Titan Company is gearing up for a stronger close to the year, with its jewellery division CEO Ajoy Chawla expressing confidence in improved second-half performance and sustained momentum into FY26.

“Quarter three has begun pretty well. We had a very good festive season, and November also has been pretty good. So far so good. By the time we get to December end, we should hopefully be better than our first half results,” he said.

Despite volatility in gold prices and intense competition across the industry, Titan expects revenue growth in the December quarter to surpass its first-half performance, aided by a solid festive season, rising buyer inflows and a strategic push behind gold exchange and lower-caratage offerings.

Chawla, however, acknowledged the pressure on margins due to persistently high gold prices. The shift in material composition, with a higher weightage of gold versus diamonds, impacts gross margins. Consequently, the jewellery business margin could remain in the lower range of its 11-11.5% guidance on an annualised basis, likely around 11%.

According to Chawla, there has been a strategic focus on the gold exchange programme. "We decided to bet on exchange in a big way and make it a much larger campaign than we usually do. We are treating it strategically and that is beginning to show up," he explained.

He believes this lever has been instrumental in driving buyer volumes, particularly during the ongoing wedding season when exchanges are common.

To address the challenge of rising gold prices, Titan is also innovating its product offerings. Chawla confirmed that the company is experimenting with lower-caratage jewellery, with initial pilots yielding very good results.

"We are in the process of ramping up in a big way. We believe that this is the way to go because there is no end in sight in terms of where gold prices will go," he said, emphasising the need to solve for customer affordability.

The company's multi-brand portfolio, comprising Tanishq, Mia, CaratLane, and Zoya, is also playing a crucial role. Chawla mentioned this strategy is working very well to capture new and younger buyers, particularly in the sub-₹1 lakh price bracket. However, he cautioned that the sub-₹50,000 segment continues to face pressure on buyer growth and might take longer to revive.

Chawla also addressed the eyewear business, a segment gaining increased investor attention. He stated Titan's estimate of the total addressable market is in the ballpark of ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 crore.

The growth strategy here is two-pronged: a volume-led approach with more accessible entry-point pricing, and a premiumisation drive through a store transformation programmes.

Titan’s current market capitalisation is ₹3,38,193 crore. The stock is currently trading at ₹3,809 as of 10:44 am on the NSE and has gained 9% over the last year.

Courtesy : CNBC TV 18