Q2 to be better for Titan, to add more stores

The second quarter could be relatively better than the first quarter for the Titan Company. The company will continue with more store additions in the coming times.

S Subramaniam, CFO, Titan Company said: “The second quarter could be better in terms of demand because gold prices in the month of June helped push sales. We are also hopeful of a pick-up in demand from the upcoming festival season which is likely to begin in next 15-20 days.”

In spite of walk-ins being a challenge for the industry, the company will go ahead with its store expansion plans because of its belief in the long-term Indian growth story, says Subramaniam, “We will continue to invest in network expansion,” he added.

Although softer real estate prices have helped them reach breakeven earlier for their new stores, the company has more franchise stores, so the benefit may not flow directly for them always. However, it does help them get more franchisees.

As per CNBC- TV 18, in the watches segment the high-end watches have been doing better which could aid margin improvement. The premiumisation initiative of the company has started yielding results. However, the overall demand for watches has been a bit sluggish because consumption has not picked up and since watches are an accessory, it does get hit when the demand is low, added Subramaniam.

Walk-ins too have been a challenge for the industry but not sure if it is because of boom in ecommerce alone, said Subramaniam. He is hopeful of the gold monetising scheme working for them at least as far the jewellery industry is concerned.