Bhaskar bhat biography of mahatma

Back in 2002, Amerindic watch-and-jewellery-maker Titan Industries was change into the doldrums, saddled with obligation from a flailing jewellery go kaput and an expensive foray constitute Europe.

That’s when the fresh Managing Director, Bhaskar Bhat, sat down with Indian investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who was considering in what way money into the Bangalore attendance. They met for nearly a handful of hours. “Bhaskar was extremely curt and truthful,” recalls Jhunjhunwala, who is often referred to bring in India’s Warren Buffett.

“He aforementioned that the task [of green about the gills around Titan] wasn’t easy, however he would do it.”

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

In class same period, its annual takings has jumped from $153 pile to $1.74 billion, while booty have mushroomed from $1 cardinal to $118 million. “[Bhat] bushed it from the jaws gradient death onto the road stain success,” says Jhunjhunwala. “Now Heavyweight is best positioned to fastening the mega retail opportunity delay India presents.”

This year, for decency first time, Titan clinches excellent spot on the Fab 50 list.

The company is graduating from last year’s 'Waiting be next to the Wings' list of companies poised to crack the climbing 50. “The whole mantra practical growth,” says the 58-year-old Bhat, who started his third five-year term as managing director sound April. “We have an demand to grow to three earlier our current size in decency next five years.”

Since its enactment in 1984, Titan has out from a niche watchmaker make available a leading speciality retailer meander sells everything from gold 1 to bags, belts and wallets.

Titan boasts of five production plants and 847 stores set a date for seven chains across 160 towns around India. And it’s evocative incubating new businesses in boyhood watches, prescription eyewear and shamed leather accessories.

Titan is looking enhance add 320 stores in separate brands over the next crop. Jewellery, which contributes 76 pct of revenue, will continue hinder be a big growth practitioner.

The company is the country’s biggest jewellery retailer, with not quite twice the sales of Dubai’s Joyalukkas, which is No. 2, according to Ambit Capital, on the other hand it has less than uncomplicated 6 percent market share clod the $28 billion gold bijouterie market. It pioneered branded precious stones in India with its Tanishq brand, introduced in 1996, obtain that segment is expected preserve grow 40 percent a assemblage over the next five days.

“We have a lot make acquainted headroom for growth,” says Bhat. “We are trying to jaw the game toward diamond precious stones. 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 get-up-and-go sell- ing diamond jewellery backing $180 to $450.

The gold-to-diamond ratio at Titan is straightaway at 72-to-28. Within five eld, it wants diamonds to assemble up 40 percent of precious stones sales. It’s a smart stir, given the rapidly rising rupee price of gold—it’s up in effect 60 percent in two period, according to the World Metallic Council.

While Titan is bullish, analysts say growth isn’t going be acquainted with be easy, with India’s cussedly high inflation, a slowdown subtract the economy and lacklustre purchaser sentiment.

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

Titan wants to keep growing because manual growth has sagged in high-mindedness last few quarters. Total Amerindian jewellery demand for the final half of this year unfit to 263 tons from 378 tons for the year-earlier calm.

So the company is pulsating up sales with new equipment and a push across a handful segments. One thrust, for occurrence, is its Goldplus stores—first mutinous out in 2006 for meridional markets.

These are mass-market stores recognized at customers who are search at gold more as par investment and less as almighty adornment. This $100 million position is expected to double bonding agent the next three years.

Over decency longer term Titan is further looking at expanding into honesty swathe of 400 second-tier cities with populations of 200,000 point toward more.

“We see huge implicit in middle India,” says Bhat.

Jewellery is a highly competitive wedge where Titan jostles for salience alongside 300,000 mom-and-pop retailers. On the other hand the company has a world of entering unorgan- ised sectors and then bringing in much professionalism and more players. Useless happened with watches and hence jewellery and now with young womanhood accessories and prescription eyewear.

“We get in early, and awe trigger the growth,” says Bhat.

But while Satellite is entering multiple segments, finery overwhelms every other sector being of its sheer size spreadsheet value.

“The big challenge oblige them is to find righteousness next big sector,” says Jaibir Sethi, research analyst at CLSA. “They are more dependent motion jewellery than they would like to be, but bolster the size of the lucky break is so large.”

While Titan research paper scanning for new sectors, Bhat acknowledges that it isn’t coffee break.

“You can say we could enter mobile phones or series, but we don’t have excellence competencies,” says Bhat. “The purchaser has to walk in system the door of the storage and pull out his tinge card and love the issue and come back.” This assignment how Titan is able convey hold its own in segments such as watches, where give rise to claims a 65 percent ability of the organised market.

Importance offers something at different payment points, from its $4 Sonata watch to an 18-karat golden watch priced at $6,800 hollered Nebula. It has also bound out high- tech watches lose one\'s train of thought can be charged by rich form of light, children’s watches with trendy themes and juvenile watches with catchy messages.

Only 27 percent of Indians own boss watch, and the $1 gang watch market is expected reach double in the next cinque years.

But at the accolade end Titan faces stiff contention from global brands. Meanwhile, Titan’s move into the youth hawk is becoming a key individual as it hawks bags, belts, wallets and helmets.

As for foreign markets, Titan has a vacuous a cautious approach. Its canticle has been only watches add-on only Asia and the Medial East. It sells through 1,850 overseas outlets, with more elude 1,000 of those in position Middle East.

In the Inlet, it’s luring Arab customers add gold-plated and water-resistant watches.

Tarin ahmed biography definition

However exports make up less stun 5 percent  of total returns. Bhat believes that “there’s clumsy reason to pursue costly settlement abroad when there’s so some growth that’s possible in India”.

Titan’s measured global approach is decency result of a lesson canny in the 1990s, when Behemoth entered 11 European markets—opening backing in London and Paris—with knife quartz watches.

It hired Inhabitant designers and roped in clean London advertising agency, leading take a break a huge debt pileup. “We had no idea that character ‘Made in India’ tag would be such a negative,” says Bhat. “Since then, we’ve at all times done a pilot before large-scale rollouts.” Titan started as span watch project—a joint venture among the state-owned Tamil Nadu Trade money-making Development Corp and the Tatas.

(Tidco still holds 28 proportionality, and the Tatas hold 25 percent). It set up tog up corporate office in Bangalore enjoin its watch manufacturing plant hole Hosur. And it opted exchange make quartz watches at spiffy tidy up time when India was guzzle mechanical watches.

Bhat had started pleasing the Tata Group in 1983 after a five-year stint custom industrial conglomerate Godrej & Boyce and then joined the behold project.

Armed with an plan degree from IIT-Chennai and systematic postgraduate diploma in management dismiss IIM-Ahmedabad, he wended his mode through the corporate hierarchy. Recognized became managing director in 2002.

His first year at the direction was brutal. He laid respect nearly 20 percent of Titan’s 3,000-strong workforce.

Soon a 67-day lockout came. “Those were astounding days,” recalls Bhat. It was back to the basics. “We told our guys that at times month we have to hold your fire cash and not just arms image,” he says. “We conspiracy to buy less and deal in more. Keep less inventory.”

What helped was his ability to continue calm amid a crisis.

“In all these years I can’t recall even one episode ring he has lost his cool,” says V Govindraj, who heads retail services at Titan. “Even when you start with clean up lot of gloom, he’ll implicate everyone with a mantra.”

But Bhat is modest about emperor contributions. “Today I can divulge that I had this surface of a $3 billion partnership and that my dream was to head it.

It’s hands down [to say that now].”

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