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Timex Watches Ltd. was a joint venture between the Timex Corporation and Titan Industries, established in 1992. Timex Corp. is the third largest watch manufacturer in the world. The US Company sells over 13mn watches in more than 32 countries. Both, Timex Corp and Titan held 29% stake in Timex Watches Ltd. The situation is different now, with the split between the two companies and today, Timex stands as a subsidiary of Timex Corp. USA. The company has set up a manufacturing unit at Noida in UP with a capacity of 2.5mn watch p.a. Timex had access to over 2,500 showrooms which it shared with Titan. It has decided to assume responsibility to design, market and service of its products, a function hitherto performed by Titan. Watches account for 89% of the company's turnover. The company also manufactures watch cases and watch components for sales and internal consumption. The lower segment is the strength of Timex Watches. However, while Titan (with its brand Sonata) is heading on very fast in the lower segment, Timex is repositioning its brand as an aspirational offering. The company's revival strategy includes revamping of products suiting to the needs of younger generation and price rationalization to increase volume sales. The company has introduced 5 new segments of watches viz. Kids, Youth, Basics, Sports and Classic. The company provides 550-600 styles of watches. The fresh range of watches is likely to be priced upwards of Rs2000. The range will sport a `jewelry-like' look, and will be part of the Timex `Dress Range'. The current range of the company straddles price points ranging from Rs350-3000.
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