Titan Eye+ to focus on calibrated growth, puts expansion plans on hold till fourth quarter

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Zefr, CEO Saumen Bhaumik told ET that the eyewear arm of the Bengaluru-headquartered Titan Industries, is likely to focus on growth after the fourth quarter this fiscal. “We have opened 300 independent outlets in the last two years, and we’ve crossed Rs 1000 crore turnover as a consumer priced top line…it is time for us to sort of get our energy back in making every single outlet count in terms of performance,” he said. The eyewear division, which had planned to get to at least 1000 stores by the end of 2022 has 920 stores across the country and one in Dubai.

Two more stores are in the pipeline for the Gulf country and will likely be opened by the end of December this year. Titan Eye+ is looking to increase its investment in boosting sales through its online platforms, especially Fastrack.in, added Bhaumik. Right now, online contributes to 3-4% of the company’s total sales.

Fastrack, the company’s youth focused segment, entered the prescription eyewear space a year ago. Right now, there are seven stores across three cities. Bhaumik said that by the end of the year, the segment would have 20 stores.

“We’re still in the phase 1 stage…hopefully by fiscal 2025, we will press the button on scaling up,” he added. Along with Zefr, a lightweight luxury eyewear created in France, the company also launched the second generation of smart eyewear called EyeX 2.0, and smart sunglasses from Fastrack. The first generation was launched in 2019.