Mumbai: Titan Industries, the leading watch manufacturer in India, is planning to trim its product portfolio by about 30 per cent in the present year. Senior company officials say it is difficult to manage such a huge range and the company has decided to cut down the product range mainly to improve manageability.

This will include certain designs in the Titan and Sonata range that will be phased out. The company has also decided to phase out plastic table clocks as their sales were dipping because of the increasing competition from the grey market. Sales of table clocks fell nearly 70 per cent to Rs 51 lakh during 2001-02, as compared with the same period the previous year.

The officials also say Titan will soon introduce a low-priced metal watch in the Sonata range. At present the lowest-priced watch with metal casing in the Sonata range costs Rs 495. The officials add that the company is doing this in order to increase its penetration in the rural markets where Titan feels there is enormous potential.

Hence, low-priced watches in the Sonata range will not only ensure better penetration in the rural areas, but also lure customers into buying a metal case watch instead of a plastic case watch.

The size of the domestic watch market is about 25 million units. Seventy per cent of this comprises the under Rs 1,000 category, and the Sonata brand of watches caters to this segment.

Sonata was launched in 2000. In 2001, Titan Industries decided to market the Sonata range of watches under the Tata brand name, instead of Titan. Sonata sells around 3 million pieces annually, while Titan sells around 2.7 million pieces.

Sonata now has a market share of over 16 per cent in the less than Rs 1,000 price category, while Titan has a 40-per cent market share in the Rs 1,000-Rs 10,000 price category.

Titan Industries registered an increase of 4 per cent in the total turnover at Rs 727.03 crore, while its net profit declined 44 per cent to Rs 13.09 crore during 2001-02.