Titan, Murjanis to sell Tommy Hilfiger watches

Titan Industries has entered into an exclusive marketing and distribution arrangement with the New York-based Murjani Group to sell the international fashion watch brand Tommy Hilfiger in the country.

The Murjanis, through GVM International, holds the licence of Tommy Hilfiger lifestyle products from Tommy Hilfiger Licensing Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation.

Bijou Kurien, chief operating officer of Titan Industries, said, " Tommy Hilfiger will not only complement our portfolio in the premium segment but also strengthen our position in the fast growing designer watch market in India."

Priced between Rs 3,500 and Rs 8,000, the Tommy Hilfiger watch collection will be available at Titan's retail outlets across India.

For Titan, this is its second tie-up with a foreign watch brand. Earlier, it had a joint venture with the US-based Timex Corporation, which was snapped a few years ago.

The RS 800 crore Titan Industries, a joint venture between the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation and the Tata group, has over 50 per cent share in the domestic watch market.

The Tommy Hilfiger brand has presence in apparels, accessories, footwear, fragrances and home furnishings.

The Murjani group has sub-licensed the Tommy Hilfiger apparel range to Sanjay Lalbhai-controlled Arvind Brands.

And for Tommy Hilfiger inner wear range, it is set to enter into a tie-up with Eastman Clothing Company, part of the Rs 400 crore Tirupur-based Eastman Export group.

Apart from Tommy Hilfiger, the Murjani group has Gloria Vanderbilt and Coca Cola clothes in its portfolio.

In the past few years, many foreign watch brands have entered the Indian market either by setting up subsidiaries or forging distribution alliances with local companies.

The luxury watch market is estimated to be about 10 per cent of the total market for watches in India. The market for branded watches in the country is estimated at about 25 million units.

The Swatch group with brands like Rado, Longines, CK, Tissot and Omega, claims to have about 80 per cent share in the high-end market.