Discover Your Potential
Silmo Istanbul enables companies to carry out both marketing and promotional activities together. For this reason, I believe that the fair creates a valuable advantage.
Hello Mr. Halil, after briefly introducing yourself to our readers, could you share your story of entering the optical sector?
Hello, I am Halil İbrahim Akşehirli. I come from a family that has been serving the optical sector for three generations. In addition to wholesaling, I continue our activities in the retail chain with ten stores under the name of Güven Optik, which I took from my father and which I continue and which is currently managed by my son Hasan Basri Akşehirli. Our path is the imagination that we need for glasses and that will express our identity, and advanced ideas that will bring imagination to life. After knowing and understanding these, it is to apply them, to turn them into life. A positive outlook, a healthy body, knowing your interlocutor yourself are indispensable elements of my philosophy of life.
Could you tell us about the establishment, development and sectoral vision of Potential Optical?
For Potential Optical, we can say that it is basically an innovative professional breakthrough of the family, which has been working as an optician since 1959, in accordance with the present day. Our goal is to deliver a wide and high quality product range to customers with the best price and service. In our offices in Üsküdar, Istanbul and Bornova, Izmir, all optical store owners can examine our products at any time by appointment. Our collections offer the best comfort while maximizing the health and elegance of its users in a fast-paced lifestyle. We continue our activities uninterruptedly with our unique and sustainable patented models.
How many brands do you have within the company? What would you like to say about their main features, interaction groups and their position in the sector?
As Potential Optical, we have our own valuable brands that we have been distributing in Turkey and other countries since 2018. Motivum, which gives life motivation to all its users, Freemood, which is highly compatible with free-spirited individuals, and Eyewear1959 are currently among our brands. We are also excited to introduce a very high quality eyewear group to the sector next month. I would also like to mention that Potential Optical is expanding our distributorship network with new countries to be added. Our priority in all our brands is always to make you feel our current spirit and logic in the best way. The lightness of the materials used in our brands and models prevents the weight that may occur during use with the flexibility of the frame. It has managed to attract the attention of free-spirited characters with minimalist designs and an ingenious fashion sense. Our collections, which have a stylistic appeal, have been able to appeal to many styles with their color range.
With what factors do you determine the collections of your brands?
The technology accumulated over time in various production areas and the experience of devoted efforts have permeated innovative products and created the timeless identity of our brands. The compliance of the materials used with health standards, their quality and their suitability for opticianry are among the indispensable qualities of the collections offered by our company. In addition, we attach great importance to the fact that our collections contain free-spirited, free models and that they are compatible with every season and every fashion. At Potential Optical, we appreciate the value of every moment and strive to continue the history of our brands only in the pursuit of eternal value.
Do you plan to add new brands to Potential Optical?
We have accumulated experience, skill and dedication over the years. Our priority when adding new brands has always been to understand and communicate the spirit of the brand. Thus, at Potential Optical, our selfless effort to find answers has become our innovation. For this reason, the priority is always to take our brands to a higher level. While we are focused on giving our existing brands timeless identities, as a company that is developing, growing and evolving in a good way, we of course have an open mind to consider new, potential brands.
What is your strategy for expanding your distribution and sales network?
As Potential Optical, we serve every region of Turkey with three separate distribution and sales teams. Our dynamic and well-equipped team provides information to our colleagues who love and appreciate our product by explaining the difference and benefits of our products one-on-one, completely, without disturbing them. Undoubtedly, our distribution and sales network development efforts are gaining momentum every day and we continue to reach a wider audience in this sense. Our presence in the fair led by Silmo Istanbul, the advertisements we place in 4 your eyes Optik Magazin magazine, as well as our current presence in digital channels play an important role in strengthening our sales network.
Could you tell us about your services for your customers during and after sales?
As Potential Optical, we have an in-house experience center. While determining our marketing strategies, we carefully consider the after-sales process as well as the sales. Since we give optimum importance to after-sales support, I think that we make the users and the opticianry establishment smile.
Which communication tools do you find more effective for promoting your brands? How do you inform your customers about campaigns and innovations?
Understanding and recognizing the target audience is the first and most important step in brand promotion. I believe that the most effective information about the difference and benefits of our products is one-to-one, face-to-face. When you get to know the sector, that is, your target audience, it is very important to be able to analyze the insights you will get from them and the data you observe to understand our sector in the best way. I always think that the findings we reach as a result of the analysis will help us make effective decisions about how and when to present our brands. In line with all this, Potential Optical prefers to interact with our target audience on digital platforms and on our website.
Do you follow international fairs and what are your thoughts on this subject?
Of course we follow international fairs. We will continue to be a participant as Potential Optical in the following years. I think that these global events create valuable opportunities for the development of our industry. We can say that fairs are the common meeting point for the latest technologies and trendy brands and countless collections.
As an exhibitor, how would you evaluate the 10th Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair with its new and larger service area since its inception?
The developments in our sector and the new formations in the market have created an environment where competition is intense. Today, I no longer consider it sufficient to produce and market only quality goods in order to achieve success and make sales. Because in today’s conditions, consumers can encounter different prices, quality and forms of the same goods and have the chance to choose the goods or services they need among different alternatives. In such a market environment, participation in Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair offers significant advantages to companies. The fair enables companies to carry out both marketing and promotional activities together. For this reason, I find Silmo Istanbul’s sincere support activities for the sector and us important. The fair, which is organized with remarkable intelligence; well-trained employees, active and successful pre-fair and during the fair promotion activities, design and carefully carried out post-fair activities have been improving over the years. We would like to thank the entire Silmo Istanbul team.
Thank you very much for this valuable interview. Finally, what do you think about the transition of our magazine 4 your eyes to digital publication?
I think your magazine is a successful factor in keeping up with the current news. I find it very successful that it provides information about the development and innovations of many companies that are well-known or well-known in the sector. I also appreciate your adaptation to the digital age and wish you continued success. Thank you.
July 2024