Titan's Iconic Success Story, A Single Strategic Decision Made It India's Leading Watchmaker Brand

The recently released series, Made in India: A Titan Story, directed by Robbie Grewal, is a story of the creation of India’s most popular watch brand, Titan. It is a remarkable story of vision, hard work and success of an Indian brand that dared to compete with its international counterparts. The birth of Titan is one of the most remarkable corporate success stories.

How Xerxes Desai seeded the idea of Titan?

When we pen the story of Titan’s success, then the two main names that take the centre stage are Xerxes Desai and Bhaskar Bhat. It was Xerxes Desai who came up with the idea of Titan. While working at the Tata Group, Xerxes identified a business opportunity, convinced that India needed a modern watch company capable of producing stylish, high-quality timepieces. At that moment, Xerxes presented the idea to Tata Group’s chairman, JRD Tata, who saw potential in the idea and encouraged Xerxes.

But making the dream come true had its own challenges. India was operating under the Licence Raj, and technology imports were controlled. Atop it Swiss manufacturers were not very keen on sharing their expertise. But Titan had its competition since the beginning, and it was the government-owned Hindustan Machine Tools, better known as HMT, a brand which was ruling the watch industry.

Titan began its operations with an investment of Rs. 100 crores

There was one hurdle after another for Xerxes, and he nearly spent a decade fighting through regulatory and commercial obstacles before receiving approval for the project. Titan was established in 1984 as a joint venture with the Tata Group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. There was a hidden strategy at every step, which was carefully planned by Xerxes and his team.

And among the examples of the same was the manufacturing plant of Titan, which was set up in Hosur. While the company’s headquarters were established in Bengaluru. Keeping Hosur as the manufacturing plant was a conscious decision, as the place was located near Bangalore, where HMT had its factory. This allowed Titan to recruit experienced engineers and managers from the already established brand. With an investment of Rs. 100 crores, the company began its operations in 1986. The first collections included Exacta, Classique, Spectra, Royale and Fastrack.

Titan made people believe that watches can look fashionable

Xerxes was not just a visionary but also believed that Indian companies should dominate local markets, and his mantra, ‘Think Big,’ paved the way for it. This phrase of Xerxes was the mantra of Titan and changed the brand’s destiny forever. When Titan entered the market, watches were seen merely as functional items, but Titan made people believe that watches could be fashionable too. The brand put a lot of thought into design, marketing and technology. While experimenting with style, Xerxes challenged his engineers to make the world’s thinnest watch, and that is when Titan Edge was launched in 2002.

Talking about fashion, Xerxes knew that jewellery always dominated the Indian market, and in 1994, he launched Tanishq, a prominent Indian jewellery brand. Tanishq is Titan's flagship jewellery brand, operating under the broader corporate umbrella of the Tata Group. During that time, many thought that launching Tanishq was risky, but today it is Titan's largest revenue driver.

Titan faced a major challenge when its profits fell

Though Xerxes’s dream and belief in the Titans proved right, he faced numerous setbacks during his tenure. Xerxes’s attempt to expand the empire in Europe was a costly affair. The brand struggled to fulfil the international market’s quality expectations and delivery standards. As a result, the profits fell, but the revenue continued to grow. In 2002, Xerxes retired, but the company was facing one of the most challenging times.

How Bhaskar Bhat saved Titan after its profits fell flat?

It was at that moment that Bhaskar Bhat took over as the Managing Director of Titan in April 2002. Xerxes and Bhasker were completely opposite in their leadership styles. Xerxes believed in unconventional and bold thinking; Bhaskar focused on strategy. When Bhaskar joined Titan, its revenues were under Rs. 1,000 crore, and profitability was also weak.

He decided to revive the business by doubling down on Titan’s jewellery business. While Bhaskar knew that Indian markets were obsessed with jewellery, his first move was to convert Tanishq’s 18-carat jewellery into 22-carat gold products. This one strategy made Tanishq one of the most trusted and successful jewellery brands. This one decision changed Titan’s future, and soon Tanishq became Titan’s biggest revenue attractor, contributing more than 80 per cent of revenues.

Titan’s dramatic transformation under Bhaskar Bhat’s leadership

Soon after the revenue was streamlined, Titan expanded into new categories and launched eyewear, fragrances, accessories and handloom. Titan, which began with watches, spread its horizons with brands like Fastrack, SKINN, EyePlus and Taneira. Under Bhaskar Bhat’s leadership, the brand underwent a major transformation, and profits also soared.

Titan’s revenue had grown from under Rs. 1,000 crore in 2002 to nearly Rs. 20,000 crore. Its net profit had surged from Rs. 6.2 crore to Rs. 1,388 crore. Not just this, the brand’s market capitalisation also rose from around Rs. 220 crore to approximately Rs. 95,000 crore. Today, Titan is India’s leading watchmaker and one of the most valuable companies of the Tata Group. The brand has multiple retail outlets and has also built a global presence.

What do you think about Titan’s success story?

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