Strategic Shift at Titan Watches: Will it work?

Abstract

This case study analyses the dilemma and strategic decision choices faced by Titan Watches (TW) regarding its growth aspirations and competitive challenges in the Indian context. The case reflects in detail the global watch industry and the competitive landscape from the company’s standpoint and highlights the journey covering more than three decades of its history. The case analysis is conducted based on secondary data gathered from various sources. The period considered to study the company and its competitive landscape is over three decades, that is, from its inception in 1984 to 2020. The financial data and other related data used in this case study were collected from different databases, that is, Euromonitor passport, Ace Knowledge Portal, CRISIL Research and ProQuest databases. It is found that the company is planning to achieve profitable growth in its revenue but faces tough competition from both analogue watchmakers (e.g. Seiko Holdings Corporation, Citizen Watch Co. Ltd and Swatch Group) and digital watch makers (e.g. Apple Inc., Fossil Group Inc., Samsung Electronics, Garmin Ltd. and Fitbit Inc.). To the best of our knowledge, there is no case study on TW highlighting the dilemma and strategic challenges the chief managing director faced in 2019. These include the challenges of capturing market share, achieving profitable growth and balancing the image of TW between a mass-market brand and a premium brand, etc. Furthermore, it discusses how TW needs to compete with global smartwatch companies like Apple and Samsung.