Sectoral Passion
The 10th year of Silmo Istanbul was both productive and enthusiastic for us. Both the new location of the fair and the award night at Çırağan Palace were magnificent.
Hello Mr. Suat & Mr. Cem… First of all, could you tell us a little bit about yourselves and your story of entering the sector?
Suat Şen: Hello, I was born in Trabzon in 1963. I have been operating in the optical sector since 1980. Since 2019, we have been managing Armati Gözlük company, which we have partnered with my colleague and friend Cem Üner.
Cem Üner: Hello to everyone who is devoted to the sector. I am Cem Üner and I was born in Istanbul in 1971. After graduating from Yıldız Technical University Mathematical Engineering, I started my professional life in the optical sector, which is my father’s profession. I worked in the retail sector under the Ozan Optik brand, which has been in the sector for 38 years. After a ten-year break, since 2019, we are in the wholesaler network of the optical sector with Armati Gözlük company together with Mr. Suat, my friend and partner of 30 years.
You are the distributor of important brands in Turkey. What could you tell our readers about your brands?
We are the distributor of Korean brands Vycoz, Frank Custom and Dr. Gram in Turkey. Vycoz independently produces functional eyewear inspired by core values and practicality. Frank Custom is an eyewear brand that focuses on timeless designs and technical excellence. It creates eyewear in aerodynamic materials that emphasize comfort, variety and quality at an affordable price. Dr. Gram stands out for its extremely lightweight, beta-titanium frames. Their products weigh only 3 grams and have a unique fabric woven hinge structure for easy assembly. We also offer our house brand Jeemm to all eyewear lovers. Our goal is to offer the operators of optical stores an advantage away from competition with high added value and profitable products. We are happy to bring our strong technological product range to our customers through our fast and dynamic team in competition and profitability.
Let’s talk a little bit about your house brand Jeemm. Could you share with us its basic features, interaction groups and its position in the sector?
One of our biggest goals since 2019, when we joined the wholesale part of the optical industry, which we love, was to create a top-quality optical brand. Our aim in this brand was to capture the product range and price performance at the right rate. At this point, the Jeemm brand was born in accordance with our purpose. We believe that we have taken the first steps of our goal with our Jeemm brand, which we created with high Korean technology. While creating the Jeemm brand, the suggestions and requests from optical stores were very valuable to us. In this way, we believe that we have filled the missing and sought-after gaps in the sector.
As Armati Gözlük, are there any new brands you plan to add to your company?
As Armati Gözlük, of course, we have a goal to grow, develop and reach a wider audience. Although it was established with an experienced team, our company is a fairly new organization. Of course, even though we are only in our fifth year, it is a fact that we have achieved success in our growth graph by coming to very important points. We attribute this success to our broad perspective that is open to development and innovation, contemporary and compatible with trends. The fact that we prefer to participate as exhibitors and visitors in very valuable international fairs for the sector, especially in Turkey and Europe, clearly reflects our point of view. We constantly follow the pulse and dynamics of the sector through these fairs and continue our negotiations with brands to make Armati Gözlük the most sought-after company in the sector.
What is your strategy for expanding your distribution and sales network?
We prefer to position Armati Gözlük at a point that is committed to professional ethics, ethical values and to protect these values. I can say that just doing business is against Armati Gözlük’s philosophy. For this reason, we care about working with every element we do business with and of course with sales points by establishing ethical and correct strategies. We can say that we adopt a win-win system that takes care of the interests of both sides in our trade. As you can imagine, we take care to choose optical stores that we can work together for a long time instead of short-term business relationships.
In the light of your experience in the sector, how would you evaluate the current state, development and near future of the Turkish optical sector?
Turkey is a very active and young market with a growing trend. I can say that our country is a shining star for the new players in the market and those who will shape the sector. However, as Armati Gözlük, I have to say that the sector needs to develop a little more in terms of professional ethics, which we prioritize in all our commercial activities. We think that we should contribute to the growth of the market in a more ethical way by giving more effort and setting an example through publishers like you and of course associations.
Do you follow international fairs and what are your thoughts on this subject?
We participate in all international fairs. We think that these big organizations offer very valuable opportunities to keep the pulse of our industry. We can say that international optical fairs are the meeting arena for new technologies and trendy brands. As we have mentioned before, as Armati Gözlük, we attach great importance to participating in these fairs and we experience an enthusiasm as if we are participating for the first time in every participation. As our colleagues who experience similar feelings can easily understand, we are excited to continue our work with this passion for our profession and our industry.
As an exhibitor, how would you evaluate the 10th Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair with its new and larger service area?
The 10th year of Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair was both productive and enthusiastic for everyone like us. Both the new location of the fair and the award night at Çırağan Palace were magnificent. It was unforgettable to be together with our colleagues who shape the industry in this magnificent 10th anniversary celebration where Silmo Awards Istanbul were given for the first time. This year’s Silmo Istanbul was a harbinger that the fair will reach a wider audience, be more productive and provide more enthusiasm every year. We would like to congratulate the Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair team once again for bringing us together with our colleagues in this valuable organization and offering business opportunities.
Thank you very much for this precious interview. Finally, what would you like to say about the transition of our magazine 4 your eyes to digital publishing?
First of all, thank you for including us in your magazine, 4 your eyes. Digital publishing means the future. The future means 4 your eyes. Thanks to the digital magazine, you are reaching a wider audience and leaving a more sustainable world to future generations with online publishing, which is more environmentally friendly.
May 2024