Titan Eye Plus presents the new FLAIR Collection

100 new designs for bifocal and progressives consumers Prices from Rs 995 onward
s
Bangalore, August, 2013: Titan Eye Plus, India's leading eyewear retail chain ha
s introduced a new collection of frames - 'Flair', specially designed for the we
arers of bifocal and progressive lenses. The new collection is designed keeping
in mind the specific needs of these customers who seek comfort as the most essen
tial component of their overall experience. The collection is available in over
100 styles with popular colors like pink, purple, burgundy for women and black,
brown, gun & gold for men. The frames are available in various hypoallergenic an
d light weight materials like acetates, injection moulded plastics, stainless st
eel and Titanium. The collection is attractively priced at the starting range of
Rs. 995.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Bhaskar Bhat, MD, Titan said, "Titan has always be
en a consumer centric company. We are committed to give our customers a unique e
xperience each time by creating differentiated products and services. This year
for wearers of bifocal and progressive lenses, who mostly belong to the 40 years
+ age group, we have launched the FLAIR collection that has been created keeping
in mind the specific needs of this consumer. It is a combination of perfect vis
ion, clarity, great comfort, stylish looks and an enjoyable store experience tha
t sets us apart. The expertise of our well trained optometrists and eyewear cons
ultants also further helps in assuring best in class service for our customers.
This aspect of professional service can only be experienced at Titan Eye+ and it
comes as a surprise to most first time visitors to the store."
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ravi Kant, CEO, Eyewear Division, Titan Industries
Ltd, said, "We expect the new FLAIR collection to get an extremely positive res
ponse as it has been designed to suit the requirements of consumers in the 40 ye
ars+ age group. Our research has revealed that many people in this age group fac
e a sense of anxiety especially with regard to their looks and a first time user
of spectacles may experience a further loss of youthfulness! There is a signifi
cant percentage of people in this segment who may even postpone the use of spect
acles fearing this. This is a call for action that resolves the conflict in thei
r minds that spectacles will make them look older. Titan Eye+ has drawn on this
insight and seeks to provide this consumer stylish and yet comfortable products
which would in fact complement his looks. We also provide a range of high qualit
y bifocal and progressive lenses with special coatings to enhance their viewing
comfort. Our endeavor is to upgrade these customers to the most technologically
advanced progressive lenses which can improve the quality of their life."
This consumer seeks specific benefits from eyewear products like durability & hi
gh wearing comfort. The Titan Eye Plus stores offer special services like 'Adapt
ation guarantee on progressive lenses' and 'Free lifetime service guarantee on s
pectacles' to its customers. Lenses from Titan are very affordably priced with a
pair of bifocals starting from Rs 850 and a pair of progressives starting from
Rs 1400. All Titan lenses also come with a 1 year warranty.

An eye for innovation

The youngest brand in the Titan stable, Titan Eye Plus has successfully engineer
ed a blend of style, technology and outstanding product quality

An estimated 450 million people in India need vision correction, but the actual
number of those who use optical lenses is less than 25 percent of that, says S R
avi Kant, chief executive officer of the eyewear division at Titan Industries. T
he shockingly high number of people with untreated vision-correction requirement
s speaks volumes about the state of ocular health in the country and about acces
s to ophthalmic health care.
For the people at Titan Eye Plus, the challenge is not just to bring to the mark
et eyewear that blends style and functionality, but also to address the immediat
e need to increase awareness about ocular health. It is a challenge that they ha
ve met with considerable success.
In an attempt to create awareness
and reach out especially to people who are not
even aware that they need vision correction the company launched an online visi
on testing portal, a first and one-of-a-kind service from a retail chain anywher
e in the world. Created in-house, this simple test has been used by more than 25
0,000 visitors since its launch in October 2012 (it can be accessed in all major
Indian languages).
Says Mr Kant: Most people are unaware that they need vision correction till they
experience symptoms such as headaches, which is generally one or two years late.
Being the leader in the industry, I think it is our responsibility to bring abo
ut awareness on this issue and our innovative online test is a step in that dire
ction.
Anybody over six years can take the online vision test, which does not give out
a prescription but is able to identify four different types of vision problems.
If the test reveals a problem
and if the participant agrees
a trained Titan Eye
Plus professional contacts him or her.
Another interesting innovation that has helped create widespread awareness is th
e Titan Vision Screener, which is a portable eye screening unit. The unit is use
d at the healthcare camps the company organises in residential complexes and in
offices in select Indian cities.
Trained personnel
A big differentiator for Titan Eye Plus is that is has trained and certified opt
ometrists and eyewear consultants at all its stores. Titan Eye Plus is also clos
ely associated with Sankara Nethralaya, a prominent eye hospital in Chennai. San
kara Nethralaya runs a two-month training programme for eyewear employees at Tit
an Eye Plus outlets. Each of these outlets offers free zero-error eye testing in
a state-of-the-art testing facility that is managed by optometrists. This is an
important focus area for us, says Mr Kant. We have set up an exclusive training ce
ntre in Hosur [in Tamil Nadu], where, in close association with Sankara Nethrala
ya, we train all our optometrists and our eyewear consultants.
Every Titan store has a qualified optometrist, trained technicians and eyewear c
onsultants, and all employees have to undergo a strict certification examination
conducted by a panel of experts from the company and Sankara Nethralaya. The co
nsultants undergo comprehensive training in technical and product knowledge, per
sonal grooming, communication skills, etc so that they are able to understand th
e needs of customers and prescribe the best suited product to them.
This is our biggest strength, says Mr Kant. People who walk into our stores feel th
at they are talking to somebody knowledgeable, who is able to guide them through
the entire process by recommending the best optical solution.
That solution rides on quality and creativity. Titan Eye Plus manufactures some

of the most innovative optical lenses (with advanced lens coating) at its stateof-the-art lens manufacturing facility in Chikkaballapur, near Bengaluru. This i
s a first-of-its-kind facility in India and it uses advanced free-form manufactu
ring technology to make lenses. Lenses manufactured using this technology offer
about 30 percent wider vision than those that are made using conventional lens t
echnology. With products that range from the normal hard-coat lenses to customis
ed signature lenses that are designed specifically for an individual consumer s ey
e and head movement, the plant has developed several highly innovative and diffe
rentiated products.
Advantage Titan
The Chikkaballapur facility also houses advanced lens-coating equipment that can
turn ordinary lenses into unique and innovative products. One such product is c
alled Titan Advantage, which are special lenses that repel water and dust and ar
e scratch resistant. These anti-fogging lenses are a boon where there is high hu
midity.
The brand s sun protection factor lenses, on the other hand, protect users from ultr
aviolet radiation, with a special coating on both sides of the lens offering 360
-degree protection against radiation. There are similar products worldwide but fe
w international brands manufacture these specialised lens, says Mr Kant. It is all
about striking the right balance between the price of the product and its value
.
The lens manufacturing unit has an output of about 600,000 lenses a year and cat
ers to all Titan Eye Plus stores across the country. With 228 stores in 78 citie
s, managing the order inventory and delivery on time is a complex task. All the
stores are connected to the manufacturing plant through SAP and every order punc
hed in is immediately downloaded at the plant. The factory operates in three shi
fts and most lenses
98 percent of the orders, says Mr Kant are produced within 2
4 hours of receiving the order.
Titan Eye Plus caters to the style-conscious Indian with its wide range of trend
y products that draw on Titan s well-honed design expertise. With more than a thou
sand styles, frames are made from a wide variety of materials. Titan Eye Plus re
gularly adds new design collections to keep the range as fashionable as possible
.
The challenge in this segment is to address the age-old stereotype that glasses
are unfashionable. Over the last few years, Titan has launched specific collecti
ons targeted at different consumer segments. Product design has always been a st
rength at Titan and the marketing team at Titan Eye Plus creates products for di
fferent occasions, for that official function, for parties, for weekends and so
on.
Saying it for style
Titan aims at getting consumers to start looking at the eyewear category differe
ntly as a style accessory, rather than a medical appurtenance. As Mr Kant explai
ns, Style is important to the Indian consumer and our effort has been to get thes
e consumers to consider eyewear as a style accessory and not just as a functiona
l product. We have done that by launching collections that the Indian market has
not seen till now. Our communication has been about style and how users can enh
ance their looks with our products.
The youngest brand in the Titan stable, Titan Eye Plus has evolved over the six
years of its existence
from a fresh entrant in India s highly unorganised eyewear
market to becoming the country s No 1 eyewear retailer brand and largest eyewear r
etail chain. In the process Titan Eye Plus has matured in terms of overall strat
egy and pricing and in its understanding of the market.

We were seen as a premium brand

r Kant. But the fact is that we
plans for store expansions, new
ses on the anvil, Titan Eye Plus

because of the look and feel of our stores, says M

are premium in terms of quality, not pricing. With
design and the development of several novel len
is now eyeing greater successes.

An experience to store
Titan Eye Plus stores offer customers a great shopping experience. The pioneers
of the browse, select and buy format in eyewear retailing, where all frames are la
id out on the wall with their respective price tags, Titan Eye Plus is known for
its transparent pricing as much as for its wide variety of frames and lenses.
The brand s style consultants, knowledgeable and qualified, are trained to help th
e customer choose the right product. Each store offers free, zero-error eye test
ing in a state-of-the-art facility run by optometrists specially trained by Sank
ara Nethralaya. With its friendly staff, quick turnaround time and an impressive
variety of frames and lenses, Titan Eye Plus has successfully transformed the e
yewear retail experience in India.

About Helios
Part of Titan Company Limited, is a multi brand watch retailer. Provides
watches across 25 international brands.
Its first store opened in Banglore in Jan 2009.
Titan sees a huge opportunity in the premium to affordable luxury segment
in the country. The watch industry in India is estimated at Rs 2,500 crore. While
the overall market is growing at 5 per cent per annum, the premium to luxury ma
rket is growing rapidly at an astonishing rate of 35 per cent, says Mr Harish Bha
t, COO, Watches, Titan Industries.
Titan launched the Helios store in Bangalore earlier this year. Tell us about th
e strategy behind the launch and the company s foray into the multi-brand watch ma
rket.
Titan piloted Helios as a multi-brand watch store retailing premium brands cater
ing to the discerning watch customer, in order to exploit the growing opportunit
y in the premium watch segment, a space that is highly fragmented across several
brands. This new concept store will take us a long way in expanding the watch m
arket in India and grabbing a significant share. By bringing so many reputed and
premium watch brands under one roof, Titan offers an entirely new experience of
watch shopping to our customers in Bangalore.
What consumer segment/market will Helios cater to?
The store targets premium and accessible luxury watch buyers. These are discerni
ng watch buyers seeking a wider and deeper choice of brands and products.
Helios has store across 23 cities in India.