Titan managing director CK Venkataraman said his company saw a huge potential in the women’s bags category and hence was exploring the opportunity. The brand, he said, represented his company’s understanding of women consumers and their evolving needs. “We are proud to present a brand that is centred on design and functionality.”
The brand will have eight types of bags- totes, satchels, shoulder bags, handbags, slings. delights, clutch and wallets, and 92 choices across styles and colours. The different types of IRTH bags will meet all requirements of women and come with a nine-month warranty against manufacturing defects. They are priced between Rs 2595 and Rs 5995 to suit every pocket, Titan CEO (Fragrance & Fashion Accessories) Manish Gupta said.
IRTH bags, pronounced arth (meaning), he added, were distinct with product design, attention to details, and elegance. The portfolio under the brand includes work-bags, tall totes, shoulder bags, handhelds, slings, cross body, clutches and wallets, Gupta said, and added that Delights and Organisers were the categories unique to the new brand.
“We wish to take the bags category to the same level as other Titan brands and be the market leader,” Venkataraman said. “We want to put all our capabilities together to explore this under-penetrated market.”
The company plans to sell IRTH bags through ecommerce, retail stores and chains like Shoppers Stop. “We are starting with Shoppers Stop for the next six months, we also have our website launch next week. By April next year, we are planning to start exclusive stores for IRTH, starting with metro cities,” he said.
As for market opportunity, Gupta said the girls bags category has a market size of about Rs 4500 crore now and is expected to grow to about Rs 7500 crore over five years. The organised players currently make up just about Rs 1600 crore. His company has an opportunity to reach Rs 1000 crore in sales from both IRTH and Fastrack bags in five years.
“We want to become dominant and take a leadership role in the industry. We want to be an expert in the bags and bring all aspects of the value chain from design to manufacturing, to supply chain etc,” Venkataraman said.
Titan, which began with watches, later diversified into jewellery, eyecare and besides an array of new businesses like accessories, fragrances and Indian dress wear. The company recorded a sales turnover of Rs 27,210 for the year ended March 31, 2022.
