'Akshaya Tritiya also witnessed strong demand'

'Customers flocked to purchase gold in large numbers during the event.'

Titan Company saw robust demand during Akshaya Tritiya.

Ashok Sonthalia, chief financial officer of Titan Company, discusses the company's expansion plans in an exclusive audio interview with Sharleen D'Souza/Business Standard.

With gold prices at current levels, how do you expect demand for jewellery to unfold?

When gold prices suddenly rise, there is a hesitation among people who wait for them to stabilise.

Gold, being a store of value and a hedge against inflation, has historically proven its strength.

Akshaya Tritiya also witnessed strong demand, with customers flocking to purchase gold in large numbers during the event.

We endeavour to capitalise on such opportunities.

However, there is typically a lull in demand for the next 10-12 days after the event.

Gold prices have stabilised and slightly corrected, remaining steady now.

While consumer sentiment is reasonable, Akshaya Tritiya performed well.

We hope that gold prices will stabilise at this level. Also, there are fewer wedding days in this quarter compared to last year, which has impacted footfall to some extent.

However, we can still achieve handsome growth in such an environment.

Sometimes, pursuing growth requires enticing customers through exchange programmes and consumer offers.

Our primary focus remains on gaining market share and increasing our customer base.

In comparison to last year, how much higher was the demand this Akshaya Tritiya?

I cannot provide exact numbers, but we are extremely satisfied with the demand this year.

How do you plan to navigate the current competitive environment?

Competition has intensified, with existing players becoming more ambitious and expanding their networks.

Additionally, new players are entering at lower price points.

However, we operate in the jewellery market with four brands: Zoya, Tanishq, Mia, and CaratLane, covering a wide range of prices and customer tastes.

We continue to play the game boldly, with retail expansion and omnichannel plans in place.

While the intensity of competition may not diminish, the long-term trend of the organised sector gaining ground over the unorganised sector remains intact.

Our strong brand and consumer engagement favour us in this market.

Despite the high competitive intensity, we continue to grow and execute our plans.

What are your expansion plans across businesses?

In Tanishq, we will continue to expand at our normal pace, with 40 new stores and renovations of a similar number of stores planned.

Internationally, we are expanding to the US and Gulf Cooperation Council countries, aiming to increase the store count from 16 to 30 this year.

In watches and wearables, we plan to open 20-30 Titan World stores. Helios is experiencing a lot of traction and growth, leading to more aggressive expansion.

Titan EyePlus will focus on strengthening existing stores in 2024-25, alongside opening 40-50 stores.

Taneira, having expanded in the past two years, will moderate slightly, opening 20-25 stores while emphasising footfall and conversion rate improvement.

Will you consider entering any new categories?

Currently, we have incubated five categories in recent years. We will continue to focus on Taneira, wearables, international expansion, and women's bags, scaling these categories as they demonstrate relevance and meaningful market share.

At present, we are not considering any new categories.

Titan's focus is on categories within adornment and lifestyle, revolving around what people wear. We do not plan to introduce new categories for another year or two.

How is the Golden Harvest Scheme (GHS) customer addition at this point?

GHS continues to grow at a healthy pace. As people view gold as an investment category, GHS exhibits robust growth, providing predictability and revenue visibility.

Additionally, there is upselling as customers accumulate a corpus through GHS, leading them to purchase more than initially intended.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com