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SOCIETY AND TRENDS: SPECTACLES
No Dearth Of Buyers
Barring names like Adidas, Elite and Giordano,
whose basic products cost Rs 2,500, most other global brands are marked
upwards of Rs 5,000. But there is no dearth of buyers. Indian makes like
Sillotti and Geo are cheaper and range typically between Rs 300 and Rs
1,500. They have few takers, however. Mallika Singh, manager at a Mumbai
finance firm, for instance, is very clear about why she went in for a
Giordano. She thinks the desi maal loses out on finish. Joseph Jose, a
shippie, feels the eyeing of foreign items has more to do with the light
weight of the imported glasses.
Kavita Ramchandran, associate creative director,
Imageads, however, is more forthright. She points out that the free spending
on specs stems from a substantial rise in the average Indian monthly household
budget. If people like her can afford it, she says, they would rather
go in for premium international names than Indian ones.
Amitava Mendonca, marketing director of the 124-year-old
Lawrence & Mayo Opticians which has 25 showrooms in 12 Indian cities,
doesn't argue the point. "The awareness of local Indian brands is
poor," he says, adding that "there has been no real attempt
by the manufacturers to establish quality products". According to
Admaji Chasmawala of the Federation of All-India Optical Associations,
easy availability of the relatively cheaper Chinese frames is also hitting
the indigenous spectacle market. But at outlets like Colaba Opticians
they insist that Indian and foreign frames serve different markets altogether
and that home products aren't taking a beating.
Though the industry is divided over these swadeshi-videshi
proclivities, what everyone is unanimous about is the fact that the fad
in the bigger cities is translating into positive economics-the slight
slump in the worldwide market notwithstanding. Lawrence & Mayo which
stocks 15 Indian brands, including a special one for children called Mickey
Kids and 30 international ones like Mont Blanc and Boucheron, has seen
a 25-30 per cent per annum increase in revenue in the past few years.
Bonton Opticians cites a figure of 5-10 per cent. According to a study
by 20/20 Asia, an eyewear magazine, the ratio of consumers opting for
contact lenses is considerably smaller in Asia than in the rest of the
world. This is true in India as well, making the market for spectacles
that much bigger.
The choice is yours, but if you want a good pair
of frames you should keep your eyes wide open. With characteristic nonchalance,
fakers are coming up with lesser products and passing them off as their
western cousins. And if you should see a Chanel priced a few hundred rupees
less than one you saw in another outlet, don't smirk at it. Since the
maximum retail price of imported frames is usually not fixed, the tags
fluctuate. You would not want to end up spending more than you should
on a chic pair that enhance your cool quotient, would you? Well, perhaps
you would. After all in the world of fashion it is the label that matters,
not the tag.
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