Tanishq case study

By mitalee chowdhuryMaitregi vishwanathanAviva noronhaAtul mathews

Titan industriesIncorporated in 1984Joint venture between tata group and TIDCOQUARTZ watches was a global standard.

Repositioned titan as not just a timepiece but as gifts, accessories & fashion.Brands in the portfolio : sonata, fast track, nebula.

Sonata – lower end brand

young affluent market

Nebula- high end

Target: Upper middle class

Two failures

1. International expansion in early 90’s• Pricing pressure• High frequency of new product introductions• Demanding customers needed ordered

serviced at short notice• Presence of low cost hongkong based

competitor

2. Introduction of jewellery watches under a new brand tanishq.

Positioned it as a jewellery that tells timeTarget market : income of more than 1lakhHigh snob value, ego satisfier

• Design problem : heavy, appeared clunky & high price

Jewellery in india

• Gold jewellery market :60000 crores annually• Considered streedhan – womans wealth• Indian wedding has 2 bangles , necklace,

earings, a ring, nosepin.• Investment of $2550 ; per capita income $350• Dhanteres- biggest gold buying day.• no national competitor but local bigger than

tanishq

• 25000 family owned independent jewellers• Buyers : men, target : woman• Jewellers : Retail stockists• Inventory owned by vendors• Design ordered by jewellers • Karigars ( craftsmen) controlled by vendors• Received rs 30 per gram of gold• Long standing relationships

Move from watches to jewellery• 1996: manufacture & market precious studded

jewellery under tanishq.• Indian market was based on 22-karat gold.• Studded gold jewellery was based on 18- karat gold • As first national jewellery brand challenges: i. Establish itself as differentiated jewellerii. Paradigm shift in usage & attitude, educate

customersPositioned itself as “adornment of both body &mind”Western in style & design

• In july 1996 , 1st boutique in chennai• Advertising campagins focused on creating desirability

& boutiques were as precious as tanishq jewellery.• Create mystery & intrigue around the brand setbackConsumers were stuck on 22 karat goldBoutiques were 5 star hotel : intimidating & ltd inventoryToo western elicited : NOT FOR ME reaction.

Repositioning tanishq : a gem of an oppertunity.

• June 1997 ,piloted offering of 22 karat • 400 designs + 1000 18 karat diamond studded• Focused on traditional design to counter

perception• Inuagral offer promoted to increase walk ins &

purchases• Focused on jewellery for adornment not

investment

• Brand was for looking good, feeling good unlike wedding jewellery

• Sales rose to rs. 24 crores by april 1998 bt mainstream buyer eluded

• Change of pace product not mainstream• In 1999 renewed push , included indian inspired

designs• could not tap the wedding market• Tanishq differentiation was based on purity & quality

• Pionereed karatmeter• Ads reinforced quality, highlighted manufacturing

process ,invoked tata tradition of trust• 5000 women checked ;60% found underkaratage• By 2000, had hit Rs. 100 crore mark.• New challenges : mark up 15 % to 25% in contrast to

5% to 15%• Local jewellers were over charging.

Exhibit 7 & 8

• Through 1999- 2001 spelled trouble • Shifted to below the line promotions.• Ran 360 launches at the stores• Perceived as “ exclusive & out of reach”• “grand, historical designs & latest but limited range”• “modern , sophisticated , elegant & artistic”• Consumers relied on their long standing relations• Offered to test jewelery

• By 2001 sales reached Rs.166 crores • But struggled to maintain local brand

presence.

A changing of the guard• A karigar park was set up• Quick delivery, flexibility,reduced lead times &

logistics cost• Continued to offer designs for wedding market,

karatmeter service & exchange schemes, running promotions.

• Consumption habits changed• A story was attached to each collection e.g. Aria• In 2002, diva launched offering pearls & diamonds

• Perception of “not for me”• Target customer – woman• Brand awareness was high but translation to

visits was low• Perceived as too expensive, unapproachable,

with a low width and depth of product offerings• 2004 – titan underwent a brand valuation

exercise

2003 – high-end collection

• Daytimes , a diamond based collection to reposition diamonds as affordable, casual, young & contemporary.

• Colors, aimed to correct the perception that Tanishq only had modern designs

• Aarka high fashion 22-karat gold collection to position tanishq’s design & image leadership

• Aamra a collection of studded jewellery to tackle its unapproachable image

• Associated with high profile fashion events Femina Miss India, apsara film awards, Milan

fashion week• Sales exceeded Rs. 550 core target• In October 2005, segmented the market into 5

psychographic segments • Confident matriarch, sanction speaker, the balancer,

the individualist, uninvolved conformist

37%

30%

20%

5%

8%

confident matriarchsanction seekerbalancerindividualistuninvolved conformist

• Confident matriarch: - 37% of the market - woman in the age group mid 30’s or older - open to new ideas - confidence to adapt and to adopt cange• Sanction Seeker: - 30% of the market - spread across all ages and life stages - most widespread segments in small towns

• Balancer: - 20% of the market - younger woman married or unmarried - drawn to the modernity of designs• Individualist: - 5% of the market - upper class working women, primarily in

urban centers - strongly identified with being “modern”

• Uninvolved conformist: - 8% of the market share - similar to the sanction seeker

• Positioned itself as progressive indian brand that combined tradition & heritage

• Tanishq designed jewelery for the film paheli.• In 2005 , advertising customized regionally in the

local language• By 2006, it had 80 stores; designs were traditional

indian patterns

The GoldPlus Proposal

• The semi-urban/rural market was 36000 crores

• Leverage supply chain capabilities & compete on price

• Erode & ratlam• Goldplus ads “ girl next door look”• Goldplus customers lived in small town &

wore jewlery in weddings & festivals

• Marketing expenses were 50lakhs• Erode store had sales of 10 crores• Ratlam hit 3 crores

The dilemma

• Multi brand strategy wont work in jewellery market• Gold plus positioning was based on tatas name• Could cannablise tanishqs sales• Goldplus permitting price negotitation complicated

matter• Tanishq was a brand to charge premium price• Government passed excise duty on branded

jewellery

• Goldplus was positioned to serve gold wedding jewellery market in smaller cities

• Both had positive results• Should tanishq or goldplus pursue gold

wedding jewellery market in smaller cities & rural locations.??????

• The decision would impact the goal to reach a billion dollar sale by 2010 (5000 cr)