The year 2003 proved to be a good one for Titan, with the advantages of the previous year’s initiatives being strongly felt. Even with the World Gold Council naming 2003 a year of stagnation, the restructuring exercise in the company’s watch business and jewellery retail line, Tanishq, helped Titan record a growth of 30 per cent. 

The New World watch, one among a host of its launches in 2003, helped the company elbow out competition and capture 18 per cent of the Indian watch market. Tanishq launched a new range of jewellery in lightweight diamond sets, enamel and ethnic gold and the watch division test-marketed sunglasses.

Titan made significant progress in its business of supplying precision-engineering components to the auto industry. The company started supplying dashboard clocks to Ford Mondeo (Europe) and it also entered a tie-up with leading mobile phone supplier Nokia for after-sales services.

Titan has set its sights high for the forthcoming year, with a sales target of Rs 1,500 crore. Tanishq is expected to pull in Rs 800 crore of this and the watch business the rest. Titan also plans to spread its wings further in the international arena in 2004. The clock has started ticking in the new year and Titans believe there’s no time to be lost.

Uploaded on January 5, 2004