Description
This is document about company analysis of titan industries ltd
TITAN INDUSTRIES LTD.
(DATE 22/07/2012)
INTRODUCTION
Titan Industries Ltd (“Titan”) offers a broad range of products that span several industries. These include the horological, gold jewellery, eyewear and precision engineering instruments. This broad range of products offers diversification of revenue for the firm, which benefits the top line and offers scope of growth in many of these industries. Titan has often pioneered the way for innovative methods of marketing and positioning a product in crowded industries and has broken new ground by fundamentally changing the way a particular industry functions. As of now, the major revenue drivers for Titan are the horological and gold jewellery industries. Any effects on these industries will impact the company greatly.
The company is now looking to break into the international market and some forays into the international market has been successful, whereas others have not which resulted in Titan writing off its operations as losses. It has however continued to grow handsomely in the Indian market space, taking advantage of increased consumer power due to economic expansion of the country, and it has been able to improve brand recognition due to innovative measures in connecting with the Indian population. This success has made Titan a market leader in most of the markets it has chosen to enter and has been duly rewarded with awards for Brand recognition and trust as well as innovative methods of marketing in the past year.
INDUSTRY TRENDS
This report shall now look into the major industries Titan operates in. They are namely the watch industry and the gold jewellery industry.
(A)
HOROLOGICAL INDUSTRY TRENDS:
The Global watch industry did not grow in terms of volumes of sales (it remained at 1.05 billion units worldwide). The reasons for this are the economic deceleration in most developed markets such as Europe and Japan. Asia posted a large growth in units sold whereas the US
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showed a slight recovery from previous trends, owing to greater economic optimism in that country. The industry can be broken down into four categories: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Mass Market Mid-market brands Premium brands Luxury brands
Globally, Swiss watches (which primarily consists of luxury and premium) showed a large increase in sales, which was driven primarily by a large increase in Asian consumption (30%). This increase accounted for 55% of all exports of Swiss watches. A key concern for the industry is represented by exchange rate risk, as the Swiss franc is now pegged to the Euro (which may have been a contributing factor to increases in sales by Asian consumers as well). Sales of mechanized watches have overwhelmed the sales of other types of watches (digital and quartz) that have remained flat. The Indian watch market is bifurcated into two types, namely the organized and unorganized sector. The market itself is weighted towards the unorganized sector, which primarily targets low-end customers and sells about 30 million units per year. This volume consists of very cheap products that are assembled by hand by smalltime players but also of spurious and stolen products. The organized sector is dominated by a few brands such as Titan, Timex and HMT, of which Titan has a majority market share (65%). Global players are also entering the Indian market with strong brands to back them, in order to take advantage of the burgeoning consumer class in the country. Thus differentiation, value, brand and/or price competition appear to be the future trends in this space. Also as market penetration is rather low (at around 27%), the industry feels that there is scope for growth here. The industry is capital intensive and
(B)
GOLD JEWELLERY INDUSTRY TRENDS:
The Gold Jewellery industry can be broadly broken into two segments, namely the gems and precious stones segment and gold jewellery segment. India has been in the forefront when it comes to this segment for many years because of the following reasons: (i) Indians are the largest consumers of physical gold and thus form an integral part of demand in the gold market. (ii) The cost of labour is low and this fact has been taken advantage of by many polishers of diamonds and gemstones.
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The price of gold obviously makes a lot of difference in determining the demand for gold. Gold prices have been extremely volatile and in dollar terms experienced a large increase and subsequently an almost equally large decrease in terms of price. For the Indian consumer however, this decrease in price is pared by the depreciation of the rupee and high inflation. Gold also traditionally serves as a hedge against high inflation, especially when real rates of saving turn negative and gold yields no usury for the holder. One may also look at segmenting the industry into the unorganized sector, which consists of smalltime jewellery shops and the organized sector which consists of large stores or franchises such as Tanishq and Gili. Moreover, the high competition in the industry means that sales will be driven by perceptions of quality, trust in the jeweller, positioning of the product to appeal to the target population as well as the price of gold and economic pressures. Worryingly, there are newer legal and fiscal constraints regarding the import and export of gold along with taxation at sales point. On top of increases in excises, this cuts into the profitability of the sector as a whole.
PEST ANALYSIS
The following represents an industry-wide analysis of the political, economic, social and technological constraints and opportunities for the watch industry in India. Global factors will also be looked into.
(A)
POLITICAL AND LEGAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE WATCH INDUSTRY:
The watch industry faces a number of hurdles which are political and legal in nature, which inhibit the growth of the industry in India. The Indian markets are seeing growth in the luxury segment of watches with the growth of consumerism in the country. Moreover, there are restrictions that do not allow growth of competition in the industry as a whole. The major political hurdles that the industry faces are outlined below: (i) High duties faced by the industry players (ii) Complex and varied tax structure, where tax is levied at multiple stages of distribution and authorities
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(iii) Different rates of tax imposed by the state government (examples of such taxes are VAT and Octroi duty) (iv) Packaging regulations as per the “Weight and measurement Act” presents taxation at various levels and also provides operational difficulties (v) FDI regulations imply that capital for expansion via foreign investors in limited. Moreover, this also impedes the entry of international brands to have complete control over retailing (vi) Poor policing of spurious and smuggled goods bring about legal constraints As can be seen most of these factors are inhibitory in nature and especially the complexity of the taxation acts a deterrent for any company looking to enter the market. These can be simplified in order to allow for more perfect competition.
(B)
ECONOMIC FACTORS AFFECTING THE WATCH INDUSTRY:
The industry as a whole depends on consumer confidence and periods of weak consumer confidence will lead to a decrease in purchases made by the population, especially in the case of retail and luxury retail as well as targeted campaigns. The past decade has seen a tremendous increase in the purchasing power of the consumer and thus has led to a boom in consumption. This has benefitted the horological industry greatly, since higher margin products, such as luxury model watches, become more affordable to a greater number of people. For the organized sector in the industry, expansion requires capital and this will require financing via some debt (considering that it reduces the cost of capital for the firm). This means that the organized sector is dependent on the interest rate cycle as well as monetary policy changes. Taking the global picture into account, economic difficulties in most of the developed economies mean that consumer confidence is taking a hit and this is driving down retail sales. This means that international expansion as of now looks to be a losing proposition, until and unless the economic trends in the global economy are reversed.
(C)
SOCIAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE WATCH INDUSTRY:
The watch industry depends on purchasing power of the consumer. This has grown in Asian nations over the past decade. Looking at India, demand for luxury and high-end watches are on the increase. The mass market still dominates the industry as of now but there is a change in the structure of the demand, moving steadily up towards the higher end markets. It is anticipated that in the future, higher end models will sell more than mass market models because of obsolescence due to digital and mobile technology and also as watches become more and
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more a fashion accessory item. The industry is heavily targeting the younger generation as this subset of people have the most disposable cash. (D) TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE WATCH INDUSTRY:
The major technological factors that will affect the growth of the watch industry are outlined below. Precision engineering becomes important as more and more people start opting for mechanical watches than either digital or quartz. Moreover, the major threat to the industry as a whole comes from the digital market, where many essential products tell the consumer what the time is and thus, rendering the use of a watch unnecessary. So the migration of a watch from something of a necessity to something that is luxurious and prestigious is already underway. Technological advances such as Super Strong fibre from Hong Kong, which was acquired through relationships via vendors and improved distribution networks and cost optimization methods, were also sourced.
The following points represent an industry-wide analysis of the political, economic, social, technological and legal factors on the gold jewellery business. Global factors will also be looked into.
(E) POLITICAL AND LEGAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE GOLD JEWELLERY INDUSTRY: Recently, the government has introduced new policies in order to curb hoarding of gold and also to decrease the fiscal deficit that the government had built up during the second term of governance. They have limited the import of gold and have also reduced gold’s importance as an investment against future inflation as well as trying to limit the effect of black money in the real market. They are listed, not in any particular order, below: (i) The government requires the customer to show the PAN card for purchases of gold greater than Rs. 500,000 to curb the use of black money (ii) Increase in customs duty on gold from 1% to 2% to around 4% (iii) Statement for application of excise on bullion which was rolled back after much furore. This had affected sales after a strike by many jewellers in the country (iv) Introduction of TDS (Tax deductable at sources) for all transactions greater than Rs. 500,000 (v) Cabinet ratification of hallmarking in order to ensure quality of product and standardization of bullion and jewellery. There are no plans on implementation of this scheme.
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(F)
ECONOMIC FACTORS AFFECTING THE GOLD JEWELLERY INDUSTRY:
The economic factors faced by gold are easily understandable. Gold has traditionally been used as a store of value and as a hedge against inflation and currency depreciation. Moreover, India remains as the single largest consumer of physical gold in the world. Gold demand in India also is reflected by volatility in gold prices, especially when negative risk takes hold and the said demand drops. Similarly, large price increases mean that gold per ounce becomes more expensive and the relative amount of gold jewellery or gold bought starts to drop. Moreover, there were extreme rises in the price of polished diamonds and this also caused demand to stagnate somewhat. The fact that one needs to use PAN cards for transactions whose total amount exceeds Rs 500,000 also goes in explaining the drop in demand. One also needs to look at central bank demands for gold in order to ascertain the relative economic factors in determining gold prices and hence demand.
(G)
SOCIAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE GOLD JEWELLERY INDUSTRY:
Indian society has had an affinity for gold since antiquity. Gold has been important in honouring gods, in marriages and in many other social customs that have been handed down generation to generation. This implies that gold demand in India will never die down and there is always a stable market for gold from the highest to the lowest rung in the social ladder. Gold demand usually peaks during “auspicious” months for marriages and during Diwali.
(H) TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE GOLD JEWELLERY INDUSTRY: The major technological factors affecting the industry have to do with purity and hallmarking of the gold. New technological processes are not that important unless it has something to offer with regards to the purity of the final product. However, in the gems business, polishing tools and better grinders can lead the way to improvements in productivity and thus sales, though this would require considerable capital expenditure. They already have pioneered a non-destructive test to check the purity of gold.
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COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
As stated previously, competition in both the gold jewellery and watch industry is broken down into the unorganized sector consisting of single shops selling their goods and the organized sector consisting of large chains or franchises that sell their goods to the consumers, usually relying on greater brand strength and recognition. The eyewear industry that is also part of Titan consists mostly of single shops selling branded eyewear and Titan’s Titan Eye+ is opting to capitalize on the lack of organized competition to push forth branded eyewear consisting of lowend, mid-priced and high-end eyewear products and also offers a degree of customization for these products. In this section, we look at how competitors are placed and how they try to differentiate their products with those of Titan.
(A)
THE PRODUCT SEGMENTATION: We look at the target customer base and products offered by Titan using the charts below:
TITAN INDUSTRIES LTD. BUSINESS TO CUSTOMER JEWELLERY WATCHES EYEWEAR BUSINESS TO BUSINESS PRECISSION ENGINEERING
Fig: Titan’s business profile [8]
WATCHES LUXURY PREMIUM MID MARKET MASS MARKET Xylys Titan, Zoop, Fastrack Sonata
JEWELLERY Zoya Tanishq Tanishq, Mia Goldplus
EYEWEAR
Titan, Fastrack Titan Eye+
Fig: Product in terms of target population
We can now differentiate competitors on the basis of organized and unorganized sectors. With respect to the watch industry, the mass market area is highly competitive and has some organized watchmakers as competition. Unorganized watchmakers are local in nature with regard to their customer base and are highly price competitive. They also bring in smuggled goods or counterfeits that are cheap and look similar to branded items. With regards to the organized sector, we have companies such as HMT and Maxima. Pricing of products is competitive and focus on clever marketing generally pays off. The price ranges that are offered by these companies also suggest trying to play the margins, while trying to fend away from the “low price=low quality” mentality. Maxima is the second largest watchmaker in the country and has a wide range of products from which customers can choose from (similar to the Sonata and HMT brand). The franchising of stores was started recently and in effect has a competitive disadvantage to Titan, which sells these watches in the World of Titan stores which are numerous throughout the country. Maxima is also looking at international tie ups to improve its international marketability in comparison to Titan. Titan also offers mid market and premium watches, all of which can be bought at the “World of Titan” stores and luxury watches at “Helios” stores. The watches are aimed at middle class to upper middle class individuals, working women, trendy youngsters and office going people. Here, competition is mainly from international brands such as Swatch, Rado, Casio, Tag Heuer, Timex etc. Pricing from Titan is more conservative as it needs to compete with established brand names. For foreign companies, replicating Titan’s business model with franchises is difficult because of governmental rules regarding FDI in the country. With regards to the jewellery segment, there are major players such as Gitanjali Gems, Vaibhav Gems, Classic Diamond (India) Ltd, Shrenuj & Co. Gitanjali gems have established many sub brands under their name. The modus operandi of the firm is to maintain diversification
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of products on offer to the customer and marketing to appeal to the end users. Positioning of products from the organized sector usually is in terms of differentiation of their products with the competitors; some focus on certain precious metals, such as platinum and others are catered to a specific purpose, such as marriage. There are also firms that play on the local mindset of people and these retails are regional in nature. The eyewear industry is highly fragmented and has no clear competitor to Titan Eye+. The precision engineering division is a very small player in the industry and faces challenges in establishing itself internationally.
SWOT ANALYSIS FOR INDUSTRIES
(A) STRENGTHS:
(i) The watch industry is still a growing market and has more space for growth for Indian firms. (ii) Gold will never go out of vogue in Asian nations that have a historical connection with them and it also fares as an asset/investment. (iii) Growing economies that have an increasing number of young people looking to consume more goods and services. (iv) Barriers to entry, with regards to the organized sector of the industries are high and benefits players who are already established.
(B)
WEAKNESSES:
(i) Both the sectors are dependent on the purchasing power of the private consumer. This means that the industry is highly susceptible to shocks in the economy. (ii) Gold volatility reduces customer demand. Also gold prices affect the demand for gold and a lower number of units are sold. (iii) The effect of the unorganized sectors in both industries can lead to spurious goods being sold and erode margins of the organized sector. (iv) (v) The business is capital intensive and is affected by changes in interest rates. Taxation laws in the India can be a major hurdle and affect productivity and profitability.
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(C)
OPPORTUNITIES:
(i) There exists some element of fragmentation in these industries and thus can be exploited by firms with adequate capital. (ii) International expansion can be incorporated into the company strategy, considering increasing incomes for people in other parts of Asia, particularly in China and SEA. (iii) Many of these industries are now in the consolidation phase and thus established players can cement their position as market leaders. (D) THREATS:
(i) The industry is open to competition from abroad and thus increases the number of players as well as resources. (ii) Potential legislation from the government that can threaten the profitability of either industry. (iii) The threat of mobile devices in time keeping can diminish the profitability of the watch industry or even shrink the market. (iv) Economic collapse in the Euro can lead to disruption of the global economy, leading to poor profitability in most sectors. (v) Taxation laws and changes can lead to further loss in productivity and reduce corporate profits.
The company overview is shown on the next page.
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COMPANY OVERVIEW
Titan Industries Ltd. is primarily a specialty retail store with interests in watchmaking, jewellery, eyewear and precision instrumentation. It is the largest watchmaker in India and is the fifth largest watchmaker in the world in terms of production. It also has the largest organized jewellery retail store in India, Tanishq, which generates a substantial portion of the group’s income. Titan is also breaking into retail eyewear and precision instrumentation and is looking to expand operations. Titan looks to target different segments of its population with different brands. They have a significant outreach in the urban and semi-urban segments of India and have grown significantly on the basis of prudent advertising and increasing purchasing power of the burgeoning middle class of the country. The brand is also popular in the Middle East and has close to 2000 outlets worldwide. In order to compete in specific sections of the market (such as luxury watches), the company has acquired targets prudently over the course of time. The sections of industry it caters to are growing increasingly competitive with the threat of international entrants looming heavily in the horizon. It is a joint venture between the Tata Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, but still is a subsidiary of the Tata group. After the advent of the quartz crystal watch that did not require any mechanical winding, the group was able to expand such that it records a 65% market share. The company is headquartered in Bangalore and is looking to expand in fractured markets such as jewellery and eyewear. They are also spreading into precision manufacturing where they will act as an OEM to auto and aviation firms. The firm was founded in 1984. Titan is India’s largest retail network with over 826 stores and over 1 million square feet of carpet area. It employs around 6000 people in all, 2 design studios for jewellery and watches each, it has transformed itself into the largest specialty retail store in the country.
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HOLDERS Promoters General Public Foreign Institutions Other Companies National Banks, Mutual Funds Financial Institutions Others Foreign Ocb (A)
NO OF SHARES 471007920 216560556 143388420 22641165 22396054 11569949 213096 9000
% SHARE HOLDING 53.05 24.39 16.15 2.55 2.52 1.30 0.02 ~0
SHAREHOLDING PATTERN OF TITAN INDUSTRIES:
Fig: Titan Industries Ltd. shareholdings
(B)
SENIOR MANAGEMENT: DESIGNATION Managing Director COO & Executive Vice President, Jewellery Division COO- Eyewear Business & Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications COO & Executive Vice President, Precision Engineering Division COO, watches and accessories CFO Vice President- Sonata, Sales & Customer service Vice President & Business head –Fastrack & New brands COO, New Businesses Division Vice President & Chief of Retail Services Vice President, Retail and Marketing -Tanishq Vice President & Global Business Head – Titan & Retail CIO Head, Legal & Company secretaty
Fig. Senior Management
NAME Bhaskar Bhat C K Venkataraman S Ravi Kant Kailasanatham N H G Raghunath S Subramaniam C Srinivasan Ronnie Talati L R Natarajan V Govindraj Sandeep Kulhalli Ajoy Chawla Ramesh C S A R Rajaram
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FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
The firm posted strong earnings after a tough year due to the slowing economy and rising interest rates as well as a slowdown in private consumption compared to the previous year. This growth in earnings was driven by a significant increase in the watches segment as well as the jewellery segment.
80000 60000 40000 20000 0 Net profit Year 2011-2012 Year 2010-2011
Fig. Net profit in lakhs
Net profit went up as well to the tune of 39.4% as reported by the income statement by the company. Net sales also went up close to 37% and rode largely on the back of the company’s two main segments, jewellery and watches. One can see that jewellery is the biggest contributor to sales by far and that sales of watches fetch the company close to a quarter of what jewellery do, and thus one can conclude safely that the outlook for the jewellery segment with all its government restrictions will form opportunities and risks to the firm. As can be seen below, all segments reported an increase in sales. This sudden increase in sales has been noted over the past two years. The firm has steadily built up sales over the past decade as shown in their investor relations presentation.
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1000000 900000 800000 700000 600000 500000 400000 300000 200000 100000 0 Net Sales 2011-2012 Net Sales 2010-2011 Watches Jewellery Others Total
Fig. Net Sales in lakhs
Tanishq, the major contributor to revenues and profits, did lower the forecast for the next fiscal year (FY 12-13) because of high gold prices. He did however state that expansion will continue and lowered guidance for his division to 30%.
SWOT ANALYSIS FOR FIRM
(A) STRENGTHS:
(i) It is the largest jewellery retail store in the country and has presence in most of the tier 1 and 2 cities in the country as well as the largest watchmaker in the country with target markets across all wage brackets. (ii) It is the fastest growing brand of jewellery retail in the country. It has introduced mass marketing to gold buying, targeting the unorganized sector using “Tata Goldplus”. (iii) It has a strong brand with the customers and first to introduce scientific non-destructive testing for purity of gold, known as “Karatmeter”. Other brands from the watch sector also noted for good quality. (iv) India is the largest consumer of physical gold and Titan has a firm foothold in this industry as well as the polished stones industry.
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(v) It has introduced loyalty programs for members and reminders via mail about new products and connects well with customers. (vi) It is looking to diversify revenue streams by becoming an accessory retail store as well as heading into the precision engineering space. (vii) It has strong and innovative leadership and marketing teams.
(viii) Its brands are synonymous with style and cutting edge. (ix) It holds a strong franchising network as well.
(B)
WEAKNESSES:
(i) There may be internal conflicts that may arise between divisions (such as Tanishq and Goldplus) (ii) There appears to be a lack of growth in other major countries, especially where gold demand is soaring, such as China and South East Asia. (iii) Sales are still tied very closely to consumption patterns of the country and also highly susceptible to gold price volatility.
(C)
OPPORTUNITIES:
(i) The industries that Titan operate in have large unorganized sectors, meaning that these are composed of smaller players and are usually specific to a region or target population. With the resources behind Titan, targeting these sections using retail outlets and franchises help connect local people with the store and also offer better quality and customer service. Expansion into these sectors will also allow for increase in revenue (Eye+ is an example of this) (ii) The company can expand into many product segments that can influence its position as a style icon. Potential tie ups with leaders in clothing and apparel industry can also help it position any new products it decides to venture into. (iii) Valuations and currency depreciation in foreign stock markets (notwithstanding the depreciation of the rupee) should have boutique makers of watches at bargain prices. Acquisition of other brand names with endorsement from foreign celebrities will open doors not only in the affluent class in India but also in the rest of Asia. (iv) It can consolidate its position as market leaders in premium/luxury sectors before other firms can do so. It has begun doing
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(D)
THREATS:
(i) The threat of international firms taking premium and luxury market share internationally and nationally in the watch segment (which grew at the fastest rate despite the overall market remaining stagnant). (ii) The threat of new regulations that may adversely affect sales of gold or reduce barriers to entry for foreign firms and /or increase taxes. (iii) Adverse economic conditions may slow down private consumption to low levels and this will affect the top line for the firm. (iv) Adverse monetary policy can also affect cost of borrowing.
(v) The firm may try to diversify/expand quickly and lose brand recognition/value or misallocate capital to new ventures. (vi) The threat of mobile devices removing the need for time keeping by buying a watch.
PAST COMPANY STRATEGY
The company has aggressively pushed for expansion into the markets they are already established in. This has been done to consolidate their position as leaders in the organized watch and jewellery sector as well as maximize their outreach to their customer base. Plans outlined by the management over the past two years are listed below: Taking the watch industry into account, the firm increased its market share in multi branded outlets grew from 43% to 47%. The reason for this increase has been the consolidation of the brand values of each of the company’s sub brands and brands themselves (such as Titan, Sonata, Xylys and Fastrack). Innovative marketing methods and smart product positioning along with a strong expansion of the retail and sales network has led to Titan improving its market share. Titan has now transformed its watch portfolio to a “watches and accessories” portfolio, successfully turning a watch into a fashion accessory. The company is also hoping to lever lifestyle values such as style, trust and imagery. An example of this is the youth brand Fastrack, where the customer can also buy sunglasses, belts, bags, wallets and wristbands along with his/her watch. The company has also been banking on endorsements by stars with short and sweet taglines, which increases brand recall. The firm has also added to its retail network substantially and now has over 9000 stores in over 2500 towns in the country. The firm is still
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looking to expand into tier 3 and 4 towns. The firm has also started a new retail chain that caters specifically to customers of the premium and luxury watch segment. The store is named Helios and in addition to retailing Titan products, it also retails other leading international watch brands. The firm is also not averse to acquisitions as is evidenced by its recent acquisition of Swiss watchmaker Favre Leuba to augment its luxury brand portfolio. With regards to the eyewear industry, the company has banked on providing precision eye testing to provide accurate values for focal power. It also has expanded its multi-brand retail base to number 205 now. The company now has released new brands into this segment and is looking to capitalize on the same values as stated above (namely style and innovation). The company is now looking to improve customer experience at its stores. Looking at the jewellery segment, the company attracted the affluent customer base to its Tanishq stores. It was able to do this by introducing new large format stores in Kolkata, Pune and Mumbai and the success of these stores are prompting the firm to be bolder in establishing such stores. It was also able to play on the “trust and purity” factor by employing a series of ads featuring Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan. Moreover, the firm also has expanded its mass market Goldplus initiative in Andhra Pradesh as well as improving marketing and sales. The company is now looking to add to its carpet floor space by 250,000 sq.ft. It is also looking to lever up in order to purchase diamonds which are becoming increasingly expensive. It is looking to cater more towards working women and has taken the first step with the “Mia” brand.
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doc_408486504.docx
This is document about company analysis of titan industries ltd
TITAN INDUSTRIES LTD.
(DATE 22/07/2012)
INTRODUCTION
Titan Industries Ltd (“Titan”) offers a broad range of products that span several industries. These include the horological, gold jewellery, eyewear and precision engineering instruments. This broad range of products offers diversification of revenue for the firm, which benefits the top line and offers scope of growth in many of these industries. Titan has often pioneered the way for innovative methods of marketing and positioning a product in crowded industries and has broken new ground by fundamentally changing the way a particular industry functions. As of now, the major revenue drivers for Titan are the horological and gold jewellery industries. Any effects on these industries will impact the company greatly.
The company is now looking to break into the international market and some forays into the international market has been successful, whereas others have not which resulted in Titan writing off its operations as losses. It has however continued to grow handsomely in the Indian market space, taking advantage of increased consumer power due to economic expansion of the country, and it has been able to improve brand recognition due to innovative measures in connecting with the Indian population. This success has made Titan a market leader in most of the markets it has chosen to enter and has been duly rewarded with awards for Brand recognition and trust as well as innovative methods of marketing in the past year.
INDUSTRY TRENDS
This report shall now look into the major industries Titan operates in. They are namely the watch industry and the gold jewellery industry.
(A)
HOROLOGICAL INDUSTRY TRENDS:
The Global watch industry did not grow in terms of volumes of sales (it remained at 1.05 billion units worldwide). The reasons for this are the economic deceleration in most developed markets such as Europe and Japan. Asia posted a large growth in units sold whereas the US
[2]
showed a slight recovery from previous trends, owing to greater economic optimism in that country. The industry can be broken down into four categories: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Mass Market Mid-market brands Premium brands Luxury brands
Globally, Swiss watches (which primarily consists of luxury and premium) showed a large increase in sales, which was driven primarily by a large increase in Asian consumption (30%). This increase accounted for 55% of all exports of Swiss watches. A key concern for the industry is represented by exchange rate risk, as the Swiss franc is now pegged to the Euro (which may have been a contributing factor to increases in sales by Asian consumers as well). Sales of mechanized watches have overwhelmed the sales of other types of watches (digital and quartz) that have remained flat. The Indian watch market is bifurcated into two types, namely the organized and unorganized sector. The market itself is weighted towards the unorganized sector, which primarily targets low-end customers and sells about 30 million units per year. This volume consists of very cheap products that are assembled by hand by smalltime players but also of spurious and stolen products. The organized sector is dominated by a few brands such as Titan, Timex and HMT, of which Titan has a majority market share (65%). Global players are also entering the Indian market with strong brands to back them, in order to take advantage of the burgeoning consumer class in the country. Thus differentiation, value, brand and/or price competition appear to be the future trends in this space. Also as market penetration is rather low (at around 27%), the industry feels that there is scope for growth here. The industry is capital intensive and
(B)
GOLD JEWELLERY INDUSTRY TRENDS:
The Gold Jewellery industry can be broadly broken into two segments, namely the gems and precious stones segment and gold jewellery segment. India has been in the forefront when it comes to this segment for many years because of the following reasons: (i) Indians are the largest consumers of physical gold and thus form an integral part of demand in the gold market. (ii) The cost of labour is low and this fact has been taken advantage of by many polishers of diamonds and gemstones.
[3]
The price of gold obviously makes a lot of difference in determining the demand for gold. Gold prices have been extremely volatile and in dollar terms experienced a large increase and subsequently an almost equally large decrease in terms of price. For the Indian consumer however, this decrease in price is pared by the depreciation of the rupee and high inflation. Gold also traditionally serves as a hedge against high inflation, especially when real rates of saving turn negative and gold yields no usury for the holder. One may also look at segmenting the industry into the unorganized sector, which consists of smalltime jewellery shops and the organized sector which consists of large stores or franchises such as Tanishq and Gili. Moreover, the high competition in the industry means that sales will be driven by perceptions of quality, trust in the jeweller, positioning of the product to appeal to the target population as well as the price of gold and economic pressures. Worryingly, there are newer legal and fiscal constraints regarding the import and export of gold along with taxation at sales point. On top of increases in excises, this cuts into the profitability of the sector as a whole.
PEST ANALYSIS
The following represents an industry-wide analysis of the political, economic, social and technological constraints and opportunities for the watch industry in India. Global factors will also be looked into.
(A)
POLITICAL AND LEGAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE WATCH INDUSTRY:
The watch industry faces a number of hurdles which are political and legal in nature, which inhibit the growth of the industry in India. The Indian markets are seeing growth in the luxury segment of watches with the growth of consumerism in the country. Moreover, there are restrictions that do not allow growth of competition in the industry as a whole. The major political hurdles that the industry faces are outlined below: (i) High duties faced by the industry players (ii) Complex and varied tax structure, where tax is levied at multiple stages of distribution and authorities
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(iii) Different rates of tax imposed by the state government (examples of such taxes are VAT and Octroi duty) (iv) Packaging regulations as per the “Weight and measurement Act” presents taxation at various levels and also provides operational difficulties (v) FDI regulations imply that capital for expansion via foreign investors in limited. Moreover, this also impedes the entry of international brands to have complete control over retailing (vi) Poor policing of spurious and smuggled goods bring about legal constraints As can be seen most of these factors are inhibitory in nature and especially the complexity of the taxation acts a deterrent for any company looking to enter the market. These can be simplified in order to allow for more perfect competition.
(B)
ECONOMIC FACTORS AFFECTING THE WATCH INDUSTRY:
The industry as a whole depends on consumer confidence and periods of weak consumer confidence will lead to a decrease in purchases made by the population, especially in the case of retail and luxury retail as well as targeted campaigns. The past decade has seen a tremendous increase in the purchasing power of the consumer and thus has led to a boom in consumption. This has benefitted the horological industry greatly, since higher margin products, such as luxury model watches, become more affordable to a greater number of people. For the organized sector in the industry, expansion requires capital and this will require financing via some debt (considering that it reduces the cost of capital for the firm). This means that the organized sector is dependent on the interest rate cycle as well as monetary policy changes. Taking the global picture into account, economic difficulties in most of the developed economies mean that consumer confidence is taking a hit and this is driving down retail sales. This means that international expansion as of now looks to be a losing proposition, until and unless the economic trends in the global economy are reversed.
(C)
SOCIAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE WATCH INDUSTRY:
The watch industry depends on purchasing power of the consumer. This has grown in Asian nations over the past decade. Looking at India, demand for luxury and high-end watches are on the increase. The mass market still dominates the industry as of now but there is a change in the structure of the demand, moving steadily up towards the higher end markets. It is anticipated that in the future, higher end models will sell more than mass market models because of obsolescence due to digital and mobile technology and also as watches become more and
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more a fashion accessory item. The industry is heavily targeting the younger generation as this subset of people have the most disposable cash. (D) TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE WATCH INDUSTRY:
The major technological factors that will affect the growth of the watch industry are outlined below. Precision engineering becomes important as more and more people start opting for mechanical watches than either digital or quartz. Moreover, the major threat to the industry as a whole comes from the digital market, where many essential products tell the consumer what the time is and thus, rendering the use of a watch unnecessary. So the migration of a watch from something of a necessity to something that is luxurious and prestigious is already underway. Technological advances such as Super Strong fibre from Hong Kong, which was acquired through relationships via vendors and improved distribution networks and cost optimization methods, were also sourced.
The following points represent an industry-wide analysis of the political, economic, social, technological and legal factors on the gold jewellery business. Global factors will also be looked into.
(E) POLITICAL AND LEGAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE GOLD JEWELLERY INDUSTRY: Recently, the government has introduced new policies in order to curb hoarding of gold and also to decrease the fiscal deficit that the government had built up during the second term of governance. They have limited the import of gold and have also reduced gold’s importance as an investment against future inflation as well as trying to limit the effect of black money in the real market. They are listed, not in any particular order, below: (i) The government requires the customer to show the PAN card for purchases of gold greater than Rs. 500,000 to curb the use of black money (ii) Increase in customs duty on gold from 1% to 2% to around 4% (iii) Statement for application of excise on bullion which was rolled back after much furore. This had affected sales after a strike by many jewellers in the country (iv) Introduction of TDS (Tax deductable at sources) for all transactions greater than Rs. 500,000 (v) Cabinet ratification of hallmarking in order to ensure quality of product and standardization of bullion and jewellery. There are no plans on implementation of this scheme.
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(F)
ECONOMIC FACTORS AFFECTING THE GOLD JEWELLERY INDUSTRY:
The economic factors faced by gold are easily understandable. Gold has traditionally been used as a store of value and as a hedge against inflation and currency depreciation. Moreover, India remains as the single largest consumer of physical gold in the world. Gold demand in India also is reflected by volatility in gold prices, especially when negative risk takes hold and the said demand drops. Similarly, large price increases mean that gold per ounce becomes more expensive and the relative amount of gold jewellery or gold bought starts to drop. Moreover, there were extreme rises in the price of polished diamonds and this also caused demand to stagnate somewhat. The fact that one needs to use PAN cards for transactions whose total amount exceeds Rs 500,000 also goes in explaining the drop in demand. One also needs to look at central bank demands for gold in order to ascertain the relative economic factors in determining gold prices and hence demand.
(G)
SOCIAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE GOLD JEWELLERY INDUSTRY:
Indian society has had an affinity for gold since antiquity. Gold has been important in honouring gods, in marriages and in many other social customs that have been handed down generation to generation. This implies that gold demand in India will never die down and there is always a stable market for gold from the highest to the lowest rung in the social ladder. Gold demand usually peaks during “auspicious” months for marriages and during Diwali.
(H) TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE GOLD JEWELLERY INDUSTRY: The major technological factors affecting the industry have to do with purity and hallmarking of the gold. New technological processes are not that important unless it has something to offer with regards to the purity of the final product. However, in the gems business, polishing tools and better grinders can lead the way to improvements in productivity and thus sales, though this would require considerable capital expenditure. They already have pioneered a non-destructive test to check the purity of gold.
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COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
As stated previously, competition in both the gold jewellery and watch industry is broken down into the unorganized sector consisting of single shops selling their goods and the organized sector consisting of large chains or franchises that sell their goods to the consumers, usually relying on greater brand strength and recognition. The eyewear industry that is also part of Titan consists mostly of single shops selling branded eyewear and Titan’s Titan Eye+ is opting to capitalize on the lack of organized competition to push forth branded eyewear consisting of lowend, mid-priced and high-end eyewear products and also offers a degree of customization for these products. In this section, we look at how competitors are placed and how they try to differentiate their products with those of Titan.
(A)
THE PRODUCT SEGMENTATION: We look at the target customer base and products offered by Titan using the charts below:
TITAN INDUSTRIES LTD. BUSINESS TO CUSTOMER JEWELLERY WATCHES EYEWEAR BUSINESS TO BUSINESS PRECISSION ENGINEERING
Fig: Titan’s business profile [8]
WATCHES LUXURY PREMIUM MID MARKET MASS MARKET Xylys Titan, Zoop, Fastrack Sonata
JEWELLERY Zoya Tanishq Tanishq, Mia Goldplus
EYEWEAR
Titan, Fastrack Titan Eye+
Fig: Product in terms of target population
We can now differentiate competitors on the basis of organized and unorganized sectors. With respect to the watch industry, the mass market area is highly competitive and has some organized watchmakers as competition. Unorganized watchmakers are local in nature with regard to their customer base and are highly price competitive. They also bring in smuggled goods or counterfeits that are cheap and look similar to branded items. With regards to the organized sector, we have companies such as HMT and Maxima. Pricing of products is competitive and focus on clever marketing generally pays off. The price ranges that are offered by these companies also suggest trying to play the margins, while trying to fend away from the “low price=low quality” mentality. Maxima is the second largest watchmaker in the country and has a wide range of products from which customers can choose from (similar to the Sonata and HMT brand). The franchising of stores was started recently and in effect has a competitive disadvantage to Titan, which sells these watches in the World of Titan stores which are numerous throughout the country. Maxima is also looking at international tie ups to improve its international marketability in comparison to Titan. Titan also offers mid market and premium watches, all of which can be bought at the “World of Titan” stores and luxury watches at “Helios” stores. The watches are aimed at middle class to upper middle class individuals, working women, trendy youngsters and office going people. Here, competition is mainly from international brands such as Swatch, Rado, Casio, Tag Heuer, Timex etc. Pricing from Titan is more conservative as it needs to compete with established brand names. For foreign companies, replicating Titan’s business model with franchises is difficult because of governmental rules regarding FDI in the country. With regards to the jewellery segment, there are major players such as Gitanjali Gems, Vaibhav Gems, Classic Diamond (India) Ltd, Shrenuj & Co. Gitanjali gems have established many sub brands under their name. The modus operandi of the firm is to maintain diversification
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of products on offer to the customer and marketing to appeal to the end users. Positioning of products from the organized sector usually is in terms of differentiation of their products with the competitors; some focus on certain precious metals, such as platinum and others are catered to a specific purpose, such as marriage. There are also firms that play on the local mindset of people and these retails are regional in nature. The eyewear industry is highly fragmented and has no clear competitor to Titan Eye+. The precision engineering division is a very small player in the industry and faces challenges in establishing itself internationally.
SWOT ANALYSIS FOR INDUSTRIES
(A) STRENGTHS:
(i) The watch industry is still a growing market and has more space for growth for Indian firms. (ii) Gold will never go out of vogue in Asian nations that have a historical connection with them and it also fares as an asset/investment. (iii) Growing economies that have an increasing number of young people looking to consume more goods and services. (iv) Barriers to entry, with regards to the organized sector of the industries are high and benefits players who are already established.
(B)
WEAKNESSES:
(i) Both the sectors are dependent on the purchasing power of the private consumer. This means that the industry is highly susceptible to shocks in the economy. (ii) Gold volatility reduces customer demand. Also gold prices affect the demand for gold and a lower number of units are sold. (iii) The effect of the unorganized sectors in both industries can lead to spurious goods being sold and erode margins of the organized sector. (iv) (v) The business is capital intensive and is affected by changes in interest rates. Taxation laws in the India can be a major hurdle and affect productivity and profitability.
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(C)
OPPORTUNITIES:
(i) There exists some element of fragmentation in these industries and thus can be exploited by firms with adequate capital. (ii) International expansion can be incorporated into the company strategy, considering increasing incomes for people in other parts of Asia, particularly in China and SEA. (iii) Many of these industries are now in the consolidation phase and thus established players can cement their position as market leaders. (D) THREATS:
(i) The industry is open to competition from abroad and thus increases the number of players as well as resources. (ii) Potential legislation from the government that can threaten the profitability of either industry. (iii) The threat of mobile devices in time keeping can diminish the profitability of the watch industry or even shrink the market. (iv) Economic collapse in the Euro can lead to disruption of the global economy, leading to poor profitability in most sectors. (v) Taxation laws and changes can lead to further loss in productivity and reduce corporate profits.
The company overview is shown on the next page.
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COMPANY OVERVIEW
Titan Industries Ltd. is primarily a specialty retail store with interests in watchmaking, jewellery, eyewear and precision instrumentation. It is the largest watchmaker in India and is the fifth largest watchmaker in the world in terms of production. It also has the largest organized jewellery retail store in India, Tanishq, which generates a substantial portion of the group’s income. Titan is also breaking into retail eyewear and precision instrumentation and is looking to expand operations. Titan looks to target different segments of its population with different brands. They have a significant outreach in the urban and semi-urban segments of India and have grown significantly on the basis of prudent advertising and increasing purchasing power of the burgeoning middle class of the country. The brand is also popular in the Middle East and has close to 2000 outlets worldwide. In order to compete in specific sections of the market (such as luxury watches), the company has acquired targets prudently over the course of time. The sections of industry it caters to are growing increasingly competitive with the threat of international entrants looming heavily in the horizon. It is a joint venture between the Tata Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, but still is a subsidiary of the Tata group. After the advent of the quartz crystal watch that did not require any mechanical winding, the group was able to expand such that it records a 65% market share. The company is headquartered in Bangalore and is looking to expand in fractured markets such as jewellery and eyewear. They are also spreading into precision manufacturing where they will act as an OEM to auto and aviation firms. The firm was founded in 1984. Titan is India’s largest retail network with over 826 stores and over 1 million square feet of carpet area. It employs around 6000 people in all, 2 design studios for jewellery and watches each, it has transformed itself into the largest specialty retail store in the country.
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HOLDERS Promoters General Public Foreign Institutions Other Companies National Banks, Mutual Funds Financial Institutions Others Foreign Ocb (A)
NO OF SHARES 471007920 216560556 143388420 22641165 22396054 11569949 213096 9000
% SHARE HOLDING 53.05 24.39 16.15 2.55 2.52 1.30 0.02 ~0
SHAREHOLDING PATTERN OF TITAN INDUSTRIES:
Fig: Titan Industries Ltd. shareholdings
(B)
SENIOR MANAGEMENT: DESIGNATION Managing Director COO & Executive Vice President, Jewellery Division COO- Eyewear Business & Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications COO & Executive Vice President, Precision Engineering Division COO, watches and accessories CFO Vice President- Sonata, Sales & Customer service Vice President & Business head –Fastrack & New brands COO, New Businesses Division Vice President & Chief of Retail Services Vice President, Retail and Marketing -Tanishq Vice President & Global Business Head – Titan & Retail CIO Head, Legal & Company secretaty
Fig. Senior Management
NAME Bhaskar Bhat C K Venkataraman S Ravi Kant Kailasanatham N H G Raghunath S Subramaniam C Srinivasan Ronnie Talati L R Natarajan V Govindraj Sandeep Kulhalli Ajoy Chawla Ramesh C S A R Rajaram
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FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
The firm posted strong earnings after a tough year due to the slowing economy and rising interest rates as well as a slowdown in private consumption compared to the previous year. This growth in earnings was driven by a significant increase in the watches segment as well as the jewellery segment.
80000 60000 40000 20000 0 Net profit Year 2011-2012 Year 2010-2011
Fig. Net profit in lakhs
Net profit went up as well to the tune of 39.4% as reported by the income statement by the company. Net sales also went up close to 37% and rode largely on the back of the company’s two main segments, jewellery and watches. One can see that jewellery is the biggest contributor to sales by far and that sales of watches fetch the company close to a quarter of what jewellery do, and thus one can conclude safely that the outlook for the jewellery segment with all its government restrictions will form opportunities and risks to the firm. As can be seen below, all segments reported an increase in sales. This sudden increase in sales has been noted over the past two years. The firm has steadily built up sales over the past decade as shown in their investor relations presentation.
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1000000 900000 800000 700000 600000 500000 400000 300000 200000 100000 0 Net Sales 2011-2012 Net Sales 2010-2011 Watches Jewellery Others Total
Fig. Net Sales in lakhs
Tanishq, the major contributor to revenues and profits, did lower the forecast for the next fiscal year (FY 12-13) because of high gold prices. He did however state that expansion will continue and lowered guidance for his division to 30%.
SWOT ANALYSIS FOR FIRM
(A) STRENGTHS:
(i) It is the largest jewellery retail store in the country and has presence in most of the tier 1 and 2 cities in the country as well as the largest watchmaker in the country with target markets across all wage brackets. (ii) It is the fastest growing brand of jewellery retail in the country. It has introduced mass marketing to gold buying, targeting the unorganized sector using “Tata Goldplus”. (iii) It has a strong brand with the customers and first to introduce scientific non-destructive testing for purity of gold, known as “Karatmeter”. Other brands from the watch sector also noted for good quality. (iv) India is the largest consumer of physical gold and Titan has a firm foothold in this industry as well as the polished stones industry.
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(v) It has introduced loyalty programs for members and reminders via mail about new products and connects well with customers. (vi) It is looking to diversify revenue streams by becoming an accessory retail store as well as heading into the precision engineering space. (vii) It has strong and innovative leadership and marketing teams.
(viii) Its brands are synonymous with style and cutting edge. (ix) It holds a strong franchising network as well.
(B)
WEAKNESSES:
(i) There may be internal conflicts that may arise between divisions (such as Tanishq and Goldplus) (ii) There appears to be a lack of growth in other major countries, especially where gold demand is soaring, such as China and South East Asia. (iii) Sales are still tied very closely to consumption patterns of the country and also highly susceptible to gold price volatility.
(C)
OPPORTUNITIES:
(i) The industries that Titan operate in have large unorganized sectors, meaning that these are composed of smaller players and are usually specific to a region or target population. With the resources behind Titan, targeting these sections using retail outlets and franchises help connect local people with the store and also offer better quality and customer service. Expansion into these sectors will also allow for increase in revenue (Eye+ is an example of this) (ii) The company can expand into many product segments that can influence its position as a style icon. Potential tie ups with leaders in clothing and apparel industry can also help it position any new products it decides to venture into. (iii) Valuations and currency depreciation in foreign stock markets (notwithstanding the depreciation of the rupee) should have boutique makers of watches at bargain prices. Acquisition of other brand names with endorsement from foreign celebrities will open doors not only in the affluent class in India but also in the rest of Asia. (iv) It can consolidate its position as market leaders in premium/luxury sectors before other firms can do so. It has begun doing
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(D)
THREATS:
(i) The threat of international firms taking premium and luxury market share internationally and nationally in the watch segment (which grew at the fastest rate despite the overall market remaining stagnant). (ii) The threat of new regulations that may adversely affect sales of gold or reduce barriers to entry for foreign firms and /or increase taxes. (iii) Adverse economic conditions may slow down private consumption to low levels and this will affect the top line for the firm. (iv) Adverse monetary policy can also affect cost of borrowing.
(v) The firm may try to diversify/expand quickly and lose brand recognition/value or misallocate capital to new ventures. (vi) The threat of mobile devices removing the need for time keeping by buying a watch.
PAST COMPANY STRATEGY
The company has aggressively pushed for expansion into the markets they are already established in. This has been done to consolidate their position as leaders in the organized watch and jewellery sector as well as maximize their outreach to their customer base. Plans outlined by the management over the past two years are listed below: Taking the watch industry into account, the firm increased its market share in multi branded outlets grew from 43% to 47%. The reason for this increase has been the consolidation of the brand values of each of the company’s sub brands and brands themselves (such as Titan, Sonata, Xylys and Fastrack). Innovative marketing methods and smart product positioning along with a strong expansion of the retail and sales network has led to Titan improving its market share. Titan has now transformed its watch portfolio to a “watches and accessories” portfolio, successfully turning a watch into a fashion accessory. The company is also hoping to lever lifestyle values such as style, trust and imagery. An example of this is the youth brand Fastrack, where the customer can also buy sunglasses, belts, bags, wallets and wristbands along with his/her watch. The company has also been banking on endorsements by stars with short and sweet taglines, which increases brand recall. The firm has also added to its retail network substantially and now has over 9000 stores in over 2500 towns in the country. The firm is still
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looking to expand into tier 3 and 4 towns. The firm has also started a new retail chain that caters specifically to customers of the premium and luxury watch segment. The store is named Helios and in addition to retailing Titan products, it also retails other leading international watch brands. The firm is also not averse to acquisitions as is evidenced by its recent acquisition of Swiss watchmaker Favre Leuba to augment its luxury brand portfolio. With regards to the eyewear industry, the company has banked on providing precision eye testing to provide accurate values for focal power. It also has expanded its multi-brand retail base to number 205 now. The company now has released new brands into this segment and is looking to capitalize on the same values as stated above (namely style and innovation). The company is now looking to improve customer experience at its stores. Looking at the jewellery segment, the company attracted the affluent customer base to its Tanishq stores. It was able to do this by introducing new large format stores in Kolkata, Pune and Mumbai and the success of these stores are prompting the firm to be bolder in establishing such stores. It was also able to play on the “trust and purity” factor by employing a series of ads featuring Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan. Moreover, the firm also has expanded its mass market Goldplus initiative in Andhra Pradesh as well as improving marketing and sales. The company is now looking to add to its carpet floor space by 250,000 sq.ft. It is also looking to lever up in order to purchase diamonds which are becoming increasingly expensive. It is looking to cater more towards working women and has taken the first step with the “Mia” brand.
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doc_408486504.docx