Flashback

Turning back the hands of time pre-1980s, Tata Press conceived an idea to conquer the Watch Industry. Initial negated pioneering efforts aside, perseverance won the day. Titan Watches sprang into being with the signing of a joint venture of Tata Industries with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) in June of 1984. From that point on it has been full steam ahead.

First Milestone 

Titan commenced production end 1986 and hit the market in March 1987 with its brand ‘Titan’. The analogue electronic Quartz range met instant acclaim, appeasing a hungry watch-starved consumer market. This spurred encouragement and manufacture extended to bracelets, cases, electronic circuitry and step motors.

Along the way

Spanning 25-years of growth, the Titan Watch Project became Titan Watch Division and ultimately Titan Industries.  Production kept an impressive pace, topping the 10 million plus mark per year.  Three years down the trail produced a dividend of 15% – today, 2009, sees a declaration of 100%!

Numerous technologies and sources came into play during this period. Progress was swift, steady and stamped with characteristic Titan aplomb. This led to innumerable achievements and accolades.

Audaciously challenging the Swiss, Titan now is the world's largest integrated manufacturer of watches. A major brand player, Titan stakes claim to 60% of the organized watch market, with over 100 million pieces sold across 30 countries collectively.

In successive events, the ‘World of Titan’ exclusive showrooms mushroomed nation-wide, currently totaling 280+.  The main manufacture facility is situated at Hosur in Tamilnadu with assembly units up north in Dehradun, Baddi, and Roorkee. Its Electronic Circuit Board plant is in Goa.

Titan notably left its’ footprint in Europe in 1993; then came a major one in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific regions. Titan now happily ticks its way across twenty-six countries around the globe. Internationally, Titan’s business amounts to over 675k watches annually.

A brief joint venture with the Japanese Timex between 1992 and 1998, focusing on market mass, prospered. The brand Timex jumped to 2nd place next to Titan, in popularity. On dissolution of the partnership, Titan reclaimed market share by launching Sonata, an absolute winner, followed by an astute array of wrist wear - Titan, Fastrack, and Xylys brands, luxury watches and designer timescapes - a range of outdoor clocks - defining spectacular landmarks in several cities.

Pacing on, the Swiss and Japanese watch fraternity was justifiably astounded, not only with the state-of-art Production facility established by Titan, but also with its highly trained, dedicated, youthful workforce. 

Endorsing the Tata spirit, Charles Correa, a world-renowned architect, was commissioned and fashioned a complete modern township at Mathigiri to accommodate over 2000 Titanians, complete with an excellent School that doubles as a learning facility for neighbouring district schools.

Venturing on...

Diversification accelerates progress. Titan’s expansion plans in 1993 turned to jewellery, with a brand launch ‘Tanishq’ in 1996. Then a spate of new ventures followed suit, Fastrack – the youth watch and accessories line in 2003; Precision Engineering in 2005, Goldplus the standardized mass marketing of jewellery in 2006 and the Titan Eyewear Division in 2007 - a project of prescription eyewear, complete with specialized outlets, catering to customers’ every need.

Of these wholesome ventures, Tanishq and Goldplus proved Titan’s mettle indisputably.

Catering primarily to a country which views gold as a prime investment, believes that it is auspicious, and finds it an irresistible adornment, Titan literally struck it rich by its entry into the world of traditional and designer jewellery.

The concept of entering the glitter field, in order to forge a way out of a foreign exchange crunch of the early 1990s, appealed to Titan Industries considerably.  And yet again, though early steps were far from expectancy, the innovative Titan spirit came to the fore, turning adversaries into achievement, and how!!

Foreign Exchange being no consequence subsequently, caused Titan to focus exclusively on the home market. Today, Tanishq - the first branded jewellery player and Goldplus, are righteous equivalents of the Cartier, Tiffany, Esprit, and Ernest Jones of the West in credibility, standards and fame. Tanishq offers a stunning world of exquisite, precious designer ware through 117 stores in 75 townships across the nation. Goldplus has a proud market share of around 40% in the semi-urban and rural scenario, whilst still in its infancy. 

These two ventures are a pride to India and to Titan Industries, for they certainly keep value-conscious customers happy and contented.