Turtle to enter eyewear retail

Turtle Limited, a Kolkata-based men’s lifestyle apparel brand, will be entering the men’s eyewear retailing market during January-February 2013, according to director Shitanshu Jhunjhunwalla.

“Plans to foray into eyewear retailing, sunglasses and optical frames to begin with, are in the final stages. Targeting customers between the age groups of 23 and 30, the Turtle eyewear range will be priced between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000. While we expect this business to account for 1-2 per cent of our revenues in the first year of launch, the contribution may go up to 3-4 per cent in the next year,” he told Business Standard.

According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), the eyewear market in India is pegged at Rs 21,000 crore, and projected to touch Rs 43,000 crore by 2015, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30 per cent.

Present in Indian and West Asian markets, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, the company is looking at expanding its international footprint by going to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the first half of the next calendar.

At present, exports account for 3-4 per cent of the company’s total sales.

“There is still a lot of scope and potential in the domestic market, which we want to fully tap into. Exports will remain at 5-6 per cent of our total sales at least for the next couple of years,” Jhunjhunwalla said.