Karnataka must give opportunities for manufacturing to grow: Titan MD

State's effort will help country in achieving target of being a $5-trn economy: C K Venkataraman

Karnataka should provide opportunities for manufacturing to assist economic growth, said C K Venkataraman, managing director of Titan Company, in Bengaluru on Friday.

“One of the things that is supposed to drive the $5-trillion move for the country is the share of manufacturing to move from 17 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) today to 21 per cent of GDP. Therefore, the importance to be given to manufacturing as opposed to services is very clearly underpinning that. If that doesn't happen, the $5-trillion economy will not happen,” said Venkataraman in a fireside chat at the CII Karnataka State Annual Meet 2024.

“Titan is not a manufacturing company and 90 per cent of our balance sheet is in working capital. We are not a capex kind of a company…but I am very familiar with manufacturing and very proud about manufacturing,” he said. Titan is a lifestyle company across segments like jewellery, watches and eye care. It has also diversified into wearables, Indian attire, fragrances and fashion accessories.

Manufacturing can play a “big role” in expanding Karnataka's GDP from Bengaluru to the northern part of the state.

In industries that need skilled labour, such as making jewellery or watches, companies can set up manufacturing plants with the help of the government. Manufacturing can be increased in the smaller cities, he said.

Venkataraman said Titan has grown by entering unorganised sectors with relatively low competition. “In a way we create the first-mover advantage through that approach – whether it is watches or any other category like jewellery, eye care, or perfumes…The second is that we also make it a point to become a category expert in every category we operate in. Through that, we get the competitive advantage in each one of those categories, which helps us to become the leader."

"The third is about customer obsession wherein we are listening to people directly from customers, from our stores and partners. The fourth thing is a deep rooted stakeholder capitalism,” he said.