching
its current position of strength.

• The company today has a model for every price segment and every market,
urban and rural, regional and international. Titan’s mother brands Nebula,
which comes draped in 18-carat gold; the exclusive Insignia; and Raga,
which has been designed exclusively for women. Titan’s focus has always
been on India.

• It is the rural segment within this diverse market that Titan is now looking to
tap. The company’s key to success is getting into the rural market on a
large scale.

• The company’s Sonata range is targeted at rural customers, and is part of a


strategy where the alignment of price and reliability are crucial. The range
costs between Rs 495 and Rs 1,200, has showrooms exclusively for it, and is
sold mainly in small-town India.

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• Dash, a range that Titan launched for children. Introduced in early 2000,
Dash is priced low, but it hasn’t sold too well. The company plans to change
that with enhanced advertising and a different marketing strategy.

• The company has made efforts to ensure that it is present in all product
segments, and has thus shifted its growth strategy from equipment and
manpower addition to increased production through fresh ideas and greater
operating efficiency by adopting the best practices followed globally.

• Titan had also planned extensive ad campaign during the year for the different
brands of watches. The ad spend, would go up from Rs. 70 crore last year to
Rs. 100 crore with watches going up from Rs. 50 crore to Rs. 70 crore.

Titan Industries joins MTV

Titan Industries joins MTV to launch trendy unisex watches, which Maps
out marketing strategy for sub-brands ENTICING YOUTH. Titan Industries in
association with MTV launched the "masala collection" — ten trendy unisex

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watches, all priced at Rs. 500 each.

Titan Industries is looking at a modest Rs. 50 crore this year from the sale of
its re-launched Fastrack collection. This would take Fastrack’s share from five per
cent to nine per cent in the overall revenues of Titan. The strategy was simple —
price positioning and different distribution network, away from the traditional
selling points. The points of sale would be youth hangouts such as malls and cafes
where the company planned to set up kiosks and promotional activities. The move was
clear-cut as "impulse" was the driving point for purchases made by the youth.

These watches have been conceptualized and designed by Titan Design studio
and endorsed and promoted by MTV. The brand also revealed a new logo,
which signifies the spirit of bonding among today's youth.

35
MARKETING

RESEARCH

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN

36
 The Research Design adopted in the study was descriptive in nature because
the study aims at describing the situation as it exists at present. It shows the
consumers satisfaction for fastrack watches.

SOURCES OF DATA

 The Study used both Primary and Secondary data.

PRIMARY DATA:

 The primary data was collected from the respondents using questionnaire.

SECONDARY DATA:

 The Secondary data was collected from the company’s official website.

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

 Data was collected from the customers with the help of general question
related to watches, mentioned further.

 Data are also collected from the internet.

DATA ANALYSIS METHOD

The Data was collected from the main study and was analyzed using Based on the
results conclusion were drawn and suggestions were made.

MARKETING RESEARCH

37
Research reveals some interesting facts and figures about this
heterogeneous market. The Indian market is estimated at 25 million watches a
year, with 50 per cent being sold by the organized sector. Titan is the runaway
market leader, with domestic sales of 6 million watches a year. There are 190
million watch-owning Indians; between them they own about 210 million watches.
Urban India accounts for 120 million of these watches and 90 million are on rural
wrists. More men than women own watches in India, and more working women
than housewives own watches.

38
COMPETITORS ACTIVITIES

The Timex Corporation is a privately owned company


headquartered in Middlebury, Connecticut, USA with affiliate offices located
throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. For over 150
years, Timex has been providing innovative, well-designed, affordable, and
reliable timepieces. With hundreds of styles among its Fashion, Sports, Outdoor
and Youth lines, Timex is the largest selling watch brand in America and has sold
more than one-billion watches worldwide. Brand Timex is well-known in India for its
sporty, techie and fashionable watches.

Titans average purchase value has had a comfortable lead over rival brands
such as Timex and HMT. The average value of a Titan watch sold is Rs 1,100,
while that of Timex and HMT is Rs 700 and Rs 550 respectively. Interestingly,
Timex claims that its average purchase value has climbed steadily to Rs 1,050
from Rs 650 two years ago. There will be some upward movement in the case of
Timex mainly because of its shift in focus to the segment priced above Rs 1,000.
Until last year, Timex in India was seen largely as a player in the mass market,
where watches are priced below Rs 1,000, and addressed to budget conscious
buyers.

Two years ago, about 90 per cent of Timex’s sales in India came from the
mass market. Now, we sell 62 per cent of our volumes below Rs 1,000, 35 per cent
between Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,500 and three per cent above Rs 3,500. We expect volumes
in the Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,500 bracket to be the mainstay of our business in the years
ahead.

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Timex claims to be present in 5,000 odd retail points, which include 27
exclusive showrooms. The brand is poised for an aggressive expansion by
foraying into non traditional outlets and expects to add another 300 retail points
through this route before the current year ends.

SURVEY RESULT

&

MARKET ANALYSIS

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1- How many people who use watch?

Ans:

According to the survey conducted by the searching watch shows


that in the sample of 100 people the 10% people who do not use
watch.

2- Do they know about searching watch?

Ans:

In the survey result the company came to know that about 60% do
not know about the searching watch.

3- Regular user of watch?

Ans:

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In the survey result , we find that the 90% people are regular user of
watch.

4- Which type color people want to use?

Ans:

The majority of the people want to use Golden color.

5- How many people who want that watch check


the body temperature?

Ans:

The 15% of population want to that type of watch which check the
body temperature.

6- People expecting price of searching watch?

Ans:

In the survey 70% people are expect that the price of searching
watch is Rs.1000 to 5000

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The graphical representation of usage ratio by consumers is as
under.

43
.

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Reasons to Choose a Brand Name Wrist Watch

There are many reasons why you should avoid the department store versions of the
wrist watch. Today we are going to cover 10 of them.

1. Quality: One of the most obvious differences between a departments store wrist
watch, and one purchased at an official dealer is quality. Cheaper wrist watches are
often assembled in pieces, where the movement, the band, and the other parts are all
bought from the cheapest bidder. This leads to a much lower quality wrist watch.
Some of them are so poor that they don't even keep time correctly.

2. Style: When it comes to brand name watches you will find styles that fit today.
We carry some stylish watches from some of the best designers and watch
manufacturers out there. To the department store wrist watch: well nothing says
stylish like cheap plastic!

3. Warranty: Brand name watches come with a manufacturer’s warranty.


Purchasing a quality wrist watch means you can get it fixed if something goes
wrong.

4. Service: When you purchase your new wrist watch from a brand name dealer
(such as Watch Shop UK), you can rest assured that we stand behind what we sell.
You'll have us there to help when you need it. With some of the more modern
watches, many people do have questions. Try getting an answer on how to set your
watch from if you bought yours from a store

5. Image: This is actually a big one. What does your wrist watch say about you?

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You've invested in a new suit for your job interview. Your pumped and ready to go!
What will your prospective boss think, though, when he sees that you couldn't match
it with a decent watch? To many people it would be like showing up in a suit with
your old running shoes on. It doesn't project much of an image at all. A quality wrist
watch does project a better image!

6. Experience: Many of the watches that we sell are manufactured by watch makers
who have been around for a while. This experience not only ensures that you get a
better quality watch, but also that you’re dealing with a company who is
experienced at making wrist watches. Some of the Swiss manufactured watches we
sell, are made by companies that have been building wrist watches since their
inception.

7. Materials: This one is another big reason to buy a brand name wrist watch.
Companies who take watches seriously use quality materials. Things like real quartz
movements, crystal face, and real leather bands may seem like little things, but they
affect the overall quality to a large degree.

8. Allergies: If you have an allergy to nickel or are prone to sweat rashes, you'll
want to avoid wearing cheap watches. Even when they advertise them as stainless
steel, they use such low quality materials that the nickel content is still high. Most of
the watches we sell are manufactured to be hypo-allergenic.

9. Name: This may not seem like a big one, but let's try it for a moment. Names like
Royal London, Rotary, Calvin Klein, and most of the other brands we carry –
mean something when someone asks you what type of watch you’re wearing.

10. Purpose: Here is another one that it important. What if you need a watch with a
purpose? Will the department store diving watch suffice? Hardly! With their poor
quality it's likely to break while you’re down 100 meters, and then you'll end up

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with bends because you couldn't monitor your depth. Save yourself the trouble and
buy a real watch

CONCLUSION

Titan Industries is India’s leading manufacturer of watches and the world’s


sixth largest manufacturer brand of watches. Titan has over 60 per cent of the
domestic market share in the organized watch market. Its exclusive retail
showroom chain - World of Titan - is amongst the largest in its category. Titan
watches are sold through over 9,000 outlets in over 2,300 cities and internationally
in over 30 countries. Titan’s 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 retained its ranking as the 'No 1 Brand' in the Brand Equity. Titan was
adjudged 'Most Admired Brands' as well as’ Retailer of the Year' by Images Fashion.

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Wrist watches industry will grow or not (suggestion)

Is it possible that wrist watch production and sales could actually be


growing? Conventional wisdom is that the always with you devices such as cell
phones and ipods have driven down demand for watches, particularly in the younger
generation who have grown up with cell phones. Data from 2003-2005 supports
this premise– here are some key stats from a Wall Street Journal article in 2005.

“In 2005, sales of watches that cost roughly $30 to $150 — those usually
bought by teens and young adults — declined by more than 10% from 2004, says
Deborah Rudinsky of the Doneger Group, a New York fashion-merchandising
consultant. (Watches in other price ranges — cheaper and more expensive — saw
single-digit growth.) Domestic wholesale sales of Fossil Inc.’s youth-oriented Fossil
brand watches fell 13% during the quarter ending Oct. 1, its fifth straight quarter of
year-to-year declines.

Exports of Swiss plastic watches such as Swatches were down 12% from
January to October compared with the year-earlier period, according to the
Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry in Bienne, Switzerland. Roughly 30% of
those exports go to the U.S. Genender International, which licenses watches for teen

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brands such as HotKiss and Unionbay, says its sales of watches for young men have
fallen by around 5% over the past several years due to competition from other
gadgets.”

Given that, this article in the Times of India from February 2009 at first
glance is shocking to me. The Times of India reports the following data points:

• The fastest growing industry in the Indian state of Karnataka (where


Bangalore is located) in 2008 was the wrist watch industry.
• The number of wrist watches produced rose from 6 million units between
April-December 2007, to 12.5 million units in the same period in 2008, a
109% growth rate, compared to only a 0.32% growth from 2006 to 2007.
• Only the cement industry’s growth came close during that period at 70%.
Cigarettes was third at 8%. Most other industries showed negative growth.
• Rise in watch production was a result of local consumption combined with
an increase in export orders.

Globally, I can’t believe that the trend in wrist watch sales has stopped
declining. My initial cursory search for more recent wrist watch sales data since
2005 has been fruitless. My sense is that the growth in India cited in this article is
a local phenomenon and that consolidation of production may have benefited that
region. However, it does seem plausible that fashion purchases have increased
and may have stemmed the rate of decline globally as watch companies have
changed their marketing and product strategies to emphasize the fashion value of
their products.

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