Titan Company believes FY19 will be a good year, with an estimated growth of 15-20%. And thanks to the formalisation of the economy after demonetisation and the introduction of goods and services tax (GST), the company can enjoy robust growth in the coming years, according to Bhaskar Bhat, managing director, Titan Company .

In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18's Nitya Balakrishnan, Bhat said Titan will aim to double the market share of its Tanishq jewellery brand to 10% by 2023.

Titan also plans to increase its user base in the watch category by expanding into the smart-watch and fitness-wearables range as well.

Edited excerpts of the interview:

Q. FY 18 was a solid year for your jewellery division under Tanishq. What is the overall business outlook for FY 19 at Titan?

A. The outlook for not just FY-19, but corresponding years is very positive because we are seeing a formalisation of the economy post demonetisation and GST. Titan has grown consistently every quarter in the last year at 15-20%, we expect to clock very similar figures for FY 19 as well. Consumer sentiment post Diwali is signalling a very positive trend and hence this forecast.

Q. Talk to us about the retail investment and expansion you have planned for coming months: any new stores under Tanishq, Carat Lane and World of Titan brands?

A. Retail investment for the company varies from about Rs 60 to 100 crore every year. We expand through our own stores as well as franchises, so it becomes difficult to put a number on investment into retail-end. We have an aggressive expansion of stores planned for FY-19.

Q. What is the current split of revenues among jewellery, watches and eyewear and how do you claim to increase your market share?

A. Jewellery currently contributes a little over 75% to our revenues, while watches are about 20%. But the potential to grow is most in the jewellery segment where we currently enjoy a 5% market share. We are confident of doubling this by 2023.

We are well placed in the watches segment with 40% market share but are looking to grow the user-base by expanding into the smart-watch and fitness-wearables range as well. "Reflex" by Fastrack has surpassed all internal targets and is a formidable competition to other fitness wearables in the market.

Q. Titan recently entered an agreement with Amazon for online delivery in the US. Is online the way forward for the company globally as well?

A. Online is where the consumer is as far as watches goes, but jewellery is much slower when it comes to e-retail.

As a company, we are rapidly moving towards new-age technology. Ours will be an "omni" strategy online: across many platforms. We expect watches and eyewear to do very well online and our investment into Caratlane ensures a robust opportunity for jewellery as well.

Q. What is the purpose behind the 'integrated store model' -- housing all 3 brands of Titan stores under one roof: like the one you just launched at Hyderabad?

A. Tying all our businesses together for the sake of the consumer makes sense for the company; this model of an integrated store is completely consumer-centric. This store brings over 5000 products under one roof, with service centres alongside. We have a loyalty program under 'Encircle' to enhance the shopping experience.

The smaller integrated store format in Visakhapatnam has performed extremely well, so we decided to adopt the same in Hyderabad, a very important market to us. Hence we have invested into this 8,000 sq feet property in the heart of the city at Banjara Hills.

First Published:Apr 12, 2018 2:05 PM IST