The Hindu Business Line : Defining the affluent

India has been a typically slow market in this space so far. Traditionally, there has been little interest in this category. Interest is, however, on the rise now. As the disposable income in peoples' hands increases, the greater is their concern for ensuring that they take good care of their eyes.

The eye care market can be broadly divided into two segments. The first, functional eyewear, and the second, cosmetic eyewear. The first is a market dominated by frames, lenses and power glasses for reading and regular wear.

The second market is called the “cooling-glass” segment comprising dark glasses of every kind that are worn to protect oneself from the glare of the sun.

The market for functional eyewear has been dominated by ophthalmologists and the several small practices that proliferate around them — the people who grind lenses and make them, fit them onto frames and get them moving based on prescriptions. This is a prescription-driven market. The market makes good money for all involved.

Thus far, this market has not had too many organised players. It has been all about the small little shop near the ophthalmologist that did brisk business.

Titan pioneered into this space with its Titan Eye+ and has done a tremendous job of professionalising the sector that was all about high margins, poor service and, at times, sub-standard quality as well.

More are planning an entry into this segment. It would be a good idea for entrants to add a service dimension to the eye care market. Titan Eye+ has done that well. Expect more action in this space.

The market is a big one as most people go untested for eye care in India. The market, both in small-town and rural India, is big. In the rural parts of the country, people do not have their eyes checked and get correction glasses made for themselves. The primary need for many a person in rural India is the need to watch television. When their eyes don't see as well as they should, they don't visit the ophthalmologist. Instead, they adjust their viewing distance from the television. They either get closer or farther depending on whether they have myopia or hyper-metropia.

The market for cosmetic eyewear is also huge. In many ways, Ray-Ban is the mother brand many crave. It is the oldest foreign brand in India. An old craving that is enhanced each time you see an aviator in a film flaunting them and doing all those daring tricks. This is a wide open market as well. Rather, a wide-eyed market.

As the Metro spreads its tentacles around cities, what are the opportunity areas in business terms?

Spriha Ahuja, Mumbai

Spriha, the Metro is a positive development for the clogged big city. Take Delhi. The Metro has transformed the lives of thousands.

The distance from the Central Secretariat Station to Chandni Chowk can be covered in 12 minutes flat. This simply means very big things.

Look back to the old days before the Metro arrived. It took all of 80 minutes to commute just one way in peak time. Imagine the plight of the shopkeeper who had a shop in Chandni Chowk and lived in South Delhi. He commuted up and down investing as much as two hours plus on the basic commute. Today, he is able to do it in 24 minutes flat. This means a saving of a full two hours and more. It allows him to return home and take his family out for an ice-cream. Maybe, even a movie. He gets to go to a gym as well, instead of sweating the time out on travel.

The Metro does many things. It knits a city together. It closes distances and allows us to go back to the good old way of meeting people — one-on-one rather than over the telephone. You feel like catching up with a friend over coffee, you just take the Metro and move. The commute does not become an excuse anymore. The Metro is good for business and for improving the quality of life as well.

Are there not too many brands in the FMCG space in India today? Why such an array? Should we not rationalise?

Mayank Shah, Ahmedabad

Mayank, the FMCG space in most developed and developing markets of the world is a cluttered arena. India is no different. The clutter, however, has just begun to look like a clutter and there is more to come. So do enjoy the array and await more.

At this point of time we have a clutter of Indian brands. Brands made in India. Give it some time, possibly a couple of years, and we will have a clutter of brands from all over the world. An upper end store, be it in Khan Market in Delhi or a Heera Panna in Mumbai, can provide us a curtain-raiser of this phenomenon. When this happens, the clutter will get more confounded.

In a typical high-clutter market, the shampoos category offers a choice of over 70 brands. In India today, this clutter is limited to 18 brands. In the soaps category, a high-clutter market will provide you 140-plus options. In India, we have 30-plus brands. Therefore, we are an early-clutter market. But we are getting there. Enjoy.

If you were to define the affluent, how would you do it? There are so many definitions centred on it, I don't know which one to follow.

Shefali Ruparel, Mumbai

Shefali, definitions are not important. The ethos and passion behind the definition is more important. There are a plethora of definitions that abound in the marketing space. The affluent, by my definition, are people who have little time to consume anything, but have lots of time to flaunt anything that they wear or use. These are forever peripatetic souls who travel a lot, buy a lot, eat very little, savour the best things of life and do most of their eating with their eyes rather than with their mouths. That's a cheeky definition really.

The affluent are financially enabled. They may have lacunae in many other areas such as education and health, but the ability to splurge good money over good and bad products alike, distinguishes them. That's even cheekier.

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