The release of Made In India: A Titan Story has brought the spotlight on one of the most remarkable business success stories in India. The series chronicles the journey of Xerxes Desai, the visionary Tata executive who transformed a simple watch company into one of the country's most trusted consumer brands.
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Long before Titan became synonymous with watches, jewellery and lifestyle products, India's watch industry was largely controlled by the government-owned Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT).
Buying a watch often meant waiting months for delivery or relying on relatives returning from abroad. With HMT controlling more than 90% of the market, Titan faced the daunting task of challenging an established industry leader.
The Visionary Who Saw What Others Didn't
The seeds of Titan were planted in the late 1970s when Xerxes Desai, then an executive within the Tata Group, began exploring new business opportunities. Desai saw an opportunity to reshape India's watch market by building a domestic world-class brand. Despite HMT's strong hold on the industry, he was convinced Indian consumers were ready for stylish, high-quality watches.
He shared his idea with chairman JRD Tata, who immediately recognised its potential. But turning that vision into reality was far from easy. India was still operating under the licence raj, where approvals were difficult, technology imports were tightly controlled and foreign collaborations were heavily regulated.
In 1984, the Tata Group partnered with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) to establish Titan. The company focused on innovation, introducing sleek quartz watches at a time when most Indian consumers were accustomed to mechanical timepieces.
The strategy proved transformative. Titan's watches were more accurate and offered designs that appealed to a new generation of consumers. Within a few years, Titan began eating into HMT's dominance. By the 1990s, the company had emerged as India's leading watchmaker. Under Desai's leadership, Titan evolved beyond watches into a trusted consumer brand.
About Made In India: A Titan Story
Directed by Robbie Grewal and written by Karan Vyas, Niraj Dasa and Kandarp Shroff, Made in India: A Titan Story premiered on Amazon MX Player on June 3.
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The series features Jim Sarbh, Naseeruddin Shah, Vaibhav Tatwawadi, Lakshvir Saran, Kaveri Seth, Namita Dubey, Joy Sengupta and Viraj Patel in key roles. The six-episode drama draws inspiration from Vinay Kamath's book Titan: Inside India's Most Successful Consumer Brand.
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