Mia by Tanishq: Jewellery to entice the working woman in India

• Main Authors: SRIVASTAVA, Rajendra K., DUTTA, Shantanu, JOSHI, Havovi
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2015
• Subjects: Marketing; customer segment identification; targeting; deep customer understanding; distribution channels; pricing; branding; market analysis; positioning; growth; India; women; Asian Studies; Sales and Merchandising
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/123; https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/2521
• Institution: Singapore Management University

In 1995, recognising the opportunity to launch a trustworthy brand in the highly fragmented and disorganised jewellery market, Titan launched the first branded range of jewellery in India - ‘Tanishq’. The Tanishq business performed exceedingly well, attracting a large customer base that was won over by the assurance they were getting on quality and purity standards. However, the business is witnessing increasing challenges. Customer sentiments have been impacted by inflation, uncertain economic conditions and the significant increase in the price of gold. Additionally, there is a real concern in the industry that the young Indian woman is no longer interested in jewellery, and does not find it an exciting product. In an attempt to address this challenge, as well as expand the company’s reach and customer base, the Tanishq team identified a hitherto neglected segment – that of working women. Within 12 months, the team conducted a series of activities ranging from customer segment identification, deep customer understanding, and defining the proper distribution channels for aligning with the segments. The result was the launch of the brand ‘Mia’ – taking the position that “Mia was the Tanishq for work wear, for the working women”. In the three years since its launch, Mia’s design and retail strategy has continued to evolve. An initiative to take Mia out of the Tanishq store and into dedicated stand-alone outlets has resulted in great success - with not only the target group buying into the brand, but also with 80 percent of these customers having never shopped at Tanishq before. But while Mia is on an impressive growth path, it is almost impossible to identify the market size of potential Mia customers. Moreover, the needs of these target consumers’ are changing rapidly, and so, refreshing the range - while maintaining its affordability - is a real challenge. How large would Mia’s market be? Does it have the potential to become a brand in its own right? Could it be the next Tanishq for Titan?