Today Titan is India's leading watch company and is credited with changing the face of the Indian watch industry within a short span of time. It has a turnover of Rs 630 crores for the year ended 1999-00. As a full range producer-marketer, Titan offers the Indian and international customers a very large range of watches to suit various tastes and budgets.

Titan's watches are recognised for reliability, quality and innovation in design and has earned it the title of 'pace setters in style' and set standards for the horology industry to emulate. The General Manager-Marketing of Titan Industries C K Venkataraman in an interview to bangalorebest.com spoke of company strategies and industry trends.

What is the present trend in the watch industry in India?
Now the trend is more towards steel watches. Very few are going in for gold plated watches. Steel watches, slightly larger sized ones, with colourful straps are the choice of the modern generation, especially the younger generation.

What varieties of watches do you have for children from Titan?
We have Dash Watches for children. There are 25-30 varieties in the Dash brand. Titan has recently released animation watches for children. The animation designs have been created by school children themselves.

Does Titan have ornamental watches?
We have Raga and Regalia range of ornamental watches for women from Titan.

What is the market share of Titan watches in India?
Titan has more than 50 per cent market share in the Indian watch market.

What is Titan's marketing strategy in India?
We have a large network all over the country for marketing our watches. Titan has established a high reputation for quality. We are moving towards establishing different brands like stylish gold watches for men, Dash brand watches for kids, 'Nebula' solid gold watches for the rich. There are also other brands like 'Sonata' with more than 250 models for people from other economic segments.

What are the key aspects of your customer service?
The strongest aspect of Titan is its after sales service. Our service network covers about 85 per cent of our customers' watch service after sales. There are 50 Titan Watch Care Centres all over the country.

Who are the close competitors to Titan in India?
Titan has the largest market share in India. In the Indian market, after the Titan brand of watches, Timex and HMT watch companies are the key players. There are also a number of small brands in the country.

What about competitive foreign brands?
The 'Omega' brand of watches cost above Rs 25,000. We too have watches for the rich which costs Rs 32,000. But we don't consider watch companies like Omega as our competitors.

Could you elaborate on Titan's foreign collaboration?
We have no foreign collaboration. However, our watches are being sold in more than 40 countries world wide, including Europe and the Middle East.

Which models in Titan watches are very popular nowadays?
Classique, Raga, Royale, Regalia are Titan's popular brands nowadays. Raga is Titan's tribute to the Indian woman and is designed to reflect beautiful Indian forms.

Any plans to expand your market within the country?
Besides concentrating on the urban sales, we are planning to catch up on the Indian rural market as well.

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