Titan sniffs profit in non-core sectors

You have entered fragrance market with the launch of the Skinn brand. What is the rationale behind choosing this sector for expansion?
Every company is looking for growth; you can look for it among the sectors that you are already in or you can look beyond them. The way we look for opportunities where there is a possibility to bring in our competencies for consumer benefit. Now this sector has a disconnect as consumers are lapping up foreign brands which are very expensive. There are a few Indian brands as well but a play is definitely possible. This is a category where we can bring value to the aspiring middle class at a reasonable price.

The fragrance segment is largely unorganised or dominated by foreign brands, so what will be your game plan in this market?
We are looking for segments that are unorganised and under-penetrated, so it fits in our scheme of things. Titan has launched several brands over years even in fragmented market such as jewellery and eyewear; therefore brand building and getting market share hasn’t been a challenge for us in an unorganised segment where there are gaps.

What kind of revenues you expect from the fragrance and accessory segments?
The fragrance segment is estimated to be Rs2,000 crore out of which the organised segment is only Rs600 crore. We are looking at garnering Rs250 crore in a three year time period from the fragrance division. Overall, we think the accessories segment should contribute 10% in the next five years.

Next in line is helmets, what’s the plan there?
Yes, helmets are next in line but it will take us some more time to perfect it. It will be launched under the Fastrack brand hopefully by the end of this year. There are a large number of two-wheelers and Fastrack being a youth brand will have some appeal.

Are you bringing about any other changes in the accessories division?
Yes. We are not happy with the progress we have made in accessories (bags, belts and wallets), so we will revamp it. So this division will get a new focus and we will see some relaunches in the next six months. There will be more offerings, more stock keeping units and a change in marketing and distribution strategy.

The watch segment was hit by slowdown in the last one year, how is that doing now?
It is improving slowly and we are putting in a lot of efforts. We are hoping for an uptick in the watches segment in the festival season.

Moving on to gold, the imports have come down. Do you see it improving?
Imports cannot go up because there are not enough exports (As per new rules, importers have to export 20% of the imported gold) so we have to start utilising the gold from within the country. But despite all the regulatory changes. consumers are buying gold; the demand scenario hasn’t changed much.