Specsmakers to add 350 stores in South India in 2-3 years

Chennai: Chennai-based eyewear brand Specsmakers plans to more than double the number of stores from its existing 250 to 600 across South India in the next three years before venturing into western India. The home-grown start-up, which was launched with two stores in 2007, is also focussing on ‘Make in India’ by procuring all its lenses from within the country and cutting them at two of its factories in Chennai and Bengaluru.

Predominantly present in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Specsmakers is making an aggressive push into Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala, where it plans to establish about 250 stores in the next two to three years, Pratik Shah, CEO and founder of Specsmakers, told DH in an interaction on the sidelines of the Tamil Nadu Global Startup Summit

“We want to add another 350 stores in South India in the next three years. As far as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are concerned, we are now getting deeper into tier-2 and tier-3 cities. We are getting more into cities like Hubballi, Davangere, Belagavi, and Gulbarga in Karnataka,” Shah said.

In the next three years, Specsmakers will have about 100 stores in and around Bengaluru and 50 stores in the rest of the state. “We plan to increase the number of our stores to 200 in Tamil Nadu, 150 in Karnataka, 150 in Andhra Pradesh, and 100 in Kerala in the next three years. While the target for South is 600, we will explore opportunities to venture into the western Indian market when we reach 450 stores,” Shah.

Specsmakers, which competes with Titan Eye Plus and Lenskart both of whom have wider market presence and exposure, will enter the north Indian market slowly as Shah believes that this category does not need a first more advantage.

“You can always go to the North, because I think operationally it makes sense for us to have more control over the South, then go to West and then go to Central India, and finally North India. All our stores are company-operated and we don’t allow franchise models,” Shah added.

On the company’s efforts to Make in India, Shah said while the company still imports glass frames from China, it has started working with some factories in Gujarat to manufacture them here. We get spare parts from China and assemble the frames here in India. However, the lenses we use are completely manufactured in India,” he added.

As the company plans to add 350 more stores, Shah said Specsmakers will set up a frame manufacturing unit in the next three to five years and stressed on the need for creating an ecosystem in India to manufacture frames.

“Even if we build frames in India, we need to get the raw materials from China. So, until that raw material ecosystem is not set up, you cannot completely make indigenous frames. a full make in India. But I think in the next five years we will have that evolving over here,” Shah added.

On lenses, Shah said the company currently cuts lenses at two factories in Chennai, and Bengaluru and has plans to open one in Hyderabad in the next six months.