Reliance's Eyewear JV plans major expansion

Online, April 5, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Reliance Vision Express, the 50-50 JV between Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail and Pearle Europe is looking to expand its base nationally to tap the existing potential of the Indian eyewear industry. The company is not only targeting metro cities but also Tier I and Tier II cities. The Eyewear JV is setting up new stores in Indore, Bhopal, Nasik, and Nagpur.

"We are at present just a year old in the business and our main focus is to enlarge our customer base. We are hoping to capture the mid-market population and enforce our positioning by offering quality eyewear at very low prices," said Guillame Brouwet, CEO of Reliance Retail's eyewear JV. The eyewear range offered by the company is priced starting Rs 449 and goes up to Rs 6,000.

According to Brouwet, the density of opticians in these tier I and II cities is now and there lies a huge opportunity to develop customer base. "For every 1.5 lakh people there is only one optician, indicating the opportunity that one can make use of," he pointed out. The optician market in India is worth $900 million, of which only 5 per cent belongs to the organised sector. Reliance Retail's Vision Express is aiming to solidify its position as a market leader by 2012.

In keeping with the trend of all the other brands of Reliance Retail, Vision Express is also looking to expand its presence in the country by setting up 60-70 stores every year. Brouwet did not disclose the investment details. As of now, Vision Express has 50 stores across India within 500 days of its operation and going forward, the company intends to carry on with its 'one new store every 10 days' plan.