Titan eyes consolidation in international watch brand sales

India's largest watch brand Titan, which has been witnessing 25 per cent growth for its international watch brands over the last three years, is looking to consolidate its presence in the category by expanding its product offerings.

Currently, the company sells over 30 international watch brands including six licensed brands through ‘The Helios’ chain of stores which is the premium multi-brand watch destination and The World of Titan outlets.

It is now consolidating its licensed international watches portfolio by adding a new collection – Considered -- under the American women’s watch brand ‘Anne Klein’. Its other licensed international brands are Police, Kenneth Cole, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach and Olivia Burton. The watch will be retailed across the country, a top company official said.

“We had introduced Anne Klein premium watches in 2016 in our network of retail stores. We will be selling the new ‘Considered’ collection of 11 watches under Anne Klein brand through a network of 70 retail outlets as well as online from our own website and ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon, Myntra and Flipkart,” Suparna Mitra, CEO, Watches and Wearables Division, Titan Company Limited told DH.

In 2019-20, Titan sold 16.8 million watches including international brands. It is also the fifth largest watch brand in the world. Its international watch sales account for under 10 per cent in terms of the total revenue and growing at 25 per cent CAGR.

She said 10-15 per cent of Titan’s watch sales come from online formats and growing consistently. Titan also sells on its own website and delivers across 28,500 PIN codes in the country.

“Over the last 3-4 years, international watch sales are growing. We are expanding our portfolio of international watch brands as part of our strategy to give our customers a good choice and maintain our growth momentum. The new watch collection will complement our watches under the Titan portfolio. Anne Klein in India has collaborated with celebrated actress Dia Mirza to launch the ‘Considered’ collection.

The World of Titan retail chain with a focus on premium watches from the division's brands and licensed brands has achieved a double-digit growth in watches over Rs 10,000 during 2019-20. Titan sells watches under various brands like Titan, Sonata, Fastrack.

During May and June months, the revenue from watches and wearables were at 5% and little over 20% respectively compared to the corresponding months of the previous year. The recovery rate at the retail stores, however, in June was about 45% of stores opened. Sales recovery rate was highest in ecommerce and retail (WOT, Fastrack and Helios) channels and lowest in Large Format Stores, the company said in a regulatory filing.