BY OWNING a Titan timepiece, what you’re looking at is just one of the products that the Tata Group produces, a veritable giant that casts a long shadow across India. Kuruvilla Markose, chief executive officer – International Business, for Titan Company Limited, discussed the hold that Tata has over India, in an interview with BusinessWorld on Nov. 8.
“Sometimes, we call it a software to salt-kind of group,” he said. Through various subsidiaries, Tata owns India’s largest software company, sells industrial chemicals, but also tea (among other food products), and cosmetics. Through Tata Motors, it owns the Jaguar and Land Rover brands.
Another unit, the one under which Titan belongs to, has interests in jewelry, watches, and eyewear. The Tata Group was founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868. “Fundamentally, one common thread that runs across us, the Tata Group is known for its professional practices, and also for consumer trust,” said Mr.
Markose. “If you ask any consumer in India what Tata stands for, they’ll state that it stands for trust.” Titan is the world’s fifth largest watch manufacturer, behind rivals in East Asia and Switzerland.
Still, No. 5 is a big number: Mr. Markose said that they’ll end the year with 20 million watches manufactured and sold.
“The reason why we are No. 5 is because we serve the Indian market. India today is now the world’s most populous country.
It’s a huge market. It’s continuing to grow and from a per capita income pe.
