Kolkata: Titan Industries may be looking at some south east Asian countries as a sourcing base for watch components. Sourcing components from these countries will give competitive edge to Titan to take on competition from cheap watches that are flooding in from south-east Asian region.

Speaking to ET, Manoj Chakravarti, general manager - retailing, Titan Industries, said, "in future we may closely look at south-east Asia as a major sourcing base for components. We will get the very same components as the numerous watches being imported from China, Taiwan and Singapore use."

"These trendy, chic, value-for-money watches offered with our brand equity will definitely counter competition from the cheap watch imports currently happening in India," he added.

Asked whether there was any definite time frame to zero in on the plan, Mr Chakravarti, said, "no decision has been taken on the matter and it may be looked at only as a possible option. In fact, we already selectively import and source various components from some countries in Europe."

"These are currently being done for our high-end models. If we look at south-east Asia it will be more in the lines of our Sonata brand and the economy segment, where we would like to offer value-for-money to our customers with the best in industry designs," he added.

Titan currently has a market share of about 60% of the organised watch market in India. The total watch market in India is around 24 million out of which the organised market comprises nearly 12 million. Titan manufactures around 7m Sonata watches per annum according to Mr Chakravarti. This brand from Titan targets lower price points compared to the Titan watches.

With a low per capita watch consumption ratio which is 22:1000 (watch:people), Mr Chakravarti said that there are huge opportunities for growth, particularly in the value-for-money segment.

The company is also focused on innovations and new state-of-the art technology to increase its overall marketshare.