Mooshu
Sophisticated and Vintage
Silmo Istanbul creates wonderful circumstances where boutique companies like us can express themselves more effectively and accurately.
Hello Mr. Cinemre… Could you introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about how you decided to enter the optical sector?
Hello there. I am Kadir Cinemre, I was born in Istanbul, I graduated from Işık University Opticianry Department. I have been in the optical sector for about twenty years. Firstly, in 2006, I started to work in a lens company, which is a pioneer in its sector and a world brand, in order to specialize in the sales and marketing department. Then, in 2010, I continued as a brand sales manager in a company that is a distributor of world brands in the frame department. The variability of the optical sector and its proximity to fashion were the factors that brought me closest to this sector. I think it is a sector that is very open to innovation and we can add a lot to it.
With which aims and objectives did you decide to establish your company?
I met the optical sector in 2006. I worked in different positions in every part of the sector. I worked as a sales manager of different brands in different companies. I was constantly intertwined with brands in lens, frame, wholesale and retail departments. Afterwards, with my vintage curiosity, I rolled up my sleeves to prepare retro glasses for the coming years. After mastering many areas of the sector, I focused on production in line with my goals. The idea of creating local and handmade products with retro lines led me to a very exciting start.
Could you tell us about the Mooshu brand, its customer profile and technical features?
Mooshu brand was born as a 100% Turkish brand from design to production. The name meaning of the brand comes from the word Men with the letter (M); that is, having hard and masculine lines, the letters (OO) represent glasses, (S)(H)(U) comes from the word SHE, which represents women in English; it represents women having curved and aesthetic lines. Ninety percent of our brand’s designs are unisex. It has sophisticated and vintage lines that both women and men can prefer. We attach importance to offering original designs as well as being useful. Our customer profile consists of users who expect comfort in light but flashy glasses with different designs. The most important principle of Mooshu brand is ‘if it’s not qualified, don’t make it’. Every single piece used in production is carefully designed. Each model is revised about five times before it is presented to the users. We keep working on it until we find perfection. All Mooshu models have screwless and weldless designs. We have an innovation-oriented dynamic. We put a lot of effort into improving our production systems, so we spend a lot of time on technological studies and R&D. We already use the technologies that the world offers as innovations in coating in Turkey. We produce long-lasting products with titanium coating.
We make the production of our lenses with our own color chart. All our lenses are anti-reflective coated and consist of PA lenses that provide a clear vision. Our products are cut and assembled with laser technologies. We work with a margin of error of one thousandth. This year we have added a bio-acetate series to our new collection. We offer the combination of acetate body and metal temples to our customers this year. Again, we tend to approach zero carbon consumption with products that are completely compatible with nature, all of which come out of our own workshop in Turkey. Our eyewear cases are made of vegan leather. We design and manufacture them in Turkey.
What are your sales and after sales services?
While we are constantly meeting with our sales team friends, we are actually looking for a partner for our dream. We determine our sales points accordingly. It is very important for us to protect our brand value. It is not our business just to sell products and make money. We spend our earnings, knowledge and values to move our brand forward. Since the production belongs to us, we do not have supply problems with our customers for any model or product. We prioritize the satisfaction of our customers and therefore their customers in terms of spare parts such as all kinds of lens, springs, hooks and terminals. Nobody wants to wait weeks for a spare part. We have to take our share from ourselves.
Which promotional and advertising activities do you use to increase your recognition in the sector?
We strive to use social media effectively in order to bring our brand to better points and make it a well-known and recognized brand. We aim to reach different audiences by collaborating with famous personalities. Influencer studies support us and optical stores to sell our products. The use of our products by well-known and recognized people gives confidence to our customers. Along with social media, we see that participation in optical fairs also provides us with a lot of benefits. We add a lot of innovations to our brand and experience in fairs with new optical stores, employees and young optician friends. At the same time, fairs are the gateway to the world market. This is our aim anyway. To be a world brand.
What are your comments on the present and future of the Turkish optical sector?
I think that the Turkish market has become a market that the world cannot ignore. Especially high value-added products like ours attract a lot of attention in Europe. There is an intense interest in Turkey. Increasing transportation costs and costs after the pandemic reduced interest in the Far East market. I think there is an intense interest in our country. We are preparing for the future by increasing our investments, R&D studies and capacity every year. I think that Turkish brands will soon be among the world brands and our vision will increase every year and add added value to our country.
What could you say about 2023 trends in optics and sunglasses?
Last year and a few seasons before, minimal eyewear were more popular. However this year, large and multi-colored models have become a trend. Large acetate models have been preferred recently. Pastel colors are at the top of the preferences. We prefer products in extraordinary colors and timeless lines in our Mooshu models. The aim here is to create the trend. Instead of presenting existing trends to our loyal customer base, we prefer to offer the trends we create.
You said that you exhibit in fairs… Do you get what you expect from fairs? How would you evaluate the ten-year process of Silmo Istanbul?
We have been exhibiting in Silmo Istanbul for two years and we leave with a smile on our faces after every fair. The new people we meet, dealers and industry followers from abroad open new doors for us. It creates wonderful circumstances where boutique companies like us can express themselves more effectively and accurately. The fact that Silmo Istanbul attracts great interest from abroad is a stepping stone for companies like us that are on their way to becoming a world brand. This year, we think that we will have a much more productive fair process for our sector in the new expanded space of Silmo Istanbul.
Our magazine has made another innovation and continues its publication life digitally. In this way, we establish a more effective and intense interaction. How would you interpret this innovation of 4 your eyes and its work on behalf of the optical industry?
As it is an up-to-date and dynamic magazine, we can find all the innovations in the sector under a single roof. I believe that the magazine is the only place for boutique companies like us to be heard by the whole sector. The fact that the magazine is online is a great innovation. Now everyone will be able to reach you, and therefore us, from anywhere. We can see from social media how important interaction is today. It is a great convenience to be able to interact with your magazine just a touch away in our pockets. We would like to thank the 4 your eyes team for bringing us to a wider audience with this innovation.
August 2023