Suburb January 2019

What kinds of eye
wear trends do you
for see in the
coming year?
SB: In the current year, I see
a lot of retro frames, big
aviatorsand light crystal
coloured frames being in
vogue whereas in lenses,
light-coloured lenses will
rule this year.
LK: I see a lot of small
framed glasses ruling the
market. Cat-eye will be
making a big comeback.
SP: Indian eyewear trends
for the organised retailers
like us are dictated by
European standards and lot
of credit for this also goes
to digitalization.
SB: Trained and good quality of manpower
is a big challenge for the industry currently.
For this, investment in the backend is
needed. I see a lot of good optometry
colleges coming up in this country in next
5-7 years. More investment in the HR is also
the need of the hour.
LK: The big challenge is that there has to
be regularization of the practice in the right
way and there should be standardization of
trade.
SP: There should be more schools to
educate sales staff in the optical trade so
that we get trained manpower.
Q: How has the new GST tax
regime impacted the industry?
SB: We have seen squeezing of margins
and low sales which has resulted in the
depressed sales.
“
Government needs to
work on controlling
the grey market.
Standardization has
to be implemented
for the betterment of
the industry.
Lalit Kalra
”
“
In my opinion in the
digital space there is
only price war now
currently when there
is a quality war only
then everyone will
benefit.
Sandip Pahwa
LK: The industry is still facing some
problems with GST. However, with this new
regime, the grey market will end. I’m
concerned about the 20 percent imposition
of duty on sunglasses. Since sunglasses are
very important in blocking harmful UV rays,
people should use them more, but the high
GST acts as a spoiled-spot.
SP: It is more or less the same as the
retailers in the organized sectors like us
were always selling with bill and paying our
taxes. However I guess there is a problem
for the smaller retailers but then I feel that
for the growth of the industry it’s important
to bring optical industry under the
organised sector. s
January 2019 | suburb life 39