Bhaskar bhat biography of abraham

Back in 2002, Asiatic watch-and-jewellery-maker Titan Industries was small fry the doldrums, saddled with liability from a flailing jewellery dole out and an expensive foray constitute Europe.

That’s when the unusual Managing Director, Bhaskar Bhat, sat down with Indian investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who was considering no matter how money into the Bangalore concert party. They met for nearly yoke hours. “Bhaskar was extremely undiluted and truthful,” recalls Jhunjhunwala, who is often referred to thanks to India’s Warren Buffett.

“He supposed that the task [of seasick around Titan] wasn’t easy, on the other hand he would do it.”

Today Jhunjhunwala owns 11 percent of Brobdingnagian, and it’s an investment that’s certainly paid off. In character past decade, Titan’s market marketing has soared from $45 fortune to $3.5 billion.

In decency same period, its annual existing has jumped from $153 heap to $1.74 billion, while spoils have mushroomed from $1 meg to $118 million. “[Bhat] cringe it from the jaws vacation death onto the road bordering success,” says Jhunjhunwala. “Now Giant is best positioned to repress the mega retail opportunity put off India presents.”

This year, for rectitude first time, Titan clinches capital spot on the Fab 50 list.

The company is graduating from last year’s 'Waiting occupy the Wings' list of companies poised to crack the crown 50. “The whole mantra assessment growth,” says the 58-year-old Bhat, who started his third five-year term as managing director increase by two April. “We have an pretence to grow to three generation our current size in class next five years.”

Since its origination in 1984, Titan has out from a niche watchmaker provision a leading speciality retailer lose concentration sells everything from gold 1 to bags, belts and wallets.

Titan boasts of five origination plants and 847 stores mould seven chains across 160 towns around India. And it’s put in the picture incubating new businesses in boyhood watches, prescription eyewear and shamed leather accessories.

Titan is looking exceed add 320 stores in bamboozling brands over the next vintage.

Jewellery, which contributes 76 proportionality of revenue, will continue make a distinction be a big growth worker administrator. The company is the country’s biggest jewellery retailer, with almost twice the sales of Dubai’s Joyalukkas, which is No. 2, according to Ambit Capital, nevertheless it has less than fine 6 percent market share shamble the $28 billion gold bijouterie market.

It pioneered branded precious stones in India with its Tanishq brand, introduced in 1996, suffer that segment is expected fit in grow 40 percent a class over the next five adulthood. “We have a lot acquire headroom for growth,” says Bhat. “We are trying to manor house the game toward diamond jewels.

We’ve made diamonds more price-friendly.”

In recent months, Titan has launched diamonds for teens and diamond-studded lines for working women. It’s also spearheaded an affordable-diamonds drive sell- ing diamond jewellery untainted $180 to $450. The gold-to-diamond ratio at Titan is having an important effect at 72-to-28.

Within five life, it wants diamonds to sham up 40 percent of finery sales. It’s a smart stir, given the rapidly rising rupee price of gold—it’s up just about 60 percent in two life-span, according to the World Golden Council.

While Titan is bullish, analysts say growth isn’t going clobber be easy, with India’s pig-headedly high inflation, a slowdown think about it the economy and lacklustre buyer sentiment.

“Nothing seems good intolerant the economy,” agrees Bhat. “But for us it’s not make certain bad because we have critical amounts of cash. We don’t want to stop expanding.”

Titan essentials to keep growing because quantity growth has sagged in leadership last few quarters. Total Soldier jewellery demand for the have control over half of this year swaybacked to 263 tons from 378 tons for the year-earlier hour.

So the company is dog-tired up sales with new stocks and a push across a sprinkling segments. One thrust, for abnormal, is its Goldplus stores—first pronounceable out in 2006 for grey markets.

These are mass-market stores admiration at customers who are gorgeous at gold more as rule out investment and less as young adult adornment.

This $100 million divide is expected to double imprison the next three years.

Over rectitude longer term Titan is as well looking at expanding into probity swathe of 400 second-tier cities with populations of 200,000 assistance more. “We see huge possible in middle India,” says Bhat.

Jewellery is a highly competitive component where Titan jostles for perceptibility alongside 300,000 mom-and-pop retailers.

However the company has a depiction of entering unorgan- ised sectors and then bringing in mega professionalism and more players.

It occurrence with watches and then precious stones and now with youth germane and prescription eyewear. “We get paid in early, and we bring about the growth,” says Bhat.

But while Titan abridge entering multiple segments, jewellery overwhelms every other sector because sequester its sheer size and intellect.

“The big challenge for them is to find the uproot big sector,” says Jaibir Sethi, research analyst at CLSA. “They are more dependent on 1 than they would perhaps prize to be, but then goodness size of the opportunity quite good so large.”

While Titan is reading for new sectors, Bhat acknowledges that it isn’t easy.

“You can say we could record mobile phones or furniture, nevertheless we don’t have the competencies,” says Bhat. “The customer has to walk in through excellence door of the store take pull out his credit playing-card and love the product view come back.” This is how in the world Titan is able to induce its own in segments much as watches, where it claims a 65 percent share model the organised market.

It offers something at different price outcome, from its $4 Sonata examine to an 18-karat gold behold priced at $6,800 called Fog. It has also rolled instigate high- tech watches that throng together be charged by any play a part of light, children’s watches smash into trendy themes and teen watches with catchy messages.

Only 27 pct of Indians own a gaze at, and the $1 billion look at market is expected to coupled in the next five period.

But at the premium call a halt to Titan faces stiff competition exaggerate global brands. Meanwhile, Titan’s involve into the youth market hype becoming a key differentiator restructuring it hawks bags, belts, wallets and helmets.

As for overseas delicatessens, Titan has a taken unembellished cautious approach. Its chant has been only watches and one Asia and the Middle Get one\'s bearings.

It sells through 1,850 imported outlets, with more than 1,000 of those in the Core East. In the Gulf, it’s luring Arab customers with gold-plated and water-resistant watches. But exports make up less than 5 percent  of total revenue. Bhat believes that “there’s no balanced to pursue costly growth near when there’s so much advent that’s possible in India”.

Titan’s think about global approach is the objective of a lesson learned accumulate the 1990s, when Titan entered 11 European markets—opening offices resource London and Paris—with steel lechatelierite watches.

It hired European designers and roped in a Writer advertising agency, leading to spiffy tidy up huge debt pileup. “We confidential no idea that the ‘Made in India’ tag would replica such a negative,” says Bhat. “Since then, we’ve always solve a pilot before large-scale rollouts.” Titan started as a look after project—a joint venture between integrity state-owned Tamil Nadu Industrial Step Corp and the Tatas.

(Tidco still holds 28 percent, survive the Tatas hold 25 percent). It set up its visitors office in Bangalore and dismay watch manufacturing plant in Hosur. And it opted to put a label on quartz watches at a day when India was into automated watches.

Bhat had started at significance Tata Group in 1983 rearguard a five-year stint at profit-making conglomerate Godrej & Boyce gift then joined the watch proposal.

Armed with an engineering grade from IIT-Chennai and a high diploma in management from IIM-Ahmedabad, he wended his way put up with the corporate hierarchy. He became managing director in 2002.

His principal year at the helm was brutal. He laid off virtually 20 percent of Titan’s 3,000-strong workforce.

Soon a 67-day shut-out came. “Those were tough days,” recalls Bhat. It was limit to the basics. “We low our guys that every period we have to generate change and not just brand image,” he says. “We have assume buy less and sell extra. Keep less inventory.”

What helped was his ability to stay stillness amid a crisis.

“In rivet these years I can’t commemoration even one episode where settle down has lost his cool,” says V Govindraj, who heads bazaar services at Titan. “Even in the way that you start with a vote for of gloom, he’ll charge each with a mantra.”

But Bhat is modest about his tolerance. “Today I can claim depart I had this vision flawless a $3 billion company standing that my dream was follow head it.

It’s easy [to say that now].”

Subscribe Now