THE TIME KEEPER
TITAN | ESTABLISHED IN 1984
ON THE HOUR
Titan Company Limited, a joint venture between the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and the Tata Group, commenced operations in 1984 under the name Titan Watches Limited. Titan is the world’s fifth largest integrated own brand manufacturer of watches. A major brand player, Titan stakes claim to over 50 per cent of the organised watch market in India, with over 150 million pieces sold to date across 32 countries.
PRECISION ENGINEERING
Titan commenced production at the end of 1986, and its watches hit the market in March 1987. The analog electronic quartz range of its products met with instant acclaim, bringing much joy to a watchstarved consumer market. Having received such an overwhelming response, the company then decided to grow its list of manufactured products, expanding its activities to include bracelets, cases, electronic circuitry and step motors.
Headquartered in Bengaluru, the company has manufacturing and assembly operations at multiple locations across the country, including Hosur, Dehradun, Roorkee, Pantnagar and Chikkaballapur. It also has an electronic components manufacturing plant in Goa. Since its inception, Titan has continually leveraged its manufacturing skills and technical competencies, even branching out into the precision engineering sector. The company currently employs over 7,000 people across its divisions, has two exclusive design studios for its watch and jewellery lines and boasts 12 manufacturing units, not to mention millions of customers across the world. With over 1,200 exclusive retail stores, Titan is also the largest jewellery retailer in India with over 160 Tanishq boutique locations, two Zoya stores and over 30 Gold Plus stores.
EYE ON THE FUTURE
Titan began its business activities with the aim of thoroughly shaking up the Indian watch market. This was done by leveraging its futuristic quartz technology to produce cutting edge timepieces, complemented by international styling. It has also proved successful in related fields such as jewellery— note the success of ‘Tanishq’, its fast growing jewellery brand. More recently, the company has also chosen to make a foray into the eyewear category via its Titan Eyeplus stores, which number 300 at present. Other consumer product segments that Titan has engaged with include the ‘smart wearables’ segment (smartwatches, heartbeat sensors and the like) and the perfume segment with SKINN. Titan has also increased its portfolio with Taneira, the latest range of luxury sarees.