Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Mar 30, 2007
ePaper
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Mar 30, 2007 ePaper |
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Marketing
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Strategy Titan Industries enters prescription eyewear biz Our Bureau
MR BHASKAR BHAT, MD, Titan Industries, at a press conference in Bangalore on Thursday. — G.R.N. Somashekar
Bangalore March 29 Titan Industries has announced its foray into the prescription eyewear business with Titan Eye +. Titan plans to open 150 Titan Eye + stores in five years in class A and B towns. In the initial phase, 10 stores will be opened in Bangalore (5), Chennai (4) and Nagpur (1). The first of the pilot stores will be inaugurated next week in Bangalore. Three more will come up in the city this month. Titan Eye + hopes to be a one-stop-shop for style and eye care. Apart from selling frames and lenses, it will also offer free eye testing. The Titan Eye + store will sell frames under the brands Titan, Eye + and Dash (for children), apart from fashion brands such as Vogue, Elle, Hugo Boss, D&G and Mont Blanc. Lenses will also be sold under the Titan brand, apart from Essilor and Nikon. Titan Eye + is positioned as a player in the mid-priced segment. While the Titan brand of lenses cost Rs 145-21,000, the other brands cost Rs 350-15,000. Frames cost Rs 395-890 (Eye +), Rs 950-4,000 (Titan) and Rs 2,500-25,000 for fashion brands. Titan Eye + will also sell contact lenses from Bausch and Lomb and Johnson & Johnson, apart from sunglasses from Fastrack, Gucci, Ray Ban and Mont Blanc. According to Mr Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director, Titan Industries, while 30 per cent of the population requires vision correction (300 million), there are only 84 million users. The eyewear market is valued at Rs 1,800 crore in turnover terms, growing at 15-20 per cent per annum. Titan Eye + hopes to capture 20 per cent of this market in 3-5 years, said Mr Bhat.
First year
He also hoped that the eyewear division will make Rs 15-20 crore in the first year of operations. While Titan will handle the design, retail and marketing, it will outsource manufacturing, finishing and assembling. Mr Ronnie Talati will head the eyewear business. Titan Industries hopes to finish this financial year with a turnover of Rs 2,000 crore.
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