Titan commissions new plant in Coimbatore

Titan uses steel cases in watches in the premium range and these accounted for around 10-15% of its 15 million watches sold last fiscal

Titan Company Limited, the watch and jewellery manufacturing arm of the Tata Group, today commissioned its new stainless steel watch case plant on the outskirts of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. Set up at a cost of over Rs 75 crore, the new plant will manufacture around one million cases per annum and scale it up to two million cases annually.

In a filing to National Stock Exchange, the company said the plant has been set up with technical assistance from SEIKO EPSON Corp, Japan to manufacture high-end stainless steel cases that meet global standards of quality. The plant has employed 250 persons.

Titan, the sixth largest manufacturer of watches, already has a manufacturing unit in Hosur and three assembly units in north India. Currently, it manufactures around 6 million watch cases per annum. The brand Titan holds 60 per cent market share in the organised watch market in India.

The watches and accessories division of Titan markets some of the international brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Timberland, Police and FCUK under a licensing agreement. Helios, the multi-brand watch retailer business of Titan offers around 30-35 international brands in addition to in-house brands.

The watches business in Q1 this year recorded a healthy growth of 10.4 per cent. The income of watches business grew to Rs 439.95 crore from Rs 398.68 crore.

Titan's retail chain has 1,100 stores, as on June 30, 2014 and is expanding with growth plans in place for all its retail businesses -- watches, jewellery and eyewear.