Titan plans new eyewear line

Watches and jewellery major Titan is now all set to foray into the prescription eyewear segment.

"We have identified prescription eyewear as an area that we want to have a presence in," said Bijou Kurien, Chief Operating Officer, Titan Industries.

The company entered the eyewear market a year ago when it launched sunglasses under its Fastrack range. He was however tightlipped on when exactly they would announce their plans on this front.

"Although it's too early to comment on our impact on the market, we are happy with the response we've had so far, " he said about the firm's entry into the eyewear segment.

Apart from watches, Titan also retails jewellery under the Tanishq brand.

The company currently has 270 exclusive outlets, with the break up between watches and jewellery being 185 and 85. Speaking about their expansion plans, Kurien said that they are planning to add 25 more World of Titan stores to the existing 185. The total number of exclusive Sonata stores would go up from 9 to 45 by the end of this financial year.

Last year, these stand-alone stores alone contributed Rs 850 crore to their total turnover of Rs 1135 crore. Along with the stand-alone stores, Titan has 10,000 'Timezones' which retail their products at different outlets across the country.

Last year Titan sold 16 lakh units of watches, and hopes to touch the 20 lakh mark this year.

Over the past few months, Titan has been exploring newer advertising avenues in the form of film promotions.

This included a campaign based on the film Mangal Pandey, featuring actor Titan's brand ambassador Aamir Khan apart from a tie up with Paheli for the Tanishq jewellery range.

Kurien admitted that in today's world it is getting increasingly important to look beyond traditional media and reach out to the customer. "To find new customer bases, we need to look at newer distribution channels to enhance visibility," he said.