In an attempt to become the nation’s "true timekeepers," Bangalore-based Titan Industries will introduce a new collection of watches for men and women in its Titan range.

Titan which has shown a dip in its net sales for quarter one of 2001 at Rs 102.07 crore as compared to Rs 113.96 crore for the corresponding quarter last year will also launch its new collection of women’s watches in the Fast Track range to increase its sales, Titan Industries, sales and marketing, vice-president Bijou Kurien told The Asian Age.

"Consumer spending has declined over the last year due to the global downturn. Moreover, people in India still view the watch as a utilitarian item as opposed to the lifestyle statement that is reflected in watch sales in the West," Mr Kurien said.

Total sale of watches in the Indian market accounts to 20 million units per year. Titan has cornered a 50 per cent share of this market. The potential sales for watches in the country is around 45 million units annually.

In order to corner a greater chunk of sales in the watch industry, Titan has introduced the Synchrony range of value-addition clocks in crystal, bidri, etikoppa and granite materials.

According to Mr Kurien, the low-end clock market has been inundated with cheap Chinese-made clocks as well as clocks manufactured by the unorganised sector.

The watch major which has reported a net loss of Rs 14.61 crore for the first quarter of 2001 against the net profit of Rs 0.13 crore recorded in the corresponding period last year, also plans to enter the personal accessories market.

The company is in the process of evaluating products in the personal accessories segments which will be launched over the next two years. "We have already conducted a survey in the personal accessories segment for manufacture of items like glasses and pens," said Mr Kurien.