Rekha Jhunjhunwala, custodian of one of India's most influential investment portfolios, saw her notional wealth in Titan Company swell to a staggering ₹20,000 crore as the stock surged over 4% to hit a fresh record high following the company's strong Q3 business update. Rekha currently owns a 5.32% stake in Titan.

Titan shares jumped as much as 4.50% to a fresh high of ₹4,300 on the BSE after the company's overall consumer businesses posted around 40% year-on-year growth, driven by strong festive demand and continued premiumisation trends. The company also expanded its retail footprint significantly during the quarter.

Strong Performance Across Business Segments

The company delivered robust growth across multiple business verticals during Q3. Here's a breakdown of key performance metrics:

Jewellery Division Leads Growth

Titan's jewellery division delivered a standout performance, recording 41% YoY growth supported by strong festive and wedding demand. Higher average selling prices, aided by elevated gold prices, helped offset largely flat buyer growth. Demand was sustained beyond the festive period through Tanishq's gold exchange offers.

Gold coin sales nearly doubled versus Q3 FY25, while plain gold jewellery recorded strong growth in the high-thirties, reflecting rising preference for design-led offerings. Studded jewellery delivered its best performance of FY26, posting mid-twenties double-digit growth. Like-to-like growth across jewellery formats stood in the low-thirties.

Retail Expansion and Store Network Growth

During the quarter, Titan added 56 net new stores, taking its total store count to 3,433. The expansion was spread across various formats:

International Operations Surge

International operations, led by jewellery brands Tanishq, Mia and CaratLane, grew 81% YoY, supported by strong demand across the GCC, Singapore and North America. During the quarter, Tanishq added two new stores in North America, located in Boston and Orlando, demonstrating the company's commitment to global expansion.

Analyst Outlook

Nomura reiterated its Buy call with a target price of ₹4,500, representing an upside of nearly 10% from current market levels. The brokerage views Titan as a key beneficiary of the rising affluent and elite income population in India, with sales growth expected at 1.50-2.00x GDP over the medium term.

Titan has emerged as one of the faster-growing jewellery players, gaining market share from 5% in FY19 to 8% in FY24. The company is expected to continue growing faster than the industry and gain share to 10% by FY28 from unorganised players, who currently represent 60% of the industry, as it deepens its store reach in Tier 2, 3, 4 towns and as consumers shift to organised players seeking correct carat-age, better designs and experience.

Titan Company has made its entry into the lab-grown diamond market with the launch of beYon, its first lab-grown diamond brand. The company is positioning this strategic move as a play on consumer adoption and category growth, rather than simply offering a price substitute for natural diamonds.

Market Positioning and Strategy

During a management conference call on Wednesday, Titan's leadership pushed back against perceptions that lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) represent an immediate threat or near-term substitute for natural diamonds. The company's analysis reveals the current market dynamics:

Managing Director Ajay Chowla emphasized the company's customer-centric approach, stating: "I would say it is better to err on the safer side and make it attractive to the customer and bring in more customers and expand than start looking at it as how do I optimise my profitability."

Structural Market Concerns

The management identified two key structural challenges that influenced their measured approach to the LGD market:

• Rapidly falling prices: Wholesale and retail LGD prices are already experiencing downward pressure
• Commoditization risk: New market entrants could launch at even lower price points, potentially squeezing store-level margins

The company noted that the market features multiple players in both affordable and diamond category spaces, creating a multipolar and multi-competitor environment. This competitive landscape reinforces the need for genuine intellectual property and differentiation to avoid becoming purely a price-driven play.

Future Investment Plans

Titan's management clarified that the launch of beYon does not signal a shift away from natural diamonds. The company expects minimal cannibalization between the two categories and plans to continue investing in natural diamonds while building its presence in the LGD segment. The beYon brand is designed to serve as a bridge between aspirational customers and natural diamonds, targeting market expansion rather than substitution.

Market Outlook

The company's approach reflects a cautious but strategic entry into the growing LGD segment. By prioritizing customer attraction and market expansion over immediate profitability, Titan aims to establish a sustainable position in both lab-grown and natural diamond markets. The management emphasized that success in the LGD space requires viable unit economics and real differentiation beyond price competition.