Titan Company Limited ($500114)

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Titan Company Limited Q4 and FY '26 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I now hand the conference over to Mr. Ajoy Chawla, Managing Director, Titan Company Limited. Thank you, and over to you, Mr. Chawla.

Thank you. Warm welcome to the Titan Quarter 4 FY '26 Earnings Call. Thank you for being here this Friday afternoon. We have ended the year with a superlative quarter for top line growth, perhaps our best ever in the recent past. All our businesses have grown very well, and all our brands have enhanced their visibility and equity in the quarter and the full year that went by. Over to you for all the questions, so we can get on with the Q&A.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Devanshu Bansal from Emkay Global.

Congratulations on a good set of numbers. Sir, firstly, I wanted to check on gold sourcing. The industry sources a considerable part of gold from Middle East. And there was some news flow also that there has been delayed renewal of import licenses by DGFT. Checking if you could provide some color on the current inventory levels as well as any increase in costs related to sourcing that you foresee in the near term?

Devanshu, Ashok here. While yes, some of those slowness, we are also picking up from the customs point of view, but we are pretty much quite covered for quarter 1. And also our gold exchange program is very, very successfully being run from the last quarter 3 onwards actually. We always used to run this, but now we have another level of -- and on a short notice, we can kind of if required further ratchet it up. And some of the other plan Bs are also ready. So we are at least not concerned in the short term as far as gold supply is concerned for Titan, Tanishq and CaratLane perspective.

Got it. And Mr. Sonthalia sir, just small follow-up. From an availability perspective, I understood, but do you foresee any increase in cost? Maybe our gold metal loan cost was around 3-odd percent. Do you foresee an increase there?

No, no, not yet. Actually, now if you would recall, gold loan tenure has been increased from 180 to 270 days. And I think we are working on that, and we are successful in starting that also. So we don't see any increase in cost in gold loan at least in the short term.

Sure, sir. Second, a couple of bookkeeping questions. Sir, Damas is a recent acquisition. International loss has been around INR 80 crore in Q4. If you could guide us on the top line scale growth as well as near-term loss run rate for Damas, it would be helpful in sort of forecasting for FY '27.

One of the positive news for international business, if you look at the full year at operating level, they become profitable. And this is the first year after whatever 2, 3 years back, we started and we scaled it up. So full year basis, it is profitable. Quarter 4 certainly had challenges, which we all are aware. March month was quite disturbed in the GCC, where not only Damas is present, but our Tanishq also is present. So all those things have kind of come in the quarter 4 in the form of loss of INR 82 crore, what you are seeing. GCC continues to be a evolving or situation, which is unpredictable at this stage and where Damas vast retail network is there and Tanishq is also expanding there through some conversion of Damas retail network. So a lot of restructuring going on there. So -- but over the -- I would say, 2, 3 quarters beyond, if you want to look at, we are very, very positive about the aspects of whatever is happening in the integration, the operational improvement, we are quite positive about that. So Damas, the next 4 quarters, we started consolidating from the January. First 4 quarter, of course, we are -- we have started disclosure in some manner and maybe you will see increased disclosure coming out of us as kind of we get better -- and then next year onwards, you will also have comparison. Then you will be able to assess how the situation in terms of growth of revenue, margin of Damas itself is improving. But right now, we are not separately calling out. But it is not a major part of INR 82 crore, I can tell you. Whatever plan they had, it is actually they have done better than that plan.

Got it. Sir, last one, the unallocated losses, which were -- which used to be around INR 20 crore, INR 30 crore, this time around is around INR 140 crore in Q4. So what has led to this higher loss?

For separate -- just give me a second. Okay. So this is -- there was a quite good performance for the full year as Ajoy started. And Titan in past also, we have spoken about, we have a tradition of sharing that superlative performance by sharing, we call it special reward, which kind of announced once we know the result, and that is how in quarter 4, it comes without much planning. And this year also the good performance has been celebrated by sharing that with all the employees and all the people connected with Titan. So it's about INR 120 crore roughly, and that is what the variation you are seeing.

Our next question comes from the line of Aditya Soman from CLSA.

So actually, 2 follow-up questions. So you said a lot of that INR 82 crore loss was not in Damas. So that would be for Titan's Middle East businesses. Is that the right assumption?

Yes, yes, you're right.

Okay. And which is why it's showing up in the stand-alone numbers, right?

No, it will not show in stand-alone. It is the international subsidiary. It is showing there.

Okay. In the international subsidiary. All right. And this INR 120 crores, this is not -- I mean, the reason it's an unallocated loss is because it's not attributable to any. So it wouldn't be like a payment to the franchisees, right? So this is just bonuses to employees or other partners? Or would this also include payment to franchisees?

No, it is not payment to franchisees. It's mostly employees and the other employees through different agencies who are connected with us.

All right. No, very clear. And then just very quickly on the watches business. Again, we've seen the results...

Just one thing, like my colleague just hinted me, one thing which you would see in a stand-alone in international, I don't know what page you are looking at, but we -- from the '25-'26, although we had a transfer pricing arrangement all through start of international business, but we formalized that from '25, '26, where we are treating our all subsidiaries at low-risk distributor. And that Titan as a parent company is in a way, ensuring that a certain amount of basic profit is there. And that transfer pricing adjustment in the stand-alone books is about INR 80 crore plus/minus. But in a consolidated basis, that nullifies because it is between subsidiary and parent. So that I just wanted to point out for you as well as all the people who are on the call.

Understand. That's very clear, sir. And that's why the stand-alone profitability will look lower.

Yes, yes.

Okay. Okay. Very clear. And just quickly on the watches one. So any -- you've given us a sense of how the analog watches have done. But can you give us a sense of what the contribution for the full year is from analog watches now?

Aditya, this is Diny here. Analog watches, overall growth has been around 16% for the year. If you look at both smart and analog put together because smart reduced in numbers, overall growth has been about 14% for the watches division. And you were asking about contribution, what contribution were you looking for?

No, just a revenue contribution of analog watches within the overall business -- within the watch business, that is.

With overall business -- analog within the watch business, analog within the watch is around 85%. Now closer to 90%, yes.

Our next question comes from the line of Mihir Shah from Nomura.

Congrats on a good set of numbers. Sir, first question is on buyer growth. I just wanted to get a sense of what led to the return of buyer growth to 8% versus flat that we've seen for the past 9 months? Was it a brief period of stable gold demand that brought it back? Or I'm sure you'll be doing certain activations, et cetera, on diamond. So how should one look at the return of buyer growth? Was it more from a gold point of view or from activation point of view?

Yes. Thanks. This is Arun Narayan here. So very clearly, we have seen a resurgence in buyer growth in quarter 4 and what we have reported is 8% versus a flattish for the period prior to that. Now 2 clear types of buyers, those who are waiting on the sidelines for to buy. And pretty much we have seen gold rates go up from festive onwards, [ Dhanteras ] from quarter 3 onwards, it's been climbing. And there are many customers who are waiting on the sidelines who came in to buy in quarter 4. And we've also seen an advancement in wedding purchases because people were anxious that it could go up even beyond. And those who have weddings in their families in quarter 1 also ended up coming in the months of Feb and March to -- but it's a mix of both, which has helped. But also we have seen a resurgence in buyer growth on the studded front as well, aided and enabled by the [indiscernible] of diamonds, which has been a very, very successful campaign, a very fresh campaign, very different from what we have done in the past. So on both sides, we have seen a good buyer growth. Lastly, I think the continued exchange campaign, which we began in the month of -- just before festive really has worked extremely well. It helped get buyers in, in quarter 3. And by sustaining it, it's also helped us to get buyers in quarter 4. And now we are running the exchange campaign both as a stand-alone campaign, and you may have seen that a lot of our Tanishq campaigns, which are new collection campaigns also have an exchange section in the same campaign. So in a sense, it's getting reinforced with every campaign that we run.

Understood. Arun, may I request if you can crystal ball gaze and how do you see the sustainability of this? Do you think the exchange program will help us ensure some level of buyer growth to continue?

We think so. We think so. We believe so. That's why we are sustaining the investment behind exchange. It's very relevant for wedding buyers. It's also relevant for others who are looking at updating their collection of jewelry. And I mean, we all -- and the sentiment also of the campaign has resonated very well with people because it has a certain public service message and nationalistic angle to it. So all in all, we think that it is a good thing to run, and it will give us rewards even going forward.

Got it. That is clear. So that's one. Secondly, I wanted to get your sense on the increase in ticket size that we've been witnessing over the past 2 quarters of 44% and 40%. Should one extrapolate this growth given that the gold prices have gone up? Or do you think it is a phenomenon again because of wedding earlier, activation in fourth quarter, can one expect this at least to continue for some more time?

Yes. So if you track the gold rate trend of last year, you will see that there have been increases on a consistent basis and a big jump, which happened close to Dussehra, and thereafter, it's gone up significantly. So therefore, there will be -- I mean, in that sense, if you were to compare, let's say, quarter 1 versus quarter 1 of last year, just the increase in gold rate will give us a certain ticket size benefit in quarter 1 and quarter 2. But the second half of the year, we will have to see how the trend of gold actually how it kind of pans out. But perhaps for the first 2 quarters, we may see a certain benefit.

Got it. And lastly, on profitability, you have been within the 11%, 11.5% band in the TMZ side of the business in domestic. Any confidence on sustaining these levels? I understand this quarter, while it is down Y-o-Y, but because of the gold diamond activation, it will be optically sequentially better. But ability to sustain these margins, any insights of that will be great, yes.

Yes. So Ashok here, I think this is completely -- I would not say full correlation, but gold price is playing a significant role on the product mix aspect of it. And consequently, it is very difficult to tell sustainability. Yes, if gold remains at the current rate, it is sustainable. But if gold continues to go up, we may have to keep making effort, which has been a huge effort by the team on various things, which we have talked in the past like doing 18-carat, 14-carat jewelry, doing mix reengineering, lightweight jewelry, a lot of things they have been doing. So to some extent, you can offset that. But beyond a point, there will be impact on margin. And that is visible. Some 10, 20 basis points, we have been kind of losing. And the other thing which we are able to offset sometimes through the control of our overhead costs, et cetera, optimizing that. So I would not give you a good assurance that this is sustainable. A lot of things are going on. And maybe we will have more informed view to guide a little bit about this, how do we see it in the context of where growth is #1 priority. How do we see it maybe in our Investor Day, which we are planning in June first week, yes.

Got it. Understood, Ashok, sir, the gold prices have constantly gone up and you've been able to manage well. And I was asking in that context only, but I hear you, and we look forward to seeing more guidance from you on the first week of June.

Keep sending your blessings. We will hopefully continue to deliver. Just keep sending your blessings.

Our next question comes from the line of Kunal Vora from BNP Paribas.

Gold price has now stabilized at a fairly high level. How is the consumer managing with the high gold price? What is the behavioral change which you are seeing? Any changes in trends in exchange or shift towards lower carat or increase in the jewelry budgets buying gold coins? What's happening in the market?

Yes. Actually, all of the above with -- because I think people have started accepting gold at this level. And the small cool off that we have seen in the last month or 2 has also kind of helped to bring people back because there seems to be an acceptance that in the medium to long term, it's again going to go back to its trajectory of upward movement. That seems to be the sentiment with consumers. From a brand standpoint, I think we have said we need to make jewelry both exciting as well as accessible. So there are a set of things we have done to make it accessible. Exchange is one, 18-carat gold is the other, 14-carat studded jewelry is the third. Lastly is the jewelry purchase plan that we have, which is a grammage purchase plan, which is ongoing for the last 2 years, which does a rupee cost averaging by accumulation in grams and not in rupees, plus the whole lightweight piece where we are trying to get a significant difference in the weight of the jewelry versus the way it looks. So look to price ratio. So multiple things we are doing to make jewelry accessible and exciting as well for customers. But certainly, there is interest in the category, which is what we have seen in quarter 4 by way of a buyer growth, both in diamonds, studded jewelry and in gold jewelry. And we are also expanding the pie by what we have launched also this Akshaya Tritiya, which is getting entry into a whole new world of natural gemstone jewelry to make jewelry more exciting and provide collections and stories which have never been seen before. So a bunch of things we are doing to keep jewelry and the category exciting and accessible.

Understood. Just a follow-up there. So FY '26 was a strong year for you and the base will keep getting higher, especially in the second half. Can you share your early thoughts on FY '27 jewelry sales growth? Also, you mentioned customers might have preponed purchases. Is that a risk for FY '27? And how, let's say, confident are you of like say, maintaining the growth rate or like say, at least 20% growth which you've been talking about in the past, how doable is that?

Yes. I think in the past, we have said between 15% to 20%. So in a sense, that holds good, and we hope to do that and maybe do a bit better. In a sense, this preponement is -- can keep happening because each -- at each month, you can keep advancing from the future because wedding dates are in a way sustained. But it all depends upon the trajectory of gold and what impact that makes on consumer sentiments. So we'll -- too early to call on that, but we are hopeful to keep to the same guidance we may have given in the past. Whether we will sustain this trajectory, I think perhaps time will tell.

Understood. Just lastly, any comments on LGD or beYon, how would you look to scale it up this year?

Yes. Like we have said in the earlier, we would certainly like to expand to around 10 to 12 stores in 2 to 3 cities and then kind of see how that -- because we've done a certain study. We've done a lot of interaction with customers, and we reached a point where we believe that it is a twin engine approach to growing adoption in a very low penetrated diamond market, which is India. So our objective currently is very soon to scale up to the next step of 10 to 12 stores and then kind of see how that works for us before planning national launch. So right now, we are looking to get to that point. We are at 2 stores currently, and hopefully, we'll get a bunch of stores in place well in quarter 1 itself.

Next question comes from the line of Nihal Mahesh Jham from HSBC Bank.

A couple of questions. The first one was on the 15% to 20% growth for next year that you mentioned. Does it depend on the fact of gold prices continue to sustainably increase so that also becomes an additional lever for buyer growth? Or what are the caveats in terms of achieving that number?

See, I think this is the general guidance that we have given that we should be able to sustain this kind of a growth irrespective of gold rate because it's intrinsic to what we kind of try to achieve irrespective of the gold rate. And pretty much the playbook is very simple. If gold rate goes up, then we need to manage the buyer growth to deliver this number and to keep the category, like I said, accessible. So in a sense, that's the playbook that we've been following also for the last year or so.

I will just add to that. This is Ajoy here. The fundamentals of jewelry category and the industry formalizing and therefore, organized players growing more rapidly certainly players with stronger balance sheets as gold price go up as well as brands which are providing that trust and, of course, differentiation. So I think that formalization of the industry continues to be a very strong underlying factor for growth, interest in the category because of its preciousness and thirdly, the India growth story. Therefore, the 15% to 20% is something that we ought to do. If we don't do that much, we won't be doing justice to all these tail winds. Caveats will always exist in terms of volatility in gold price, macro sentiment, et cetera, but those need to be managed.

Got that, Ajoy. Just one follow-up to that, that this FY '26 was an exceptional year, and you also mentioned there was a lot of FOMO buying, which would have played out, say, in Q3, maybe in Q4, that kind of a customer obviously would have come in one time or would have upsized the amount he spends. So potentially, if you don't see that kind of a gold price up in this current year, maybe that customer goes out, does that still have any impact on this 15% to 20%? Just asking your views on that.

See, I think this 15% to 20% whenever we have given, we have never said it for a quarter or for a certain period. It's typically an annualized number and also a kind of a CAGR for the next 3, 4 years. And I would stay with that. Pluses and minuses will happen. Preponement, postponement can keep happening, but that's more noise, which happens between month-to-month, quarter-to-quarter. Think of it over the next 3 to 4 years, what should be the growth. I think India growth story and the formalization of this sector will land you in this space.

Got it. Final question, beyond, obviously, the mix of gold and diamond, which is sort of changing. Is there any other pressure on margins in terms of the competitive intensity? Or is just mainly the mix that is leading to the uncertainty?

No, it's primarily that, nothing else that's in the mix.

Coin plays a role these days because investment-led orientation is high and that -- and plain gold and diamond, these are the 3 broad categories which interplays and impact the margin...

Jewelery division.

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from the line of Kaivalya Baing from IIFL Capital.

Sir, this is Percy Panthaki here. I just wanted to understand on the competitive and margin front for the jewelry business, what is the situation now in terms of competition? Is it still sort of on a Y-o-Y basis, getting more intense in terms of discounting and so on? And on a stand-alone basis now for the India business, what kind of EBITDA margins are we confident of achieving in FY '27?

Okay. Thanks, Percy. I'll answer the competition question. I think competition is now -- has become business as usual. Nothing -- and I think we have shown that we've got a playbook to kind of -- to deliver sustainable -- sustained results. So it's not something that we are so concerned about. And competition is here to stay. And what Ajoy mentioned on formalization is also resulting in organized competition putting up stores and adding stores across geographies. So that's something that is now par for the course.

And as far as margin is concerned, I was answering to the earlier question where I was asked that 11.2% and how much it can sustain. So in a way, we have been focusing on growth. And in the current environment of gold prices, it's very difficult to predict or give you a number that -- or a small range that within that we will operate. Idea is that if we are growing revenue 15% to 20% in the same ballpark, can we grow our EBIT also at least a little bit lower than revenue because the structural gold price impacts are happening. We talked about product mix, et cetera. But a healthy growth of EBIT, which would be a source of cash flow and value creation overall. But we will talk maybe more about that in our Investor Day that how do we view this, which is going to be in June first week, okay?

Yes. And on the top line, given -- supposing if the gold price remains roughly at INR 1,50,000 for the rest of the year, on a Y-o-Y average basis, that would still be a significant inflation. And although not fully to some partial effect, the gold price inflation typically has a positive effect on the top line growth. So when you are saying a 15%, 20% growth, aren't you lowballing the possible growth for FY '27, given where the gold price is currently?

So we are not lowballing. We said this is the medium to -- 3- to 5-year horizon, if you want to look at. This is the growth rate we are expecting. We are not giving any guidance to you for FY '27. As Arun spoke about, quarter 1 and quarter 2 may have benefit of this gold price inflation substantially. Quarter 3, quarter 4, already gold price was quite elevated, and it will completely depend on trajectory from there on. So this guidance of [ 15.20 ], you look more that we have the way we are running business, the way Indian macros are behaving, we believe 15% to 20% 3- to 5-year kind of horizon is certainly to be delivered on a CAGR basis kind of thing.

Our next question comes from the line of [indiscernible].

I just have one question. A lot of this has already been discussed. I wanted to touch base on CaratLane. The commentary seemed to suggest to me that one of the reasons why the growth sort of slowed from last quarter to this quarter was a preference for higher gold jewelry across customers, and which is why the studded jewelry value proposition for CaratLane had a challenge. This suggests there is fungibility of gold versus studded or indeed CaratLane versus Tanishq/Mia. Is this understanding correct? Or is the customer use case and profile different for these 2? How do we think about it structurally?

Saumen, is there on the line, but Ajoy -- Saumen, are you there? Do you want to take...

I'm there. I'll take. This is Saumen here. I wouldn't draw that kind of a conclusion by one quarter's result. And I think if you look at even the studded sales of Tanishq or even otherwise, I think it has been a good sales, good growth. For CaratLane specifically, among other things, we have grown to the tune of 22%, 23% which is per se not bad, but we also had a big platform level shift, meaning we moved from our legacy ERP to Oracle Fusion. That had created some degree of operational challenges, especially in the month of January and first half of February. And February month is very critical for CaratLane because Valentine is our next big month after Diwali. So at some level, we have not been able to fulfill some of the demand that were coming to us. So I would say this is a bit internal, and this is part and parcel of any big change that happens in terms of ERP migration. And if I -- why am I saying it so confidently? Because if I look at my December figure or if I look at what we experienced in the month of April, that suggests that this is actually more of a blip, yes. So I wouldn't think there is any significant change in customer preference for diamond and therefore, for CaratLane.

Okay. Clear. Just a quick follow-up on the margin profile changing for CaratLane at 8.4% this quarter is also a function largely of operating leverage or something else as well?

Yes, it is because the revenue was one big factor. And also, we have continued our investment on our campaigns in order to generate a lot more awareness among customers because we are also present across 160-plus towns. So these would be the 2 factors, but revenue would be the single largest factor for the -- but for the year, it's almost nearly 10%.

Our next question comes from the line of Siddhant from Goodwill.

First question was about Taneira. What kind of metrics are you targeting till you start opening new stores again? Like is it some inventory turn, profitability?

This is Ajoy here. I'll take that. On Taneira, I think we are undergoing some kind of a review of the way we are managing the store operating model through a mix of merchandise change, price points and strengthening the consumer value proposition. And therefore, the metrics we are looking at is twofold. One is, of course, same-store growth, buyer growth and thirdly, we'll be looking at the stock turns as well as the sell-throughs of product merchandise that has been brought in. These are the top-level pieces that we are tracking. And a lot of work is underway to kind of bring in a lot more buyer growth, particularly in the sub INR 10,000 price band category. And some of that will start showing up in the next few months.

Okay. That's great to know. About Damas, just I wanted to understand a little more about the minority stake. So because we are converting some Damas stores to Tanishq, how does it work for the minority shareholder? And what is the acquisition plan like for the residual stake in 3, 4 years whenever it is planned? Because in case it is very successful, we might not want to overpay for it or something like that, right?

If it is very successful, we are happy to overpay. But it is about 4 years after that, that occasion would come where partners can discuss and transact. So -- and the -- some of the retail conversion which are happening in favor of Tanishq in the catchments where Southeast Asian customers are dominant. They are under a franchisee model with Damas. So minority shareholder interest has been completely protected and both the partners are in full partnership taking some of these calls for the upliftment of brand equity and everything what Damas is expected to do for Arab segment.

Understood. That was helpful to know. And the third question would be, would we expect the momentum at TEAL to continue? And how is the Justech acquisition doing?

So that has done wonderfully well, which is -- which you can see in the full year result, I think, which we have spoken about. And TEAL has good opportunities folding -- unfolding under various domains, and they are a powerhouse of engineering, precision manufacturing. Ajoy, you want to add something?

I think the TEAL business has some good growth tailwinds or opportunities sitting in front. A lot of India manufacturing coming in, a lot of investments, aerospace sector, defense, infrastructure, electronic chips. So manufacturing itself because of partly government-led incentives as well as the fact that internationally, many clients are choosing to have a China Plus One strategy. Both of these augur very well. And the automation business as well having a lot of opportunities, thanks to a lot more new sectors also emerging from batteries to EVs to so many other things.

Our next question comes from the line of Ashish Kanodia from Citigroup.

Sir, the first question was on the bullion sales. If I look at on a full year basis, the bullion sales is substantially higher. So one, is this bullion sales largely because of the benefit which we have on the customs duty, which -- or 1% custom duty, so you are just selling that gold? And if that's true, then where is the profit sitting? Is it sitting within the jewelry EBIT?

No, this is more inventory management. We have been running gold exchange program at a very, very successfully. You would have seen our campaign around that from quarter 3 onwards. And a lot of gold, we are buying from customers from their vault, and we don't want to hold it for long. So we continuously keep liquidating that and replacing it when we really need that volume. There is no 1% angle to this. We are not getting enough quota from the government to get that 1% thing. So it is not at all linked with that. And actually, there is no, in a way, profit because it is just inventory optimization.

Fair point, sir. The second question was on the jewelry EBIT. Now when I look at -- on the stand-alone basis on the reported financials, the jewelry EBIT is around INR 1,711 crores. And when I look at the revised disclosure of the TMZ business, domestic, it's around INR 1,813 crore. So there's a difference of around INR 102 crore, INR 103 crore. Now mine -- please help me correct if I'm wrong here, but this is basically the difference in revenue as well as on the EBIT -- absolute EBIT is largely because of the primary sales, which happened from India to international. And if that's true, why is there suddenly a INR 102 crore loss this quarter versus typically having profit because this is mostly gross margins on the primary sales?

So that I spoke about the transfer pricing adjustment of about INR 80-plus crore that is sitting into the India international business. That is why you are seeing that loss. Otherwise -- and this is a new thing, as I spoke in the -- sometime during the call that Titan as a parent company is ensuring that its international subsidiaries who are doing this jewelry business, they are low-risk distributors, and we ensure that they have a minimum profit there. So that is sitting there.

Sure. So maybe I will connect more on this offline. And just last question, I think on the demand side is, one, if you can help me understand, I think you talked about the grammage purchase plan, which started 2 years back. So one, when did we started seeing the first -- like which quarter did we start seeing the -- maybe the redemption of the same because I think it's typically a 1-year phenomenon. So that's one. And second thing is this 1Q will have adhik-maas as well. And when I look at historical numbers, 2018, we saw some deacceleration in growth because of adhik-maas. The next year 2021 because of COVID, et cetera, is not very clear. But 2024, we didn't see any impact from a growth point of view, whatever was the trajectory, it kind of continued. So from adhik-maas point of view, anything to look at? Or do you think that there are enough initiatives the company has taken to mitigate that impact on growth?

Okay. Thank you for that for the 2 questions. Let me answer the first one first. The redemption for the Rivaah Golden Advantage Grammage program started from Jan 2025. This is at a national level, though the program was run at a pilot level in Tamil Nadu prior to that. So Jan '25 was the national -- at a national level is when redemptions began. The second question on adhik-maas, honestly, we haven't really given it too much of thought for me to answer that. But see, there is a lot of seasonality in jewelry purchase. There are months which are auspicious, months which are not auspicious. So it pretty much is part of an operating rhythm that we have. So really, we don't worry too much about this.

Our next question comes from the line of Aliasgar Shakir from Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund.

Sir, just I have one question on the margins. So we've seen margin slightly coming down, obviously, because of the prices going up and you also have to offer promotions, discounts to the customer. Now as you mentioned that Q1, Q2 prices will be high. But beyond that, if prices remain at the current level, would we expect the discounts, promotions to now start coming down and therefore, in a flattish gold price environment, your margins could be better?

See, our reference was more from the growth point of view that quarter 1, quarter 2 may have a tailwind of differential gold rate compared to last year quarter 1 to this quarter 1. And quarter 3, quarter 4 might be much more closer if gold prices doesn't go further up. But if at all, they go further up, then again, something may happen. So it was more from the growth point of view than the margin point of view, our response to that. And I think the margin pressures are more coming from the product mix aspect, not as much as the discount, which happens, which we have activations. And I don't think we have kind of double down on that in a very, very big manner. Exchange program, of course, exchange program does have an investment and which is kind of helping us a lot in growth, in getting buyers and all those stuff. So we are quite comfortable in continuing with that.

Okay. But just to, I mean, further persist on this point that if at all the gold prices remain stable, do you think there is any possibility of improvement either from the point of view of also mix or maybe whatever activations we may be doing to increase customer intensity?

Sustainability of margin would become far easier if gold rate remains where it is. And then we will see whether there is opportunity to improve or what. But sustainability would certainly become far easier.

Our next question comes from the line of Tejash Shah from Avendus Spark Institutional Equities.

Sir, just wanted to know based on the current trends and data available, what would be assessment -- our assessment of the market share movement this year in jewelry?

Okay. Thank you for that question, Tejash Shah. Our sense is that perhaps we have gained about 50 to 60 bps is our sense on FY '26 versus FY '25.

Perfect. Sir, second, if we have to look the opportunity here and jewelry from a consumer wallet share perspective, based on my rough calculation, we would have added -- the sector would have added roughly INR 4 lakh crore kind of size in the last 4, 5 years, which is sizable if we compare with many other discretionary categories. So how should we think about this number? Or the denominator is not only consumption basket, but it is stepping into investment basket of the consumer as well and hence perhaps looking from consumer lens could be not the right way or the only way to understand. Just wanted your perspective.

I think it's a bit of a complex question, better to discuss it in person when we are meeting just a few weeks from now. It's the honest answer, difficult to answer that over a call, but there are multiple customers, multiple need states. The whole investment buying has really peaked in the last few years. That may not have been in the case between 2012 and 2019 when gold was very stable. So yes, so we'll have to look at it by need state and maybe good to catch up in person perhaps or do it in the investor meet a few weeks from now.

Our next question comes from the line of [ Utkarsh Sinha ], an individual investor.

Actually, I wanted to understand that given the sharp increase in gold prices of the gold volatility, can you paint us a picture of how the demand trends progress across Jan, Feb, March, particularly this quarter?

I think gold price increase has actually created more interest in the category is my sense. This is Ajoy Chawla. And it's not just for investment demand, but even for jewelry demand, gold as well as studded. I think Arun shared that how people have requirements for wedding, people have requirements for adornment. I think the interest in the precious jewelry category has got heightened with the high gold prices and across segments, young, old, modern traditional.

Mr. Sinha, have you done with your question?

Yes, I guess, there was a network issue. No, yes, that's it.

Our next question comes from the line of Devanshu Bansal from Emkay Global.

Sir, I wanted to check on this new gemstone-based Hues collection that we have launched. What is the strategic rationale behind this launch? Is it also an attempt to address the current challenges at entry-level price points? Or is it to address a relatively slower growth in the studded segment? And second sub-question is, how is the margin profile for this line of jewelry? Is it in line with the studded jewelry?

Okay. Thank you. Thank you for that question, and also thank you for noting this new development from our side. It's an effort to grow the category. So far, the category has been seen through the lens of coins, gold jewelry and studded jewelry. We are adding a new dimension to it of natural gemstones with gold and therefore, attempting to create another engine of growth for us. There are -- the category is a very, very -- let's say, the category's penetration for gold is extremely high in India. And we are seeing that over the last few years, the design seeker in the category is growing by leaps and bounds in addition to the value seeker who's there to get the best value for their hard-earned money. And the design seeker in the category is looking for new expressions in gold jewelry, and we are adding a dimension to it by adding natural gemstones. And natural gemstones is a completely different world where there are multiple types of natural gemstones from different parts of the world, which can be embellished in gold to create a whole new range of jewelry. So that's what we are aiming to do with this. Hues is just the first attempt or first collection, and there'll be many more coming up in this. So the -- we're not approaching it from a margin standpoint or any other standpoint, but we are only approaching it from creating a new dimension and ensuring that the category in which we operate stays exciting.

Understood. Sir, small follow-up, if you could highlight the price range for this collection, is it at entry-level price points or more towards the premium price points?

Yes, we have about 200 styles, 50% of which is between about INR 40,000 and INR 2.5 lakhs.

Okay. So this may help us...

It goes up to about INR 10 lakhs. That's the overall range.

Understood. So this may help us sort of address the challenges that we have been seeing at entry-level price points as well?

It is seeming to do that as well. And a lot of the -- yes, it is seeming to do that as well. So very wearable jewelry, jewelry that you can wear every day. So it's not stuff that you buy and keep it in the locker. And that's also the direction in which we are moving to have a greater part of the excitement also in wearable daily wear jewelry. So it's certainly helping in that endeavor.

Our next question comes from the line of Priyanka Dhingra from SBI Mutual Fund.

So I just wanted to understand from the EyeCare business perspective, there were 20 stores which were net closed in the quarter. And of course, the EBIT margin is also from a Y-o-Y basis a little suppressed. So I'm just trying to understand that despite the premiumization and the store optimization that we are doing, why are the EBIT margins going down? And what are the plans to further improve this category?

Thank you, Priyanka. This is Raghavan, here. So the store closures is a part of revamping the look and feel of our network. So this is a journey which we undertook for the past 1.5 years. And that is the reason you see almost 32 store closures and the net being at 20. So that is to enhance the overall appeal. In terms of the EBIT, I think our focus is on growing the top line revenue. And if you look at the revenue growth, now we are clocking almost 16% to 17% growth. However, this was also supported by increased marketing spend. And also, we had a one-off inventory recall where we recalled certain stocks, which we believe were slow movers. So these are the reasons for that.

Okay. Got it, sir. The second question I wanted to ask was about beYon, the LGD platform. I understand that at this point of time, maybe sharing separate numbers will -- may not be possible. But how was, let's say, the Valentine's period sale for beYon? And do you see kind of parity between CaratLane or, let's say, Mia versus beYon? Do you think that the footfalls are increasing? If you could give us some color around beYon?

Sure. Thank you for this question on beYon, it's just one store. So it would be incorrect to extrapolate on a sample size of one. But we have seen good traction even in beYon during the Valentine's period this year. So nothing that we are seeing, which is very different from what we are seeing in natural diamonds. But do allow us to open a few more stores and have more data points to answer that with more rigor.

As there are no further questions from the participants, I would like to hand the conference over to Mr. Chawla for closing comments. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Thank you. Thank you, everyone, once again for a very engaging and interesting conversation. Thanks for all your questions. They make us think and look forward to seeing you soon in the next few weeks. Till then take care. Bye. Have a good Friday and a weekend.

Thank you so much, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Titan Company Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining, and have a good day.