ITV

Tag: Watches

  • Jewellery leads Titan’s 54.3 percent Op Inc 29 per cent PAT growth in Q2-2015

    Jewellery leads Titan’s 54.3 percent Op Inc 29 per cent PAT growth in Q2-2015

    BENGALURU:  For the past few quarters, Titan Company (Titan) jewellery business has been pulling down the company’s numbers. This quarter (Q2-2015 which ended 30 September 2014), this business under its jewellery distribution brands Tanishq and Goldplus from Tata showed an upsurge in retail sales by as much as 75 per cent and 84 per cent, respectively. Overall, as per Titan’s investor presentation, jewellery business witnessed y-o-y growth in net income of 64.8 per cent from Rs 1,777 crore in Q2-2014 to Rs 2,929 crore in the current quarter.

    Note : 100,00,000 = 100 Lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore

    The company’s Total Income from Operations (TIO) went up 54.3 per cent in TIO to Rs 3593.07 crore in Q2-2015 from Rs 2328.97 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and grew 24.3 per cent from Rs 2891.44 crore in the immediate trailing quarter Q1-2015.

    Titan has three revenue segments – watches having the brands –Titan, Xylus, Nebula, Sonata and Fastrack and Zoop; Jewellery (the largest segment in terms of revenue and consequently profits) with Tanishq, Zoya, Gold Plus from Tata, Mia and Fq teen diamonds; and ‘Other’ such as eyewear under the Titan EYE+ brand, apparel and eyewear also under Fastrack brand and precision engineering among others.

    Titan MD Bhaskar Bhat said, “This was an extra-ordinary quarter for the company and we witnessed an income growth of over 55 percent on account of an encouraging performance by all divisions, especially the jewellery business where the accounts of our Golden Harvest Scheme customers had to be closed based on regulatory changes. We have also seen an improvement in consumer sentiment in the second quarter and many of our brands ran successful activations to build on this sentiment and the festive mood. Gold prices have been stable and inflation is falling which would help in providing a lift to the economy. However, the coming quarter will have to be observed and tackled appropriately as some channels are beginning to report lower walk-ins. All our brands will invest in new campaigns in this quarter to improve our connect with the consumer.”

    Titan’s Watches division has also done well in the quarter backed by successful activations for both Titan and Fastrack brands, says the company in its press release. A new brand campaign on ‘gifting of time’ went on air for Titan watches. The income for watches was Rs 527.46 crore in Q2-2015 as compared to Rs 439.07 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

    Other businesses of the company comprising Precision Engineering, a B2B business, the Eyewear business and accessories grew by 20.9 percent in Q2-2015 versus Q2-2014. The combined income of these businesses was Rs 137.90 crore in the current qaurter. Their last year income for Q2-2014 was Rs 114.03 crore.

    The company has spent higher amount towards advertising (ASP) in Q2-2015 at Rs 105.83 crore (2.9 percent of TIO), which was 12.2 percent higher than the Rs 94.35 crore (4.1 percent of TIO) in Q2-2014 and 6.6 percent more than the Rs 99.25 crore (3.4 percent of TIO) in Q1-2015.

    Over the 11 quarter period starting Q4-2012, Titan’s ASP shows an increasing trend in absolute rupee terms, but in terms of ASP as percentage of TIO, the trend shows a decline. Please refer to Fig A below.
    During the period under consideration, the company’s highest ASP in absolute rupee terms was in Q3-2014 at Rs 118.04 crore (4.4 percent of TIO). This was the highest ASP in FY-2014. Q3-2013 ASP was also the highest in FY-2013 at Rs 108.76 crore (3.6 percent of TIO).

    Also, during the period under consideration, the company’s highest ASP in terms of percentage of TIO was in Q1-2013 at 4.7 percent (Rs 103.44 crore). Historically, during the period under consideration, though Titan’s Q2-2013 TIO was higher than the TIO in Q1-2013, the company’s ASP had gone up in absolute rupee terms in Q3-2013, but was lower in terms of percentage of TIO as compared to both Q1-2013 and Q2-2013.

    In Q1-2014, the company’s ASP was higher in absolute rupees at Rs 104.67 crore as compared to the Rs 94.35 crore in Q2-2014. However, in terms of percentage of TIO, Titan’s Q1-2014 ASP at 3.4 percent was lower than the 4.1 percent in Q2-2014 or the 4.4 percent in Q3-2014.

    If the company wants to push towards record sales and profits in FY-2015, the chances of the company spending more towards advertising spends in Q3-2015 are quite high going by what Bhat has said in the company’s earnings release.

    Y-o-y the company’s PAT improved 28.6 percent to Rs 239.98 crore in Q2-2015 from Rs 186.65 crore and went up by 35.4 percent from Rs 177.27 crore in Q1-2015. Please refer to Fig B below.

    During the 11 quarter period under consideration, Titan’s PAT shows an upward trend in absolute rupee terms, but seems to have flattened out at about 7.2 percent of TIO, maybe could even decline fractionally.

  • Central’s ‘Happiness sale’ returns!

    Central’s ‘Happiness sale’ returns!

    MUMBAI: The most exciting sale in town is here- The Central Happiness Sale! Avid shoppers will have yet another reason to celebrate this New Year with the sale offering upto 51% off on almost over 500 brands available across Central stores in the country. Indulge in the one month Happiness sale from January to February, 2014 and avail some incredible discounts on some of the best fashion brands across various categories. Choose from a choice of apparels, handbags, footwear, watches, cosmetics and accessories.

     

    The Happiness sale caters to almost all age groups and spoils shoppers for choice offering up to 51% off on the latest fashion and accessory brands. Fashion has never been more accessible as there are great offers for women ranging from ladies ethnic, western and party wear brands like Desi Belle, Fushion Beats, Biba, Rangmanch, Rig, Scullers, Remanika, Aakruti, Honey, Oxygen to Kid’s range of stylish and chic brands like Gini & Jony, Lilliput, Chalk, and Bare Kids to name a few.

     

    Men too now have an opportunity to change their wardrobe. With great offers on brands like Arrow, Van Heusen, Scullers, John Miller, Provogue, Indigo Nation, Allen Solly. Shoppers can even avail up to 51% off on sports brands like Nike, Adidas, Converse, Speedo, Skechers, Pepe, Levis, UMM, Rig and many more.

     

    Jitendranath Patri, Marketing Head- Central and Brand Factory said, “The Happiness Sale is a great opportunity for shoppers who are looking for the most fashionable apparel and accessories this season. They get to choose from a wide range of some of the best international and National brands. There’s something for everyone at Central. This is a great time to own your style and make a fashion statement.”

     

    From ethnic to western, from sober to bold styles, from kids fashion to formal fashion – Central offers a perfect blend of fashion at the best deals to the fashion conscious shopper, the family shopper or the budget shopper.

     

    Come and experience Happiness and be spoilt for a choice only at Bangalore Central. Be delighted!

  • Titan’s new TVC defines the joy of gifting

    Titan’s new TVC defines the joy of gifting

    New Delhi: Titan has launched a new advertising campaign that aims to infuse warmth into the very moment a gift changes hands.

    The brand wants the buyers to look at the iconic brand, and the original owner of the gifting platform, in a brand new light. A special part of this objective was to return the brand’s ever-popular theme music to its earlier status as gifting as a warmest mnemonic. The message is supported by a wide range of watches across several collections; one for every kind of gifting moment, or relationship.
     

    The creative rendition of the brief celebrates the long-forgotten ‘Joy of Gifting’. The television commercial created by Ogilvy India showcases a playful and warm situation set in a college classroom. What initially appears to be routine mischief in an otherwise regular lecture snowballs into a heartening group effort by the students to thank their teacher. A rendition of Titan’s classic signature melody is recreated by the students in acapella form, by thumping on desks and classroom stationery, and of course their own voices. While the teacher looks on, overwhelmed by emotion, a student walks up to him and hands him a book that celebrates their memories. Upon flipping the pages, he finds in one of the pages, a sophisticated Titan watch.

    Titan Watches Global marketing head & product head Rajan Amba said, “The new TVC rekindles an emotional bond that plays an important role in shaping our lives. Gifting is as much about receiving as it is about giving, and giving freely without expectations greatly increases the joy of giving. We have brought back the Titan tune in an emotional yet contemporary manner which is bound to bring back memories among an audience of all ages.”

    Ogilvy executive chairman and national creative director Piyush Pandey, also shared his views on the commercial, “The new Titan campaign dovetails the introduction of more world class watches by Titan. The campaign explores deep human emotions associated with gifting. The first in the series is a tribute to the great Indian tradition of gurushishya.”

  • Ethos eyeing television as a part of mass media communication mix

    Ethos eyeing television as a part of mass media communication mix

    BENGALURU: Indian chain of luxury watch studios Ethos Limited (Ethos) is looking at television commercials as a part of its mass media communications mix during the next fiscal. The company is considering business news channels such as NDTV Profit as well as some niche channels. Ethos is an authorised retailer of over 65 luxury watch brands.

    The company plans to up by around 50 per cent its media spends revealed Ethos associate director Manoj Gupta to www.indiantelevision.com. “We will start in a small way, and gradually up our presence on television,” revealed Gupta.

    Industry sources peg Ethos spends between Rs 7 to 10 crore per year, this includes contributions from the major brands that it sells. At present, Ethos uses print, outdoor and in-house quarterly publication Ethos Summit, besides the digital online medium, which has seen more than three lakh unique visitors per month to its portal claims Gupta.

    So far, its media planning has been done in-house. Ethos is having discussions with a couple of media buying agencies in Mumbai and will chalk out its media buying plans’ once it picks a suitable partner. While most of its creative work is done in conjunction with the brands, a lot of the work is done by a Delhi based creative agency Scribbles.

    “The average price of a fashion watch in India would be between Rs 15,000 to 20,000, a premium watch would cost about Rs 1 to Rs 1.25 lakhs, while a luxury watch would cost Rs.7 lakh upwards,” informed Gupta.

    Ethos estimates the size of the fashion, premium and luxury watches at Rs 1500 crore and expects it to grow to Rs 4,000 crore over the next three years. The company has 41 outlets in 12 cities of India, of which about eight sell fashion watches, about seven luxury watches. It also has single brand watch stores for brands such as Rolex, Omega and Swatches.

    Ethos generated a revenue of Rs 210 crore, last year and Gupta is confident of a 25 to 30 per cent growth in revenue this fiscal.

    Gupta was in Bengaluru for the launch of a range of core and professional Rolex watches, earlier launched at Baselworld 2013, one of which costs Rs 44.68 lakh.

  • PSU brands pave way for private brands

    PSU brands pave way for private brands

    MUMBAI: It was almost 25 years back when all of us were familiar with HMT watches. They really ruled the market and even I remember in their slogan they called them as Time Keeper To The Nation.  And their advertising message said if you have the inclination we have the time.  And when they launched the quartz brand they said if we you have the inclination we have the exact time. Here they were emphasising the exactness to the correct time a quartz watch is supposed to deliver.

    But in 1987 when the Tatas came to the market with Titan they came with lot of planning and a well thought out strategy to rewrite the watch industry which they ultimately did so. And within a matter of few years they dislodged HMT and just surged ahead by bringing in variety and innovation in all their marketing efforts. Be it distribution or product innovation they did it differently to only be the undisputed king in the watch business. From a watch brand they have moved into to a whole range of brand extensions and the latest being the launch of perfumes.

    By the time we entered the 90s with liberal policies we saw several categories where private brands entered and started giving a tough time to the PSU brands. Let me recollect a few categories where private brands have made deep inroads.

    Lubricants: This category was primarily dominated by the PSU brands due to their strong hold on distribution. As no private brands were allowed to sell their products through petrol stations. But that did not stop the private sector to push their products. Castrol was the first to aggressively market their product. Their strong communication strategy helped them gain good visibility to get into the consideration set. They used the bazaar trade for distributing their products and also cleverly opened outlets opposite petrol pumps to make easy availability of the product which gave the car owners one more choice apart from what the fuel station was stocking. They constantly kept innovating and improving their product offerings through strong R&D and became partners to many OEM automobile manufacturers. Today the private sector put together holds close to 40 per cent market share. We have several brands like Gulf, Elf and Tide water that also had their share in this market.

    Insurance:  Life insurance was synonymous with LIC. In fact the lingo that was used is LIC kar leya… Also since this PSU brand had backing from the government, the credibility scores were very high which helped them to gain loyalty  as against the private brand. But today desk research say’s that LIC has only 50 per cent share and the combined private insurance brands control the balance 50 per cent. There are at least 10 brands which are fighting to get their pie in this highly competitive market which has lot of government norms that one has to adhere to. Most of these private brands have pumped in huge marketing spends to create awareness but besides that they also bought in the use of the online tool for people to buy polices, which is still lagging behind with the PSU brands. With the rapid penetration of internet and a younger population that will rule the Indian market these private sectors will have an upper hand to woo this new generation?

    Airlines: The Indian skies were ruled by the Indian Airlines (Now Air-India). But over a period of time starting in the 90s we saw the downfall of the Indian Airlines as private operators flew in. There was a huge shift towards private airlines and the result being that Air-India only has 20 per cent market share according to published reports. In the airlines business service matters a lot and that’s where Air- India dipped very low to surrender their market; besides the constant staff and pilot issues have also eroded their equity over a period of time. And the continuous newness in the service and the competitive pricing by the private operators never allowed Air-India to regain their glory which they sat on for many years.

    Telecom: BSNL and MTNL were the household names in the wired connection when it came to telephone. One had to wait for a long period of time to get a permanent connection. At one point of time having a telephone was a luxury but since the 90s with the advent of mobile connections it very soon became a necessity. While both the PSU brands are also present in the mobile space but I am unaware of their exact market share. Nearly 85 per cent market share is held by the private brands. Here again technology and aggressive marketing helped these private sector brands to hold the market with lot of ease as there is no fight or competition from the PSU brands.

    While red- tapism and vested political interest has been by and large the deterrent for PSU brands to grow. We must also keep in mind that the mindset of Indian consumers have shifted and changed in the last few years. The new breed of Indian customers seeks value in whatever they buy and hence it is important for both the PSU brands and private brands to get their value proposition right. With internet within reach, the narrowing of buying decisions have become easier as with price comparison more product information is being provided by many aggregators. Unless there is huge overhauling done by PSU the story will not change and private brands will just keep on cashing them.

    By Ganapathy Viswanathan, an independent communication consultant, in communication, branding and public relations.

  • Calvin Klein Jeans announces Fall 2013 Campaign

    Calvin Klein Jeans announces Fall 2013 Campaign

    MUMBAI – Calvin Klein, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PVH Corp. [NYSE: PVH], today revealed the Calvin Klein Jeans women’s and men’s Fall 2013 global advertising campaign.
    The Calvin Klein Jeans advertising campaign for Fall 2013 showcases members of the American alternative rock band Warpaint – including Jenny Lindberg (vocals, bass), Theresa Wayman (vocals, guitar), Emily Kokal (vocals, guitar) and Stella Mozgawa (drums).

    Shot by Tyrone Lebon, Warpaint is featured performing for a crowd that includes models Tilda Landstrom, Louise Parker, Matthijs Meel, Sung Jin Park and Mikkel Jensen. The musicians and models are wardrobed in a mix of jeanswear, sportswear, footwear and accessories from Calvin Klein Jeans. The campaign highlights the brand’s latest introduction, the new rocker kick jean — ‘RCKR KICK’ – a sexy, slim silhouette with a kick flare at the hem.

    Conceived under the creative direction of Calvin Klein’s in-house global marketing and advertising agency, the Calvin Klein Jeans Fall 2013 campaign will be featured across four continents, spanning from North and South America to Europe and Asia. The print campaign will be complemented by prominent outdoor executions and an on-line advertising campaign video, featuring Warpaints’s new song, “Love is to Die,” which will be included on the band’s next album scheduled for release in September 2013.

    Calvin Klein, Inc. is one of the leading fashion design and marketing studios in the world. It designs and markets women’s and men’s designer collection apparel and a range of other products that are manufactured and marketed through an extensive network of licensing agreements and other arrangements worldwide. Product lines under the various Calvin Klein brands include women’s dresses and suits, men’s dress furnishings and tailored clothing, men’s and women’s sportswear and bridge and collection apparel, golf apparel, jeanswear, underwear, fragrances, eyewear, women’s performance apparel, hosiery, socks, footwear, swimwear, jewelry, watches, outerwear, handbags, small leather goods, and home furnishings (including furniture). For more information, please visit calvinklein.com.

    PVH Corp., one of the world’s largest apparel companies, owns and markets the iconic Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands worldwide. It is the world’s largest shirt and neckwear company and markets a variety of goods under its own brands, Van Heusen, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, IZOD, ARROW, Bass, G.H. Bass & Co., Warner’s and Olga, and its licensed brands, including Speedo, Geoffrey Beene, Kenneth Cole New York, Kenneth Cole Reaction, MICHAEL Michael Kors, Sean John, Chaps, Donald J. Trump Signature Collection, JOE Joseph Abboud, DKNY, Ike Behar and John Varvatos.

  • Dior launches watches, appoints Yana Gupta brand ambassador

    MUMBAI: Christian Dior, the name that spells seduction, creativity and femininity in luxury goods, officially launched Christian Dior watches in the financial hub of the country on 22 April. To top that, the luxury goods maker also announced that Yana Gupta, the former face of Lakme would be the Brand Ambassador or Miss Dior for India..

    LVMH Watch & Jewellery, regional MD, Ravi Thakran, unveiled the Indian range, which is in line with the global collection. The launch follows LVMH Watch & Jewellery’s promise of bringing the latest products to the Indian market at the same time and at an equal price as the global markets.

    Explaining the strategy Thakran said, “consumers in India can now enjoy the latest international watch designs. Christian Dior watches are true fashion accessories – combining creativity and quality in the form of aspects from the French couture house and all the expertise of fine Swiss watch making. We have a fair price policy for India to match international prices and in some cases we have even bettered international prices.”

    The target is female clientele looking for young, fashionable and original timekeeping products. Gupta said, “ I have admired Christian Dior for its elegance and sophistication since my early modeling days. To be chosen to represent the brand is like a dream come true.”

    Dior watches are distributed in over 150 countries at 1,500 carefully selected sales outlets and 115 Christian Dior boutiques. Christian Dior watches are a part of LVMH Watches & Jewellery which claims to be the world’s leading luxury group.