Titan to kick off Tanishq in US market
Business Standard — May 25, 2006

Titan Industries is in the process of launching Tanishq, its jewellery brand, in the USA. S Ravi Kant, chief operating officer-international business, Titan, said: "The international markets are an important focus area for us, both for jewellery and watches." At present, watches contribute about 60 per cent of the turnover from international operations. But this would change once the jewellery business picks up in the USA, Kant said.

"Over the next three-four years, we expect it to be a ratio of 55-45 between jewellery and watches," he said. Explaining the strategy for the international markets, Kant said while some part of the range was the same as available in India, most of it was specially designed for those markets. "The overall positioning of the brand and product offerings have to cater to the target audience in the market and are designed keeping international tastes and trends in mind," said Kant.

The strategy would be different from what has been used for Titan which has been positioned as a mid-segment brand. Tanishq will build more upon the Indian background and heritage to cash in on the association of India with gold and fine jewellery. At present, the Asian market contributes about 80 per cent of the total business and that is unlikely to change for a few years. The company is also looking at strengthening its presence in Malaysia and Singapore, along side exploring other opportunities to expand its presence globally.