Titan appoints three new directors for Montblanc joint venture

Montblanc, the maker of luxury writing instruments, and Tata Group company Titan got government clearance for their joint venture in single brand retail. Titan has appointed three directors, including its Managing Director Bhaskar Bhat, on the board of its new joint venture (JV) with Maison Montblanc to carry out single brand retail trading of Montblanc's products in India. The other two directors are: Titan Co-CEO of Watches and Accessories Division S Ravi Kant and independent director Ireen Vittal. The trio will together take the company forward.

The appointment is as per the agreement between the two partners, under which Titan has the right to appoint three out of six directors. The JV has ‘equity participation pursuant to FIPB approval in the ratio of 51:49 by Montblanc Services BV and Titan Co Ltd, respectively,” said the company in a BSE filing. The equity share capital of the JV company after allotment on December 5, 2015 is Rs 41.50 crores comprising 4.15 crore shares of Rs 10 each.

With the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) having given its nod to this JV proposal, it will effectively end the current arrangement of the Dutch pen-maker with its only distributor in India, former cricketer Dilip Doshi. Titan is a joint venture between the Tata group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. Montblanc, which is re-entering India and will open five boutiques in the next three months in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune through this new JV. This December, two boutiques would be opened at two up-market outelets which include the Palladium Mall in Mumbai and Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi, featuring state-of-the-art innovative collections of Maison's innovative writing instruments, fine jewellery for men and women and artisanal leather goods. Titan would operate a dedicated customer service centre to ensure convenience and service for clients in India.