Titan to expand in Gujarat

Titan Watches is planning to consolidate its market presence in Gujarat by setting up 'World of Titan' showrooms in the new malls mushrooming in the state.

Through the new showrooms, the company is preparing to give a wider reach for its new range of premium sunglasses "Titan Shades" to be launched in a couple of months.

At present, the company has 12 showrooms in the state, of which five are in Ahmedabad. Titan will be taking the franchisee route for most of the new showrooms.

A 10-acre space has already been booked in a mall on the Raipur-Kankaria road as well as the Iscon mall at SG Highway for new outlets. The plan to expand its operations in the state has come on the back of the company's launch of a new range of watches called, Desire Collection, which is part of its women's watch brand, Titan Raga.

"Gujarat has been targeted by the company as one of the most profitable markets considering our exclusive brand for ladies and our premium segment brands have managed to rake in more than 7-8 per cent of the total revenues from the country," said Sujoy Chakraborty, regional sales manager, Titan.

The total market for the company's ladies watches is worth Rs 150 crore and with the launch of the new Desire Collection, the company is hoping to increase its market share further, which is around 80 per cent in the organised segment, he added.

Titan is also concentrating on its eye gear brand, Fast Track, which is priced between Rs 750 and Rs 2000. It is reportedly doing well in the Gujarat market.

The segment alone is contributing more than 11 per cent of the total sales from the state for the company, said Chakraborty.

The company has just wrapped up its Gujarat only exchange scheme which involved a new Titan watch at 25 per cent discount in exchange for any old watch.

The scheme was targeted for the Navratri season and helped the company make good the loss of sales during the floods in the state, he added.