Gold prices have surged over 30% in 2025 so far, driven by heightened geopolitical concerns and central bank buying.
However, the sheen of the Indian jewellery market has not diminished.
There has been a shift in market share from unorganised to organised jewellery firms, with the share of organised players now at 37% in 2024, up from 23% in 2019.
Most of this growth has gone to listed companies. Of these, Titan, India’s largest listed jewellery company, has benefited the most.
But now that gold prices are rising rapidly, the biggest question is where Titan will be in the next three years. We have tried to find out.
Read on…
Business Performance in FY25
Titan operates through three business segments.
The jewellery business dominates with an 81% revenue contribution, followed by watches and wearables at 7.9%, and eyecare at 1.3%.
Financial Snapshot (FY25)
Jewellery Business
The jewellery business comprises luxury, premium, and mid-market brands. The Zoya brand operates in the luxury portfolio, Tanishq in the premium segment, and Mia, and Caratlane in the mid-market segment.
The company maintains a geographically diversified retail presence with over 1,090 retail stores as of 31 March 2025, including 23 overseas stores in the Gulf countries, the US, and Singapore.
The consolidated jewellery business total income in FY25 increased 21% from last year to Rs 466 billion (bn), driven by 23% value growth due to higher gold prices. However, volume growth slowed.
However, higher gold prices led to a decline in margins to 10.2%. As a result, the segment profit before interest and tax (PBIT) remained flat at Rs 47.6 bn.
Looking ahead, the company is seeing muted buying sentiment in the sub Rs 50,000 price point due to rising gold prices. As a result, consumers are opting for lower-carat (9-18 carat) jewellery.
The company targets high double-digit (15-20%) growth in the jewellery segment. Higher ticket size, higher footfalls, or a combination of both is expected to drive the growth.
Titan expects this to be boosted by a strong wedding season, infrastructure spending, income tax cuts, and favorable macro tailwinds.
To maintain its growth momentum, Titan plans to open 40-50 new stores in FY26, compared to the 153 stores added in FY25. Most of the stores will be open outside tier-1 cities.
The new stores will likely be franchise-owned and franchise-operated. The company also plans to renovate and relocate its existing 50-60 new stores.
The company is also piloting the franchise model to keep costs under control. This model will help reduce the capital needed to open large stores and improve operational efficiencies.
Titan expects its margins to improve to 11-11.5% but does not expect any rebound afterward. High financing costs and input prices for gold are expected to keep margins in check.
Further, Titan aims to grow through premiumisation. For this, it aims to grow its premium brand Zoya at 40-50% annually for the next decade. It currently has 12 brands and plans to open 3-5 new stores yearly.
In the long term, the company remains optimistic and is committed to achieving healthy double-digit growth yearly. The company has an 8% market share and aims to grow to 10-11%.
Watches and Wearables Segment
The company has three brands in this segment: Titan World, Helios, and Fastrack. Its brand presence extends to 8,500 multi-brand retailers in 2,000 cities and 600 large-format stores in over 180 cities.
This segment remained strong throughout the year. Revenue grew 17% to Rs 45.8 bn compared to the previous year, led by the strong performance of premium brands and higher average realization.
Looking to the future, Helios is experimenting with a net premium store format, Helios Lux, for premium customers, and has added four new stores during FY25.
Overall, Titan added 115 stores in FY25, taking the total count to 1,235. Titan is betting big on this segment. It expects a robust top line of Rs 100 bn in the next 2 years, up from Rs 45.8 bn in FY25.
In addition, the segment is expected to account for 16-17% of the company’s total revenue, up from 7.9% currently.
Eyecare Segment
The eyecare segment includes Titan Eye+, Fastrack, and Runway brands. The company operates 892 stores in its eyecare segment, down from 906 in FY24. It aims to increase the store count to 1,200 by FY27.
The eyecare division reported a 10% rise in total revenue to Rs 7.96 bn. Operating margins increased to 12.1%. However, PBIT stood flat at Rs 0.8 bn.
Looking ahead, the company is focusing on growing its luxury eyecare segment. Titan entered the segment in August last year with Runway, a retail brand for premium sunglasses.
Premium eyecare currently contributes 10% or less to segment revenues. However, with the launch of Runway, it aims to increase its contribution going forward.
The company aims to capture a majority share of the affordable eyewear segment which is estimated to grow at an 7.5% CAGR 2024 and 2028. It aims to outperform, with a 20% GAGR over the next few years.
Emerging Businesses
Emerging businesses include Indian dress wear (Taneira), fragrances, and fashion accessories. The company operates 81 Taneira, 6 IRTH, and 1 Skin stores.
Fragrances performed well in FY25, reflecting the growing acceptance of the skin brand. The company launched its first experiential SKINN brand store as a pilot and plans to scale it further.
Revenue from the emerging business grew 7.4% to Rs 4.1 bn. However, the segment is still losing money. The losses widened in FY25, with margins shrinking to negative 30.5%. The PBIT fell 33.3% to Rs 1.2 bn.
CaratLane, a subsidiary of Titan Jewellery, performed well. CaratLane’s revenue in FY25 grew 24% from last year to Rs 35.8 bn. Margins also expanded to 8.3%. The PBIT grew 52% to Rs 2.9 bn.
On a consolidated level, Titan revenue increased by 20.8% to Rs 573.4 bn, driven by a strong overall performance led by the jewellery, watches, and wearables business. The margin, however, declined to 10.8%, due to the margin pressures in the jewellery and emerging businesses.
This is the reason why the net profit rose just 5.8% to Rs 33.4 bn.
The return ratios remained robust. The return on capital employed and return on equity stood at 37% and 32%, respectively.
Conclusion
Titan’s jewellery business remained strong despite higher gold prices, although margins declined due to increased gold finance and input costs. The loss in volume growth was offset by price increases.
Though sales momentum has slowed slightly in the near term, the company expects gold demand to remain strong in the long term.
The company is building on its core jewelry strength while expanding into newer lifestyle segments like Taneira and SKINN. These segments is small but has potential given the reach of Titan’s stores.
The eye care, watches, and wearable businesses are scaling fast, supported by consistent store additions. Titan aims to keep adding stores every year to maintain the growth momentum.
If these growth levers continue to perform, Titan is well-positioned to evolve from a jewellery-led brand into a broader lifestyle and retail powerhouse over the next three years.
Nonetheless, to make informed decisions, it’s crucial to assess the company’s fundamentals, including its financial performance, corporate governance practices, and growth prospects, rather than relying solely on the hype.
Happy investing.
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