Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Nov 17, 2007
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Nov 17, 2007 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version |
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Marketing
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Strategy Web Extras - Watches & Accessories Titan has designs on lifestyle products Swetha Kannan Bangalore, Nov. 16 The in-house design studio of Titan Industries is looking beyond watches and eyewear to designing other lifestyle products – for external clients. Ms Revathi Kant, Business Head – Design, Titan Industries, said: “We are looking to open out our services for outside clients for designing lifestyle products. Furniture and leather goods are possibilities. We have started talking to people.” A chunk of Titan’s design work (for its watches and eyewear brands) is done in-house at the design studio, which consists of 40 members from premier institutes such as NIFT, NID and IIT. A small portion of the designing is outsourced abroad. Apart from in-house brands, the studio also designs trophies for 30-odd external clients. With design coming of age in India – thanks to exposure to global trends and fashion, and the retail segment booming, Titan sees a lot of opportunity in lifestyle products designing.
“With money floating around, people are willing to spend. People have also started appreciating design more. Today, it’s not just about making a good looking product. It’s about story telling – people are not buying products or pieces. They are buying a story and an experience,” said Ms Kant, referring to Titan’s recent collections ‘Heritage’ and ‘Aviator’. And the design story is set to grow more in India, says Ms Kant, although she admits that there is a talent crunch in terms of numbers. “While around 1,000 people pass out of the top design institutes every year, the industry’s demand is eight-fold,” she says. Contrast this to the scene in Europe, where there are more designers than there is work, said Ms Kant, adding that European designers are “finding India interesting.” Although Titan’s design studio does not employ any designers from abroad, it does work with some Swiss and French designers. It may look at recruiting designers from Europe in future, said Ms Kant. More Stories on : Strategy | Watches & Accessories
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