Analog watches are cool again—and Titan is betting on premium models

Industry analysts say the revival of analogs is a market-wide trend, intensifying competition from domestic peers and Swiss imports alike—prompting Titan to differentiate through premium branding, international partnerships, and distinct product launches.

Kuruvilla Markose, recently appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of Titan’s watch division, said the focus will be on premium watches, smartwatches, and international markets. “Our mainline analog business is on a roll—it’s doing extremely well. My mandate is to focus on the newer parts of the business, premium, and smartwatches, along with increasing the international business division," he told Mint.

Titan’s watches & wearables division reported a 17% jump in fiscal 2025 revenues to ₹4,576 crore, marking a “defining" year for the business. Growth was driven by a rebound in analog watches after a phase of heavy smartwatch buying, along with tie-ups with international brands and in-house launches.

Smartwatch demand, after explosive growth in 2022–23, has subsided. According to IDC, India’s wearable device market declined 6.3% year-on-year in H1 2025, reaching 51.6 million units. “The bulk of our volumes still come from analog. Smartwatches actually declined last year, for us and the industry, though our declines were less steep," said Markose.

Analog watches grew 20% year-on-year (y-o-y) in revenue, boosting market share in multi-brand channels. Titan unveiled its Edge Ultraslim collection—among the world’s slimmest watches—starting at ₹75,000.

“Gifting is back in a big way, especially at higher price points. Analog watches today are benefiting from the overall trend of premiumization," Markose added.

Historically, Titan's analog business has faced challenges: FY18 revenue grew just 3.5% y-o-y to ₹2,126 crore, and pandemic disruptions led to a 40% drop in FY21 sales to ₹1,587 crore. The business then rebounded, aided by “revenge consumption," and has since stabilized with double-digit growth of 17.2% year-on-year in FY25.

The company did not disclose a detailed split between analog and smartwatch revenues or the exact fall in smartwatch sales.

Titan added 139 new stores in FY25 across Titan World, Helios, and Fastrack, taking total store count under the division to 1,235. In-house watch brands include Sonata, Titan, Nebula, Edge, and Xylys, while multi-brand outlets carry third-party labels.

Premiumization on the rise

Markose pointed to a very clear premiumization trend in watches in the domestic markets. Contribution from products priced above ₹25,000 doubled in sales, reflecting growing willingness among affluent consumers to spend on aspirational goods, he said.

India imported Swiss watches worth CHF 273.9 million (about ₹2,700 crore) in 2024, up 25% from 2023, highlighting rising demand. Titan is expanding its international brand offerings in the ₹50,000–2.5 lakh range, including U-Biot, Charriol, and Herbelin, through Helios and Helios Luxe stores.

Helios already sells brands such as Micheal Kors, Just Cavalli, Versace, and Tissot, among others. Currently five Luxe stores operate, with plans to expand to five or six per major city.

The company will continue to bring international brands to its retail network, he said.

In fact, exports of Swiss timepieces to India rose over 10% year-on-year in the first five months of 2025, Mint reported earlier. The growth momentum is likely to continue with an impending free trade agreement between European Free Trade Association and India that could bring down prices for imported watches.

Titan competes with the likes of stock market listed Ethos Watch Boutique, a retailer of high-end watches. The company is the fifth largest watch manufacturer in the world and among the top-selling watch brands in India.

Overseas plans

Markose previously headed Titan's international division, overseeing overseas expansion of both watches and jewellery. The company recently restructured overseas operations by bringing international business functions under respective divisional CEOs, moving away from the earlier model managed solely by Markose.

Titan currently has over 65 exclusive brand outlets overseas, and Titan watches are sold in around 1,500 doors internationally.

"We started as an export-led watches business in the 2000s, working with distributors. Now, we have our own stores and we have our own company in the Middle East and North America," he said.

It has also trimmed its presence in export markets over the years. “We were present in some 40-odd countries via distributors; we brought that down to 25. We want to go deeper into fewer countries. We are now exploring Indonesia," he added.

Overseas markets are large watch and eyewear markets, he said, highlighting the company’s plans to tap into consumers overseas. Titan recently announced the acquisition of a 67% stake in the Damas jewellery business in the GCC region—boosting its presence in countries like United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

“The market opportunity is simply large, and it would be foolish to ignore that," he added.