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\I , How Tirnn Watcl;es did the Value Scgincntntion? . .

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/ VALUE-SEGMENTING-TITAN WATCHES CARVES OUl'
MANY DISTINCT SEGMENTS
· · d 'II' watches
T.tan Is the world's fifth largest watch ma~i,facturer and marl<eter. Titan sells an e.st1mato m, io~h' mini -
µer annum. Its dominance In the business ofwatr.hes,in India Is a story sustained through the years. I is 'b-
fase d.eals with Titan's segmentation strategy, which, togethe_r with Its distribution strategy. has m~in Y contn
uted to Titan's eminence. · de lifestyle
Titan segmented Its watch market usi_ng different bases such as Income, geographies, age, gen r, •
font;;iiy, etc. ·
As th<! first step, Titan arrived a~ three broad segments ·
First, Titan classified the watch buyers into three broad segments:
• The rich/high-income consumers
• The middle income consumers
• The lower income consumers
·Went for Value-Segmenting · .
Titan studied the buyers wid1 value orientation and located within each or the above three broad segments,
severa! sub segments, each displaying a distinctive value need. Titan raised the questions:
• What do different buyers seek in their watch?
Within a given segment, say, the rich, do all the buyers expect the same value (or benefit)? . 5
Do 'they all look for the s,me experience in owning a\vatch or .1rc they driven b_y distinct des1res/rnot1ve /
value-needs~
Value-Segmenting Unearths a Spectrum ofValue·Needs .
The val,ie that people sought in owning a ·watch constituted a large spectrum enco1nµassing functional value.
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convenience value, presdge value, aesthetic value, lifestyle experience value (fun, exci.te,nent etc.), and SQ 0 .
Within the rich.' there were vari~tlons among the buyers in the·value sought. Thf) same was true of the middle
and. lower Income segments.· Men and women formed distinctive segments within a given socio-economic
segment. When· the element of age was brought in, more sub segments emerged .,,;;thin each broad segment.
When the element of lifestyle was also brought in, Titan had on its hands_ a plethora or segments t:,ased on the
distim;tive value.needs.
tI
•~et us see·some details pn the distincti~e value needs.
1·he Rich Men formed one sub-segment among the _rich. Within the sub-segment of men, some wanted the
!
watch to be a· fasl1ion accessory adding to the style of ,their dress; s,)me felt, "let it be gold"; some others felt,
"why limit it to gold, let It be fine jewellery studded with precious gems and coloured stones; After all, we men
don't wear ornaments; let the watch .substitute it!" .
. Many younger ones among the rich men voted for watches suiting lifestyle. Some of them, for instance,
felt, "We are alw~;, outdoors, driving, playing, picrucking ... We need a c'asual-wear 'Natch, but it must not ·be
a.threw aw~y stuff." Some other group felt, "We'_must have designer "".atches like these grr:at Swiss t;rand;",
AnothP.r gi-oup felt, "We must have ha_nd assemb!ed and exclusive watches ... not those mass products ... "
Coming to the rich women, the younger among them lcoRed for a distin<;t vall1e: "We must h~v,, a beautifu:
·bi-acelet around our wrisi:, just as we have a·necld~ce around our neck!" Anoct,~; g~oup felt, i·wc must have,
dress watch ... And, we need ri1ore than one .watch .... one to·suit each occasion" • ·
I Children of.th_e rich were n_ot.lagging behind either j~ seeking differentiated v;lue._Boys ,:,anted Fun .and Pia)'
In their watch; Gwls wanted Pretty Patt.ems apd Brighrcolours. · ·
L The pri~e tag did not matter, ,generally, to all the· i,~ups In thi_s segment.
J, The Middle Income Segment The buyers her!i', by and large, wanted a good watch . They expected it to be
r a durable product. But, here too the different groups had their distinctive value-needs. Many looked fo,· som~
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 fashion and design along with.a good watch. And there surely were variations In the ~otlons and expectations
about fashion and .design. Women In the segment asked For beau.tifu/ designs. Unlike with the rich, price also
mattered to this segment; the price range had to be ~~nable. · . I .· ·
The lower ln~me Seiment While many l_n this ~egrnent,saw a ~tch mainly as a device showing time and
bought it mainly on·tlie price, rnany did seek differentlat~ value within a given preferred prl~e range.
Titan adopted'a large.number of segments
Since ntan's value-segmenting unearthed.a large spe~trum of value needs, and since Titan also went for a wide
range of offers with respect to price polnts-nnglng from n9s to r1 .S lakh-over all, the number of seg."
ments It had to adopt as Its target market became huge. And, n~ opted for a long product line and a wide
range of models and off~red different products to the different value segments, ·meeting their specific value ·
requirements. Titan checked out the size and economic viability of each of the segments with the varying value- .
need. Wherever it constituted a reaspnably viable segment,' Titan lncluaed it in Its targer.market and responded
with appropriate offerings. ·· . . . . . ·

Creat~d ·I\ N1,1~.b~r of Brands ..., Xylus, Edge, A~ru~, Royale, Nebula, Son~ta, Raga,
Fastracl<,·Regaha .;.•· . . . . ':\- ·.. · I · . . . . .

ntan devel~P.ed _Its b~nd strategy In tun~ with:, its s~gm~ii~ti'ori·strategy. As It came !d s~raddle ~mos~ every
value-need and ev~ry price point in the mass as .well as premium and luxury segments "Of the Indian watch mar-
ket, it creat~~ a _large house of brands, m_atchlng the lafge number of segments.
Let us see the details. · ·
The 'luxury' Seg.;,ent..... Xylus, Edge... . ,
Titan offered its premium brand Xylus In ,the r10,000:-50,000 to this segment. It planned to make it the num-
ber one bran~ in the segment. The segmentation logic here was: "Indian consumers are willing to spe;d on lux'.
ury watches and ·brand Titan also wishes to evolve with the~. We want to set up a multi-brand retail c·hain for
premium watches . We have test-market~ the premium watches Including Xylus in our retail stores-Hellos
and have received got>d response". Xyfus"watches work on 'i:onsumers' perception of having Swiss precision.
'The gold love~• .... Auni~, Royale, ~~hula .. ,.· · ·
Titan offered to "the gold lovers" the all gold watches-ttie Aur11m and Royale lines. These were jewellery.
watches in 18 carat gold. The Royale range was all gold and precious metals; and the A~rum range was in 18
carat gold, studded with gems and coloured stones .. Titan offered 30 models in this range initially. It came in
the price ·range of no,ooo to 100,000. Titan made yet another all gold offer-Nebula. It aimed at tlie
younger_aniong the well-to- do, the 25-35 year olds, both men am:I women. Nebula watches were also made
.:of
i: ' .. '. . :.
Its Classic range was another
:.. 1 pure 18 carat gold. _ . . • :' . \ ~ '· 1,';'l
., •
offer
.. • •'
.:
Iii gol~;
• :~ .
it·combined
.• • :
the elegance of goldanil
•
leather.
'For .the 'more·chan.,orie' segment , ,. :;,. .,. : ,
Titan took those who wanted more than:one Watch into.a separate segment and tempted them by offering a
wide range of mod~ls. It offe_red them '~tches that m~t~l:ied one's dfess and occasion~.•.
For the 'lifestyle segment' · . . . . .. . . · .·. ·
Titan was not marketing watches as time-telling instl'\Jme_nts, but as personal and fashion ~ccessories and life-··
style statements. So it.had to go for lifestyle segmenting. .
Within 'lifestyl~ segment,' Titan had to take to· several lifestyle.sub-segments .
Personal accessory brands have to target sped/le ,mindsets and lifestyles. Every brand stands for a particular
idea and suits one.particular: mindset and hence; OQe particul&[ $egment. One idea can .effectively cater to only.
one mindset. Therefore, within the lifestyle space, Titan had to go ,for sev~ral sub-segments. By implication, it..
had to have a house of brands, each catering to one mind~et. To try to.straddle the whole market with a single
brand was not.a sound strategy. . .
Titan also tried to tocate additional segments through its appeal :co fantasy. People always nurse ambitions ·
to be more ~han whatever th_ey really are in life. It _·is a fantasy. Titan_plays on that fantasy. For example, an
executive may secretly wish to be a pilot. Wearl_ng_ the Aviat,or series of Titan watches _takes him closer to that
innate desire.

The ;lifestyle segment! a~oiig the youth ahd the outdoor lovers ... Fastrack... . . .
Titan offered the ·youth .the Fastriick. Fastrack _related well to f4h-l9vi ng college youth. Titan brought In this
range after study1ng the lifestyles and mindsets of 15 to 25 year olds. :"·1ese w~~e casual watches _with an accent
on youth arid the outdoors. The offer came in 25 different d_esigns, Titan pos111oned Fastrack as Cool Watches
by Titan.' Advertising, packaging and merchandising were all different for Fastrack-young, vibrant_ and cool-
reflecting the lifestyle-based positioning. ·

Marl!,•/ Segmn1/aliu11 mu/ Tiugeting with Vit/11, U11e11/11liu11

 F 'th . .. . . .
or e digital segment among the youth' ... Fastraclc Dlgltal ...
·Titan also adopted the digital segmen,t as part of- Its. target. It moved up In technolo~ apd bro1Jght in the
Fastrack Digifal-a range qi digital watches. Thes~ were ·designed ~x~luslvely for the yqung, and $party. Titan
. · positioned the Fastrack Digital collectl9n on a fashion platfor(T1. There W(lre 22 designs In fo_ur series, to st~rt
. With. The range was later extended 'to nearly 40 deslgris, .ranglng from the simple model .to tlie 'iatest 'spa~e
age-looking' digitals and the futuristic ana-dlgf model.
' .
For 'the designer segment', .. tho Euro Col/ec:tlon... . ·
Titan also adopted thP. designer segmenc-'and '9ffered tnem cjeslgner ~nq hand assembled watches, ~he £ur9
Colle_c~ion, .designed by ~uropean deslgners:-rhe Euro~~an f?~lgnla "."iltches.' wlt_h specifications _that' ma~~hed ·
· the Swiss counterparts and the Professional Sp_qrt~ /nstrument~,2000,range were on offer to the segrn~nt. _fhe
European Insignia~ at the cop of th~ preml1'.m,pll~, ·with"erlces :rani:in~ bet-.ycen, ,s,000 <!nd ~8, 000: Th,e
Professional Sports Instruments 2000 range~ 1m~ant f.or ~~,_;t porty,~rban:'t~,and Wi/,S priced ·c1oselr fq_llowlng
the Insignia range, bll(Ween f4,500 and r7,50(). · ·· · ·
Thos~ buying watches for giving as iw.ec;ldl11g gifts' m°'c;I~ Int~ :a segment . .
A mark~t _can be segmented based on th'1;1 ~cc\Ulon to. whi_
ch the p1,1r,::h~ e I$ related. It Is part ·gf l;I\JYer
Behavi,;,ur segmentation. 'litan grasped° that.many In India b_o!)ght watches fo~ giving as wedcllng ·gifts. Noting
that it fs a _sizable group, Titan made them Into a distinct seg~ent.. ·, ·
Titan 'Weddll'lg C9llectlons' . .
a
Titan created 'Wedding Colleccion' of watches and marketed them during the Wedding seasons. Titan also
· specially supported the marketing of "Wedding Collection: with attractlYe sales promotion .schemes that suit-
ed the target buyers and target occasion. The sales promotion sc_heme was aptly termiid. as the "Wedding
Camiv;il'! And, with the 'Wedding Collc·ction' too, Titan offered mod.els at several price 'poines. l_t was staying
true of its reputation for deep differentiation and 'value segm~nting,:
For 't'1e children' ... Dosh! ... Zoop ... • .· . . . . .
. Titan t?ok children between 6 and 14 years as separate se~ment and offered .the.' ·
· Da:sh!-'an exciting brand' for the segment. It_created_it·excl1,1sively for children and made
it avail<!ble in a range of attractive colours and designs. Titan's positioning theme was '.It·
. · i6 fo~ the child who has style and class; who· is. discernirg and wants to wear a new fa'"e.'
Subsequently. Titan' withdrew the Dash! range. Lat~r,:it brought in the Zoop range for the . ·
children. With Zoop Ti~an made a real.exploration il)to the world ofchildren, promising to
bring .fun
.
and excitement
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into children's life.
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Sub segments within children segme.nt . . .. ,
Even within 'the children'.segmel'\t, Titan treated 6ciys and_girls as separate segmen_cs and
made distinctive offei-s. Titan actually_created four sub segmen~ within the children segr'nent.,-boys and girls in ·•
the age groups of 6-10 years and I 1-14 years. Even in segmenting of children, Titan brought in the Personality
factor and attracted t/,e kids by offering watches ~hat '!!fleeted different Personalities; which the children as-
sumed they. belonged to or wanted to belong. ·
for 'the middle in.:ome,' sturdy watch .seeki~g sejiment'
Titan oifered the Exucta range for this segment, the seekers of 'Sturdy Watch'
: at a reasonable price. These were watches in stainless steel that w9uld withstand
_the rigours of daily life. Titan offered it in IO0 differenc deigns. The:price range
was ?500-700, · · · ·
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·: for 'the middle- income women seelcing fashieri' ,
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Titan offered the Raga range for thi5 egment. Representing sensuality, Raga was )
meant exclusively for women. 1 ·
For 'the lower incom~ segment' · t
To begin with Titan tied up with Timex. Corporation of the US, and promoted Raga for city women
Timex Watches Ltd in India. With Timex, mass p·rodu1:tion of low price watches
had always been the ~trength. The_tie-upwas fo compl~ment the Titan range
and help it exploit the low price segment. Subsequently, Titan terminated the
alliance with Timex, It brought in the Sonata. Sonata has been its 'value for
money' brand. Backed by cricketer M.S. Dhoni, the brand lias waded into
d1is market v,•ith s·uper Fiber watches in 68 varieties.
Sonata for 'value for money ' and rural segment
Titan positioned Sonata as a brand for the rurai market as well, as it suited Sonata for 'value for
_ the expectati?ns and value-needs of that segment.
money' and rural segment

;\ /11 rk1·ti11g ;\/a11 ngr.1,1m /

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