Titan's Fastrack plans global foray

Fastrack, the Rs 600 crore youth accessories brand from Titan’s stables, is laying the foundation to go international. The retail chain believes that there is demand in the emerging markets for its products, and also where there is a sizeable Indian population.

Some of the countries it is looking at are Brazil, China, Vietnam among others. This strategy may help it speed up its target to be a Rs 3,000 crore brand in five years, from the Rs 600 crore brand that it is today. This is in addition to the plans to add many more accessories to its portfolio. One new accessory the brand aims to add to its portfolio is motorbike helmets. This will be sold by the group from next month. “About 1 million two-wheelers are sold in India every month, and so we saw a good opportunity in a market where there is an acute shortage of good quality helmets and most of the market remains unorganised,” said Ronnie Talati, vice-president & business head, Fastrack & New Brands, Titan Industries Ltd.

Another segment the brand wants to try its hand at is bicycles. The firm says there are not enough good quality bicycles being sold in India, and most of the good quality bicycles are imported and they are priced very high, ranging from Rs 15,000 to about Rs 2,00,000 or more. “Fastrack will sell bikes at much more affordable prices,” added Talati.

Meanwhile, Fastrack is set to become a 100-store retailing brand spread across 44 cities with the opening of a store this week. From just five stores two years ago, the youth-focussed brand has expanded using a asset-light model, through the franchisee route.

The brand is stepping on the gas to expand its stores faster. In the process, it hopes to be a 280-store strong brand spread across 108 towns in another year and aims to see the opening of its 500th store in two to three years.