STUDY OF INDIAN WRIST WATCH INDUSTRY ANDMARKETING STRATEGY OF TITAN WATCHES

Today, a wristwatch is considered as much of a status symbol as a device to tell time.I n a n a g e w h e n c e l l p h o n e s a n d d i g i t a l p a g e r s d i s p l a y t i n y q u a r t z c l o c k s , t h e mechanical wristwatch has slowly become less of an object of function and more apiece of modern culture. The Indian watch industry began in the year 1961 with the commissioning of the watch division of HMT. The first watch model manufactured byHMT was the Janata model in the year 1962. HMT was the leader in the watch markett i l l t h e T a t a s f o r m e d T i t a n W a t c h e s i n a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h T a m i l N a d u I n d u s t r i a l Development Corporation in the year 1987. Titan was the first company to launchquartz watches in India.The Indian watch market is today of 40 million units, out of which 60% is in theunorganized sector in which the maximum number of watches are sold are belowRs.300. Quartz watches form two third of the organized sector and the rest is split between mechanical and digital watches. Even in the organized sector, three fourth of the sales by volume comes from watches that are priced below Rs.1000.Watch is one of the consumer durables whose replacement rate is very high. Thereplacement rate of watch is 33.8 %( Source: India market demographics report, 1998 ).This is also due to the fact that the estimated scrap rate of wrist watches is 7.8%, whichis applicable after 6 years ( Source: India market demographics report, 1998 ). So, due tohigh scrap rate, outdated models, a nd the shift from the mechanical watches to the quartz watches it is causing a very high replacement demand for watches. This alongwith the low penetration level represents the untapped market potential for watches inIndia.After liberalization of Indian economy in 1992 many international players have enteredthe Indian Watch market posing as competitive threat to the Indian companies.Lately Titan has tried to reposition its Brand to capture more segments of thewatch market retaining the already served market segment. The strategy has beenstudied in deep during the project.

Executive Summary Many brands and companies are constantly reinvigorating their businesses andpositioning them for growth. There is a constant need to innovate, reinvigorate, update,recalibrate, or just simply fend off the competition in an effort to better explain "why buyme."B r a n d p o s i t i o n i n g c r e a t e s a s p e c i f i c p l a c e i n t h e m a r k e t f o r t h e b r a n d a n d product offerings. It reaches a certain type of consumers and delivers benefits that meetthe needs of several key target groups and users.The actual approach of a company or brand's positioning in the marketplacedepends on how it communicates the benefits and product attributes to consumers andusers. As a result, the brand positioning of a company and/or product seeks to further distance itself from competitors based on a host of items, but most notably on five keyissues: Price, Quality, Product Attributes, Distribution, and Usage Occasions.In recent times, consumerism has undergone a sea change. Consumers todaya r e w e l l i n f o r m e d about the products, as compared to earlier times. Hence, themarketplace has become customer centric. Recognizing the importance of the c u s t o m e r s i n t h e b u s i n e s s s t r u c t u r e , c o m p a n i e s h a v e s t a r t e d e f f e c t i n g b r a n d repositioning exercises on a regular basis.In the recent times, a major brand repositioning exercise has been planned byTitan Industries Ltd. in order to provide more to its customers. The company has firstg o n e f o r c h a n g e i n l o g o a n d t a g l i n e . T h e n t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s t r a t e g y h a s b e e n revamped to convey its new position. The present study consists of reviewing thepositioning strategies of Titan watches. An analysis of repositioning strategies of Titanalso forms part of the study.The main objective of the study is to broadly understand the overall wrist watch industryin India. Secondarily to study the brand positioning and re-positioning

strategy of Titan wrist watches and to find out whether the loyal consumers of titan watches are aware of the new positioning strategies of the company and how theyperceive them.Primary and secondary sources of data have been

made use of in the study. Thefirst part of the project, i.e., analysis of Indian wrist watch industry and analysis of brandr e p o s i t i o n i n g s t r a t e g i e s o f T i t a n C o m p a n y h a s b e e n c o m p l e t e d o n t h e b a s i s o f secondary data. For this purpose, internet, journals, books, magazines and so on havebeen made use of.The second part of the project comprises of conducting a survey with the help of questionnaire. The survey is proposed to be conducted on a sample of 50 consumerswho are loyal to Titan Company, selected through convenience sampling technique.T h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e c o n s i s t s o f a p p r o p r i a t e m i x o f o p e n e n d e d a n d c l o s e d e n d e d questions. The data is presented using pie charts and bar diagrams.T h e c o n c l u s i o n p a r t o f t h e r e p o r t w o u l d p r o v i d e a n i n s i g h t o f c o n s u m e r awareness regarding brand r e p o s i t i o n i n g s t r a t e g i e s a n d t h e i r e f f e c t i v e n e s s i n revamping the brand, Titan.

Previous PositionExperienced qualityWhen striving towards a new position in the market, it is important to understand thatc o n s u m e r s m i n d s a r e l i m i t e d . P e o p l e s m i n d s s e l e c t w h a t t o r e m e m b e r a n d i t i s therefore significant to convince the consumers with great arguments. The marketdemand changes rapidly and therefore repositioning can be necessary to meet thesedemands, newer and stronger arguments have to be established to convince them tostay as loyal customers.As stated in the literature, repositioning is a very complicated matter and thereforethere are no detailed theories or models. The aim with repositioning differ from person toperson, and the only connection between all the different theories is that repositioning ismoving something from somewhere towards a greater position at the market. Corstjens and Doyle (1989) identified three types of repositioning strategies:(1) Zero repositioning , which is not a repositioning at all since the firm maintains itsinitial strategy in the face of a changing environment;(2) Gradual repositioning , w h e r e t h e f i r m p e r f o r m s i n c r e m e n t a l , c o n t i n u o u s adjustments to its positioning strategy to reflect the evolution of its environment; and(3) Radical repositioning that corresponds to a discontinuous shift towards a new target market and/or a new competitive advantage.After examining the repositioning of several brands from the Indianmarket, the following 8 types of repositioning have been identified. These are:1.Increasing relevance to the consumer 2 . I n c r e a s i n g o c c a s i o n s f o r u s e 3. Making the brand serious

4 . F a l l i n g s a l e s 5.Bringing in new customers 6. Making the brand contemporary7.Differentiate from other brands 8. Changedmarket conditions. It is not always that these nine categories are mutually exclusive. Often onereason leads to the other and a brand is repositioned sometimes for a multiplicity of reasons. A four-phased brand repositioning approach can be followed to achieve the intended benefits: Phase I. Determining the Current Status of the Brand Phase II. What Does the Brand Stand for Today? Phase III . Developing the Brand Positioning Platforms Phase IV

. Refining the Brand Positioning and Management PresentationThe benefits that can be derived from brand repositioning exercises can besummarized as: Value over others Updated personality Relevant positionThe risks associated with such strategies are: Loss of focus Neglecting original customers Losing credibility for the brand Confusing the brand

Therefore, brand repositioning is more difficult than initially positioning a brandbecause one must first help the customer unlearn the current brand positioning (easier s a i d t h a n d o n e ) . T h r e e a c t i o n s c a n a i d i n t h i s p r o c e s s : ( 1 ) c a r e f u l l y c r a f t e d communication, (2) new products, packaging, etc. that emphasize the new positioningand (3) associations with other brands (co-branding, co-marketing, ingredient branding,strategic alliances, etc.) that reinforce the new brand positioning.This exercise is so critical to an organizations success that the organizationsleadership team and its marketing/brand management leaders should develop it,preferably with the help and facilitation of an outside brand-positioning expert. Chapter 2 - Research Methodology 2.1 Objectives 1.To study the current scenario of Indian wrist watch industry. 2. To review the brand positioning strategies of different sub-brands of Titanwatches.3.To analyze the brand repositioning strategies of Titan watches.

3.5 Brand Perception for different watches T I T A N ( s o n a t a 3.6 Watch Industry Map3.7 Segmentation of Indian Watch industry Based on price Mass (Rs.350-600),Popular (Rs.600-900),

) m

Premium (Rs.900-1500),Super-premium (Rs.1500-8000)Connoisseur segments (above Rs.8000) Based on user category Mens watchesWomens watchesYouth watchesKids watchesSports watches

Chapter 4 - Company Profile 4.1 Overview Titan Industries was established in 1984 as a joint venture between the Tata Group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. The company broughtabout a paradigm shift in the Indian watch market, offering quartz technology with international styling, manufactured in a state-of-the-art

factory at Hosur, Tamil Nadu.Leveraging its understanding of different segments in the watch market, the companylaunched a second independent watch brand-Sonata, as a value brand to those seekingto buy functionally styled watches at affordable prices. In addition it focused on the youth with its third brand Fastrack. It has also premium fashion watches by acquiringa license for global brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss, while. It has also inits portfolio its first Swiss Made watch brand Xylys.In 1995, the company diversified into jewellery under the brand Tanishq tocapitalize on a fragmented market operating with no brands in urban cities. In 2005, thec o m p a n y l a u n c h e d i t s s e c o n d J e w e l l e r y b r a n d , G o l d P l u s , f o r c a p i t a l i z i n g o n t h e opportunity in small towns and rural India.The company has now diversified into fashion Eyewear by launching FastrackEye-Gear sunglasses, as well as Prescription Eyewear. The Company leveraged itsmanufacturing competencies and branched into Precision Engineering Products andMachine Building from 2003.Today, Titan Industries is India's leading manufacturer of watches and jewelleryemploying 3,800 people. Titan and Tanishq are among the most admired brands in their categories. 4.2 Products

varieties in already existing product collections. In other words, having a limitedbut more depth in product collections would be more advantageous.Introduce exclusive collection for working women which is more contemporaryand complements both traditional and western wear.Majority of the population in India live in rural areas. So, showrooms should beset up at places nearer to them. Introduce cheaper and rough use watches for this segment.After sales service has to be improved. That is, the process of servicing and repairing of watches should be made faster. This can be done by ensuring thespare parts availability and training all sales personnel in Titan showrooms toundertake these tasks.Tie up with international watch brands and make them available locally.Make use of internet to spread awareness among consumers about the brand. QUESTIONNAIRE 1.Which sub-brand of Titan watches do you possess? a) Fastrackb) Sonatac) Ragad) Nebulae) Others, please specify.2.Since how many months / years have you been using Titan watch?3.Why do you prefer Titan brand?a) Attractive designs,b) Reasonable pricec) Brand image

d) Good quality4.Do you remember the original tagline of Titan watches? If yes, please mention.5.Have you seen the advertisement of Titan watches? a ) Y e s b ) N o 6.In which media have you seen the advertisement? a) TVb) Newspaper c) Magazinesd) Hoardingse) Radio7.Who is the brand ambassador of Titan watches?8.Are you aware of the new tagline of Titan?9.How do you rate the new designs of Titan? a) Poor b) Averagec) Above Averaged) Goode) Excellent10.Have you seen the new campaign of Titan?a ) Y e s b ) N o 11.Do you think the new advertisement is effective in inspiring consumers to have anew look everyday and be more in lives?a) Not at all effective b) Effectivec) Highly effective12.How do you rate Titans exclusive showrooms with respect to the following:(1Poor, 2-Average, 3-Above Average, 4-Good, 5-Excellent) a) A m b i e n c e b) S a l e s p e r s o n n e l c) After sales serviced) Display of watchese) Overall showroom-

13 . What suggestions would you like to give to improve Titans brand image amongcustomers?

Study of Indian Wrist Watch Industry and Marketing Strategy of Titan Watches