If you would have told me a month ago that I will travel to India and there I will discover a watchmaking group that produces millions of pieces per year… – I would have said you got the wrong person to troll. But here I am, a week later after a fantastic trip to that part of the world with memories for a lifetime. So after I presented you the Jalsa by Nebula – a daring tourbillon with traditional Indian art, I want to tell you now about my journey. In this Part 1 I will report about the company that generously invited and welcomed us, while in Part 2 I will tell you about my personal experience.
Titan Group India: a small attempt to present something big
History
Titan Company Limited, a flagship entity of the Tata Group, began its journey in 1984 as a joint venture with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). The inception was marked by the establishment of a quartz analogue electronic watch manufacturing plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Over the years, Titan evolved from a watchmaker to a diversified lifestyle company, expanding into jewellery, eyewear, and fashion accessories.
Key historical milestones include:
- 1984: Titan Watches Limited was inaugurated, setting up the first manufacturing plant in Hosur.
- 1991: Titan began exports to foreign markets.
- 1994: Launch of the jewellery brand Tanishq, marking Titan’s entry into the luxury jewellery segment.
- Mid-1990s: Titan became a household name in India.
- 2005: Fastrack was positioned as an independent youth fashion accessories brand.
- 2007: Titan Eyeplus, a prescription eyewear chain, was launched.
- 2009: Introduction of Helios, a multi-brand luxury watch store format.
Titan’s journey is a demonstration to resilience and vision, overcoming early challenges such as the initial rejection of its plant proposal and tough market competition. The company also embraced technological collaborations with French and Japanese partners, elevating its manufacturing capabilities to global standards. Titan is today the fifth-largest integrated watch manufacturer in the world and holds approximately 60% of India’s organised watch market.
Main Numbers and Facts
Titan Group’s scale and impact are impressive, reflecting its status as a leader in India’s lifestyle segment:
- Employees: Over 8,000 direct employees and about 38,000 in the overall Titan ecosystem.
- Retail Footprint: Over 3,312 stores across 435 towns in India, with a retail footprint exceeding 4.7 million square feet.
- Manufacturing Investment: Over USD 85 million invested across five strategic locations in India.
- Production Capacity: Annual watch assembly production exceeds 15 million units; movement assembly production surpasses 3 million units.
- Market Share: Holds around 60% share in India’s organised watch market.
Financials (FY 2024-25):
- Net sales of approximately Rs 14,916 crore, up 19.39% year-on-year.
- Quarterly net profit of Rs 871 crore, up 12.97% year-on-year.
- EBITDA of Rs 1,653 crore, up 22.44% year-on-year.
Sustainability: Titan is committed to carbon neutrality by FY30, water neutrality, and plastic reduction initiatives.
Women Workforce: 90% women employees in watch assembly units, showcasing Titan’s inclusive employment practices. Titan Group offers the opportunity to learn and work for the company. It offers real social programs. At a first glance, the company is very people oriented – a strong feeling that I got before receiving the official info, attesting this fact.
Current Collections
I hope that I got all the information right, since Titan’s portfolio is diverse, catering to various consumer segments from economy to premium and luxury:
Watch Brands and Collections
▻ Titan: The flagship brand offers a broad range of watches including quartz, automatic, and mechanical watches. Notable collections include the Titan Edge, known for its ultra-slim quartz watches, and the Titan Automatics featuring in-house automatic movements like the 7A20-S.
▻ Fastrack: Targeted at urban youth, offering trendy and affordable watches and accessories.
▻ Sonata: Positioned as an economy watch brand.
▻ Raga: A collection designed specifically for women, combining elegance with traditional and contemporary designs.
▻ Nebula: Premium handcrafted watches featuring 18K solid gold and intricate artistry.
▻ Octane, Zoop, Xylys: Additional sub-brands catering to niche segments including children and fashion-forward customers.
▻ Helios: Multi-brand luxury watch retail chain with a new premium format called Helios Luxe.
▻ Smartwatches and Wearables: Expanding into wearable technology with smartwatches under Titan and Fastrack brands.
Jewellery and Eyewear
▻ Tanishq: Titan’s jewellery brand, a leader in gold and diamond jewellery.
▻ Zoya, Mia, Carat Lane: Other jewellery brands under Titan’s umbrella.
▻ Titan Eyeplus: A chain of prescription eyewear stores.
▻ Runway: A premium sunglasses brand launched recently to capture the luxury eyewear market.
Plans for the Future
Titan Group is poised for robust growth and innovation, with clear strategic plans:
▻ Store Expansion: Plans to open 40-50 new stores in FY26, building on the 153 stores added in FY25, aiming for a total of 1,235 stores.
▻ Revenue Growth: Targeting a top line of Rs 100 billion in the premium watch segment within the next two years, up from Rs 45.8 billion in FY25.
▻ Market Share: Aiming to increase its market share from 8% to 10-11% in the watch segment.
▻ Luxury and Premium Focus: Expanding Helios Luxe stores and premium eyewear segment with Runway.
▻ Sustainability Goals: Achieving carbon neutrality by FY30, water neutrality, and significant plastic reduction in packaging.
▻ Innovation and Craftsmanship: Continuing investment in in-house mechanical movements, including tourbillon and advanced quartz technology, with collaborations involving Swiss experts.
▻ Emerging Businesses: Growth in Indian dress wear (Taneira), fragrances (SKINN), and fashion accessories, with plans to scale experiential retail stores.
▻ Digital and Automation: Enhancing manufacturing with automation and digital technology integration to improve efficiency and quality.
Titan Group India stands as a beacon of Indian manufacturing excellence, blending tradition with cutting-edge technology and global craftsmanship. Its journey from a humble watchmaker to a lifestyle conglomerate is marked by innovation, inclusivity, and a clear vision for the future, making it a fascinating subject for any watch enthusiast and industry observer alike.
Visiting the watch manufacturing plant in Hosur
There are moments in the life of an enthusiast that linger long after the experience has passed. My recent voyage to Titan’s Hosur manufacture, the very heart and soul of India’s most illustrious watchmaker, has most certainly left such an impression.
Arrival at Hosur: India’s Horological Pulse
Set amidst the industrial heartland of Tamil Nadu, the Hosur facility is more than a manufacturing unit: it is a sprawling campus pulsating with ambition, discipline, and the soft clamour of precision machines. A stone’s throw from Bangalore, Hosur stands as the flagship site for Titan’s watchmaking and precision engineering, covering everything from fine timepieces to automotive and aerospace components.
Walking onto the site, one is met with manicured landscapes interspersed with industrial architecture, a tangible embodiment of Titan’s philosophy: tradition in perpetual dialogue with the future. Our group received a warm welcome in the most traditional way possible: music and gifts.
A Fully Integrated Manufacture
What sets Titan apart on the world stage is not only its scale (over 15 million watches produced per year) but its commitment to true industrial integration. At Hosur, every aspect of the watchmaking journey converges:
- Movement manufacturing: Titan designs and produces both quartz and mechanical movements in-house. The manufacture is capable of delivering up to 3 million mechanical movements annually, an extraordinary figure even by global standards. The lines are dotted with Swiss and Japanese machinery, testament to technical partnerships with Citizen, Seiko, and France Ébauches in their formative years.
- Assembly and Finishing: Precision and artistry are visible at every assembly stage, from gear train construction to dial mounting. The facility’s assembly halls are a hive of mostly women technicians, 90% of personnel, whose dexterity and focus are simply remarkable.
- Component fabrication and casework: In Hosur’s machine shops, you’ll find advanced five-axis mills and custom presses forging cases and bracelet links. Titan is among the exceedingly rare watch brands globally to design and build its own manufacturing machinery through its subsidiary, Titan Engineering & Automation Limited (TEAL).
Technological Sophistication
The commitment to technological innovation is most apparent in Titan’s integration of automation and robotics, not, as some might fear, to replace the human touch, but to raise the baseline. My impression of Hosur facilities was that people are the main asset and that there is a long way until the people working there can be replaced by machines.
The tooling department was the most impressive seen by me until now. I have never seen such a scale of tooling and prototyping. In jewellery, rapid prototyping and CAD modelling have collapsed production cycles from weeks to mere days, with robots managing repetitive yet delicate tasks such as stone bagging and kit marshalling.
In watchmaking, the careful assembly and rigorous quality controls include automated and manual testing, with unique processes, oiling, timing, end-shake correction, checked by both instruments and the skilled eye. I feel that some processes might be faster/better if automatised, but, as I mentioned, the shear craftsmanship of people represents Titan’s forte.
She wanted to get know the visiting journalists. Thierry GASQUEZ gave her flowers
Sustainability and Social Responsibility
Beyond the machinery, one cannot ignore the environmental consciousness and social ethos permeating Hosur. Projects like “Titan Vanam”, the 45-acre afforestation initiative, have seen over 200,000 saplings planted, transforming barren land into a green sanctuary. The site is also a showcase of gender and age diversity and inclusivity, championing women’s participation at every skill level.
Highlights from the Visit
Tour of Movement Assembly: Witnessing the creation of Titan’s in-house movements: both quartz and the elegant automatics. One is struck by the fusion of Swiss precision and Indian ingenuity. Whether for the flagship Edge or the highly decorated Nebula, every movement is a celebration of miniaturised mechanics.
Craftsmanship in Gold: At a separate line, artisans deftly combine traditional techniques: meenakari, filigree, polki setting with high-tech gold casting and component finishing. Nebula cases gleam with 18K gold and precious stones, models destined for connoisseurs worldwide.
Innovation in Engineering: From micro-precision tooling to the development of aerospace-grade parts, the Hosur site is more than a watch manufacture, it’s a crucible of engineering excellence whose outputs serve both horology and India’s space ambitions.
A Lasting Impression
Leaving Hosur, one can’t help but admire Titan’s singular blend of scale, artistry, and ambition. The visit crystallised my conviction that watchmaking’s future belongs to those who master both heritage and innovation – and Titan, with its Hosur nerve centre, is supremely well positioned for the ascent.
Hosur is not just a factory. It is a modern Indian horological citadel, one that every watch lover should learn about and every Indian must be proud of.
