Malini Bhupta Moneycontrol News
If there is one thing that Bhaskar Bhat, the Managing Director of Titan, understands better then it is his consumers. And, women form a significant portion of his 10-million customer base. His understanding of his consumers comes from the direct connect that he has built with them. So much so that women consumers often call him on his direct line if they have a problem and not only does he patiently hear them out but also solves their problem.
And, it is this deep understanding of the consumer that drives the company to enter the hitherto unorganised lifestyle category. The company has already done it with watches and jewelry and now it is dipping its toes in the occasion-wear sari space, which is a Rs 24,000 crore market.
Taneira, the youngest brand from Titan, opened its first store in Bengaluru in February this year, and will showcase the best hand-woven saris from across the length and breadth of India. Currently, there are two stores in Bengaluru. Once the company has tested the concept, it will scale the business. Even though Bhat had been toying with the idea of entering the category for a while, he decided to invite ideas from across the company by polling employees. He says: “If you go to a start-up you won’t ask this question as to why we entered the category.”
But the company has followed an interesting approach similar to a start-up's in identifying this new category rather than making it a top-down decision. The process by which in-house ideas are generated is called “Ignite” wherein employees across the board are asked to dream of new categories that the company can enter with justification. Then, a jury comprising insiders and outsiders scrutinized each of these categories and zeroed in on “occasion-wear saris” as a new category.
Choosing a sari is a complex process and currently this category is largely unorganised with no national player. Explains Bhat: “If you look at the sari business, it is much like the jewelry business and is unorganised. There are many categories where there are no organised players and no scientific way to assess what you are getting. Our research told us that while sari is not the in-thing, women have a longing to wear saris. It is a complex affair to buy a sari. Our research told us that here is a category to be explored and exploded.” Taneira is not a business yet and the company is still experimenting with it but has every intention of excelling at it.
And, Bhat is hands-on when it comes to even the smallest thing about this nascent category. Upon completion of 25 years in the company, women employees of Titan were sent to Taneria to choose a sari. And when they came back, Bhat asked them what kind of a sari they had chosen and all of them had uniformly opted for Bhagalpuri Tussar. He says: “So long as you excel, you create excitement in the company.”
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