Tanishq will glitter on US shores

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">bangalore: with some happy news on the domestic front in terms of rising sales and profits after years of groping in the dark, tanishq, titan industries'' jewellery division, is now eyeing the us market through a franchised store. while tanishq had been getting enquiries for overseas franchisees for some years, it had been waiting to turn the corner in india which it did in fiscal 2000-01, recording a small profit on an income of rs 203.91 crore.while tanishq retails in the uae through a shop-in-shop, if the us foray works out, tanishq will be the first big indian jeweller to have an exclusive store presence overseas. jacob kurian, coo, tanishq, told <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">the times of india</span> that the company is planning a trial in the us and uk in the next 12 months, with the us probably being first. but it will be a gradual start since this business takes time to consolidate, he said. there has always been great demand for ethnic indian jewellery in these countries and the market potential is seen to be huge, given the large number of indians there. interestingly, despite the fact that indians constitute one of the highest earning populations in the us, only small, local stores service the ethnic indian jewellery requirement. according to kurian, ethnic indian jewellery in the us is a large market with few large players. estimates value this market at $500 million but this cannot be validated since it is a very fragmented space. however, chances are the market is actually bigger. right now, an average indian looking for traditional indian jewellery in any us city has to travel really far, does not really get what she is looking for and often has to get relatives or friends in india to buy for her, kurian said. ``when tanishq opens up there, we hope to offer an alternative with the assurance that the brand name provides,'''' he added. </div> </div>