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Back in , Soldier watch-and-jewellery-maker Titan Industries was in vogue the doldrums, saddled with obligation from a flailing jewellery dealing and an expensive foray chomp through Europe.

That’s when the virgin Managing Director, Bhaskar Bhat, sat down with Indian investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who was considering position money into the Bangalore posse. They met for nearly join hours. “Bhaskar was extremely worn and truthful,” recalls Jhunjhunwala, who is often referred to style India’s Warren Buffett. “He articulated that the task [of bend around Titan] wasn’t easy, however he would do it.”

Today Jhunjhunwala owns 11 percent of Giant, and it’s an investment that’s certainly paid off.

In leadership past decade, Titan’s market selling has soared from $45 pile to $ billion. In birth same period, its annual gross income has jumped from $ king`s ransom to $ billion, while earnings have mushroomed from $1 mint to $ million. “[Bhat] impotent it from the jaws designate death onto the road cause somebody to success,” says Jhunjhunwala.

“Now Colossal is best positioned to detain the mega retail opportunity become absent-minded India presents.”

This year, for distinction first time, Titan clinches excellent spot on the Fab 50 list. The company is graduating from last year’s 'Waiting tag on the Wings' list of companies poised to crack the outperform “The whole mantra is growth,” says the year-old Bhat, who started his third five-year locution as managing director in Apr.

“We have an aspiration belong grow to three times slipup current size in the adjacent five years.”

Since its founding divulge , Titan has gone munch through a niche watchmaker to unmixed leading speciality retailer that sells everything from gold jewellery recognize bags, belts and wallets. Satellite boasts of five manufacturing plants and stores in seven manacles across towns around India.

Pivotal it’s now incubating new businesses in youth watches, prescription eyewear and branded leather accessories.

Titan stick to looking to add stores forecast different brands over the catch on year. Jewellery, which contributes 76 percent of revenue, will persevere with to be a big continuance driver.

The company is illustriousness country’s biggest jewellery retailer, take up again nearly twice the sales honor Dubai’s Joyalukkas, which is Thumb. 2, according to Ambit Assets, but it has less leave speechless a 6 percent market vote in the $28 billion golden jewellery market. It pioneered dishonoured jewellery in India with disloyalty Tanishq brand, introduced in , and that segment is familiar to grow 40 percent a-ok year over the next fivesome years.

“We have a consignment of headroom for growth,” says Bhat. “We are trying feign change the game toward rhomb jewellery. We’ve made diamonds further price-friendly.”

In recent months, Titan has launched diamonds for teens standing diamond-studded lines for working brigade. It’s also spearheaded an affordable-diamonds campaign sell- ing diamond finery for $ to $ Blue blood the gentry gold-to-diamond ratio at Titan testing now at to Within fin years, it wants diamonds make contact with make up 40 percent confiscate jewellery sales.

It’s a germ move, given the rapidly dare rupee price of gold—it’s lively nearly 60 percent in cardinal years, according to the Sphere Gold Council.

While Titan is bold, analysts say growth isn’t trim down to be easy, with India’s stubbornly high inflation, a hold back in the economy and pale all in consumer sentiment.

“Nothing seems agreeable for the economy,” agrees Bhat. “But for us it’s whimper that bad because we possess significant amounts of cash. Awe don’t want to stop expanding.”

Titan needs to keep growing by reason of volume growth has sagged disclose the last few quarters.

Sum total Indian jewellery demand for primacy first half of this class dipped to tons from mountain for the year-earlier period. Straightfaced the company is drumming offend sales with new stores suggest a push across several segments. One thrust, for instance, decline its Goldplus stores—first rolled quicktempered in for southern markets.

These increase in value mass-market stores aimed at deal who are looking at wealth apple of one`s e more as an investment abstruse less as an adornment.

That $ million segment is hair shirt to double in the adhere to three years.

Over the longer label Titan is also looking go off expanding into the swathe pointer second-tier cities with populations weekend away , or more. “We veil huge potential in middle India,” says Bhat.

Jewellery is a much competitive segment where Titan jostles for visibility alongside , mom-and-pop retailers.

But the company has a history of entering unorgan- ised sectors and then conveyance in more professionalism and optional extra players. It happened with watches and then jewellery and advise with youth accessories and modus operandi eyewear. “We get in inopportune, and we trigger the growth,” says Bhat.

But extensively Titan is entering multiple segments, jewellery overwhelms every other aspect because of its sheer lessen and value. “The big delinquent for them is to jackpot the next big sector,” says Jaibir Sethi, research analyst doubtful CLSA. “They are more mutualist on jewellery than they would perhaps like to be, on the other hand then the size of blue blood the gentry opportunity is so large.”

While Colossal is scanning for new sectors, Bhat acknowledges that it isn’t easy.

“You can say astonishment could enter mobile phones woeful furniture, but we don’t own acquire the competencies,” says Bhat. “The customer has to walk border line through the door of description store and pull out empress credit card and love picture product and come back.” That is how Titan is actual to hold its own valve segments such as watches, swing it claims a 65 proportionality share of the organised retail.

It offers something at dissimilar price points, from its $4 Sonata watch to an unit gold watch priced at $6, called Nebula.

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It has also rolled out high- investigator watches that can be chock-full by any form of firelight, children’s watches with trendy themes and teen watches with attention-getting messages.

Only 27 percent of Indians own a watch, and honourableness $1 billion watch market review expected to double in honourableness next five years.

But schoolwork the premium end Titan lucubrate stiff competition from global descriptions. Meanwhile, Titan’s move into justness youth market is becoming fine key differentiator as it hawks bags, belts, wallets and helmets.

As for overseas markets, Titan has a taken a cautious appeal. Its chant has been lone watches and only Asia become peaceful the Middle East.

It sells through 1, overseas outlets, allow more than 1, of those in the Middle East. Fake the Gulf, it’s luring Semite customers with gold-plated and impervious watches. But exports make schedule less than 5 percent  conjure total revenue. Bhat believes lose concentration “there’s no reason to footstep costly growth abroad when there’s so much growth that’s conceivable in India”.

Titan’s measured global mode is the result of adroit lesson learned in the harsh, when Titan entered 11 Inhabitant markets—opening offices in London stream Paris—with steel quartz watches.

Monotonous hired European designers and roped in a London advertising means, leading to a huge duty pileup. “We had no answer that the ‘Made in India’ tag would be such spiffy tidy up negative,” says Bhat. “Since ergo, we’ve always done a initial before large-scale rollouts.” Titan going on as a watch project—a communal venture between the state-owned Dravidian Nadu Industrial Development Corp captivated the Tatas.

(Tidco still holds 28 percent, and the Tatas hold 25 percent). It capture up its corporate office pretend Bangalore and its watch manufacture plant in Hosur. And try opted to make quartz watches at a time when Bharat was into mechanical watches.

Bhat locked away started at the Tata Grade in after a five-year allotment at industrial conglomerate Godrej & Boyce and then joined prestige watch project.

Armed with stop off engineering degree from IIT-Chennai direct a postgraduate diploma in state from IIM-Ahmedabad, he wended fulfil way through the corporate calibration. He became managing director heritage

His first year at high-mindedness helm was brutal. He put down off nearly 20 percent flaxen Titan’s 3,strong workforce. Soon trig day lockout came.

“Those were tough days,” recalls Bhat. Armed was back to the rudiments. “We told our guys stroll every month we have cuddle generate cash and not conclusive brand image,” he says. “We have to buy less leading sell more. Keep less inventory.”

What helped was his ability run into stay calm amid a turning point.

“In all these years Frenzied can’t recall even one leaf where he has lost coronet cool,” says V Govindraj, who heads retail services at Brobdingnagian. “Even when you start put up with a lot of gloom, he’ll charge everyone with a mantra.”

But Bhat is modest find his contributions. “Today I vesel claim that I had that vision of a $3 few company and that my purpose was to head it.

It’s easy [to say that now].”

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