Titan is a jewel in the crown of Tamil Nadu government and Tata group, said L. Ramkumar, chairman, Shanti Gears and president, Madras Management Association.
Participating in the book release function of ‘Titan: Inside India’s most successful consumer brand,’ he said that through its entry into the watch sector, Tatas organised the unorganised sector.
The book, which traces the 30-year history of the company, is authored by Vinay Kamath, Associate Editor, The Hindu BusinessLine . It was released by T.K. Balaji, CEO and MD, Lucas TVS Ltd. at a function organised by Madras Management Association here on Thursday.
Delivering the chief guest address, Mr. Balaji described Titan as an inspiring story of what India or Indians could do with the right kind of leadership. There were lot of management lessons that could be learnt from Titan’s three decade journey.
He also narrated Tatas success in whichever field they entered, be it IT, hotels, watches or jewellery.
“There are, of course, many companies like Titan in India including Mahindra and TVS group. We have seen such successful companies in the software sector. Also, there is Indian Space Research Organisation where ordinary people empowered with great leadership, motivation and respect rise to great levels,” he added.
Describing the first managing director Xerxes Desai as a visionary, Bhaskar Bhat, MD, Titan Company, recalled the initial days of planning. “When the Indian market was ruled by mechanical watches, Mr. Desai opted to produce quartz watches, as they had less moving parts and were affordable. It proved to be the right decision. It was Mr. Desai who took the company to great heights through his inspiring leadership.”
Mr. Bhat also said that the same model when applied on jewellery business resulted in a failure. “It was a disaster in the first seven years despite our attempts to apply the successful tools of our watch business. But we had the belief that things will change and we would succeed,” he added.
Titan was turned into a unique company not by chance but through sheer hardwork by a group of extraordinary, incredibly diversified individual people, said B. Santhanam, president & managing director, Flat Glass South Asia, Saint-Gobain India.
“Trust, empowerment, collaboration, attention to detail and innovation across the value chain made Titan a unique company. Each chapter in this book is a case study itself,” he added.
