The Optical Trade: Four Decades of Change and the Illusion of Growth
- The Ray-Ban Era – Aspiration Arrives ( pre and post Ray Ban)
Before Ray-Ban (then Bausch & Lomb) entered India, opticians were happy selling ₹ 500 spectacles and earning about ₹ 350 per spectacle — Operating margins near 70 %.
When Ray-Ban landed, those margins stayed intact for non-branded products and services, but the capital that once went into other investment instruments and expansion suddenly sat locked in branded inventory: Ray-Ban frames, B& L contact lenses, ReNu and PRET.
I sometimes still joke that PRET was “the contraceptive pill of the optical trade” — after that pill, growth stopped. Liquidity vanished into shelves.
- Titan – The Premium Turn
Titan’s organised retail entry hit traditional outlets hard. At first it hurt volumes dipped their loyal customers went other avenues in search of variety and change.
But over time Titan added value. The same consumer who resisted a ₹ 1,000 pair was now willing to pay ₹ 3,000 for similar quality.
Though customer counts fell, profits rose. Value replaced volume as the stabiliser.
- The Shift from Glass to Fibre
The move from glass to fibre lenses , I believe it was organic innovation/change.
It simplified fitting, improved comfort, and expanded accessibility. the convenience was adapted immediately by opticians. Yet it also dissolved a monopoly — the craft of glass grinding that once defined skilled opticians.
Suddenly, anyone could open a store. The trade mushroomed; proximity replaced expertise.
- Lenskart – The Volume Illusion
Lenskart changed scale, not soul.
In a city Where twenty opticians once earned well, now twenty-one were competing and most lose money.
The spectacle business has never been a volume play; it’s a precision service. Fitting, comfort, and human adjustment that are invisible but decisive.
Lenskart blurred that truth. For many young consumers, brand advertising became expertise. For mature buyers, it bred distrust.
It’s a brand illusion — a name recognised, but not revered.
Pain Points for Traditional Outlets
1. Hospital Stores – Eye hospitals have become integrated ecosystems, and their optical counters now contribute nearly 20 % of total revenue with little overhead and instant trust.
2. COVID-19 – Pandemic migration sparked thousands of small, semi-urban optical stores. Staff who left cities opened locally and stayed.
3. Online and Heavily Advertised Brands – India’s optical trade long lacked domestic branding; digital campaigns filled that vacuum. Younger consumers equate visibility with credibility.
4. Airports & Shopping Malls – Once-core premium sunglass sales for opticians (15–20 % of annual revenue) migrated to airport retail. and non premium and some branded to shopping malls. where impulsive buying keeps the customers away from optical stores for their needs of sunglasses.
The Generational Divide
For today’s youth:
• Relationships mean follower counts.
• Convenience equals happiness.
• Information equals knowledge.
Social media converts information into convenience, and convenience into purchase.
Lenskart monetised that cycle perfectly — followers as customers, impressions as loyalty.
Closing Thought
Optical retail was built on value, not volume.
Every inflection — Ray-Ban’s aspiration, Titan’s premiumisation, fibre’s democratisation, and Lenskart’s commoditisation — has tested that truth.
In the end, only those who restore value creation through trust, precision, and service will keep the vision clear — for both their customers and their balance sheets.