Titan: To enter US market on Amazon.com

Bengaluru, Aug 8 (SURYAA): Leading watch and jewellery maker Titan would foray into the US market on the e-tailer Amazon.com, said its Chief Executive S. Ravikant on Tuesday.

"Our entry into the US as part of the Amazon global selling programme allows us direct access to the American market. We will offer value for money to its online customers through the partnership," he told reporters here.

The tie-up also enables Titan to market its range of watches, especially popular brands like 'Edge' and 'Ragaa' to customers across ethnicities on the Amazon platform in the US and its other marketplaces.

"Besides watches, we will launch our wide range of Fastrack accessories and jewellery going forward, keeping in view the huge Indian diaspora and other ethnic consumers across the US," said Ravikant.

Offline exports account for about 10 per cent of Titan's retail sales annually.

"With 200 million customers and 7,000 retail stores in 30 countries, a Titan watch is sold somewhere in the world every three seconds, reflecting its global popularity," said Ravikant.

The watch market in the US is estimated to be $11-12 billion per annum. As part of its global strategy to market brands on its seamless e-commerce platform, Amazon will showcase Titan watches and subsequently its accessories as 'Made in India' products in the US and other markets.

"Under the programme, we will offer Titan end-to-end solution and h elp the brand cater to the growing appetite for quality Indian products among global consumers," said Amazon India Director Gopal Pillai.

Since the programme was launched in 2015, about 23,000 Indian sellers have been pitching a whopping 65 million products on Amazon web site for global online customers.

The programme facilitates easy access for Indian sellers, including brands, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises to sell their products to consumers worldwide.

"Our global programme has seen 70 per cent increase in seller base over a year, as we also offer them (sellers) assistance, imaging, logistics, tax advisory and remittance to pitch their products on our 10 marketplaces," said Pillai.

Titan is pricing its watches from $30 to $300 per unit in the US market.

Leading Indian brands such as Amul, Biba, Chandrika, Fab India, Himalaya, Liberty, Manyavar and Organic are hosted on Amazon's global platform for hard-selling to consumers worldwide.