Titan revamps Sonata, seeks to double volume

Titan Watches, the watch division of diversified company Titan Industries, is investing heavily in its 12-year-old mass-brand Sonata.

The company is looking to up distribution in the rural markets, advertising it more, and launching newer models at as low as Rs275 to entice consumers to shift from non-branded watches.

Harish Bhat, chief operating officer, Titan Watches, said that while premium watches will grow business in major cities, Sonata will drive growth for the company in the smaller markets in the country. Titan is a leaders in the mass-market — a segment where it gets nearly half revenues from.

“Most of the growth in watches today is in the mass-market. The premium segment is still a very urban phenomenon. Sonata is a very strong brand and it can take any competition head-on because it is a Tata product,” Bhat said.

Titan launched Sonata in 1997 at price point starting at Rs500. The company on Thursday re-launched the Sonata brand, aiming it at younger consumers, and roped in cricketer M S Dhoni as brand ambassador.

Bhat said the company is looking to double volumes of Sonata, with the launch of a new collection and strong marketing initiatives.

Titan Watches launches a new watch collection every quarter under one of its four key brands — Titan, Sonata, Fastrack and Xylys.

Of the 13 million watches it sells annually, 6 million are Sonatas. The flagship brand Titan and the youth-oriented Fastrack sell 4 million and 2 million units per year, respectively. “In another three years, Sonata will become (sell) a 10 million watch brand,” Bhat said.