KÜBRA KARACA OPTİK
New Breath for İZMİR
We endorse the contribution of the Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair to our industry’s growth, transformation, and its powerful impact on forging new business connections.
Hello Fatma, would you introduce yourself for our readers and share how you came to the optical industry?
Hello. I was born in Trabzon in 1964. I’m new to the optical field, but I’ve been in healthcare for many years-I’m a retired nurse with 35 years of service in public health. After retiring, I moved to İzmir. My daughter has been a pharmacist for many years and when she decided to relocate her pharmacy to Çiğli, she noticed an empty space next door. I actually first encountered the industry back in 2014, when my son was choosing his university-he studied opticianry, so I was already familiar with the field. I thought: why not? With my daughter’s support nearby and believing I could stay active despite being retired, I decided to open the store. With the help of our Responsible Manager and optician, Nermin Akman, we’re doing great work and really enjoying it.
Could you share the opening story of Kübra Karaca Optik? How did you choose the store’s name?
I can say that the number of private hospitals in Izmir is relatively low compared to other big cities, so I thought that the new hospital to be opened might have potential. We rented the shop in April last year. However, it took us until November 2024 to open, both for decoration works and licensing procedures. In fact, I can say that we are a blossoming business that has been in operation for about six months. When choosing the brand name, I preferred to use my daughter’s name. The main reason for this was that she has been a pharmacy for many years, serving the people in the neighborhood with a smiling face and gaining their trust. I gave my daughter’s name because I thought it would provide convenience when promoting our store.
Your store’s concept-from logo to décor-is very cohesive. How did you plan this harmony?
Our store was specially designed by experienced interior architects and furniture decoration companies. In the decoration, we preferred the color orange to create a warm and friendly environment for people. At the same time, we tried to make people feel this sincerity by using oval lines in both design and lighting. We tried to present the color and logo we use in our brand as a whole, from our signboard to our shopping bags, wipes, eyewear cleaning solutions and business cards. We were very meticulous in choosing the logo, we wanted it to be both stylish and a design that would evoke Eyewear.
Do you carry products across all segments? Which optical and sunglass brands sell best?
In order to keep customer satisfaction and continuity at the highest level, we carefully create our selections by making detailed examinations of all models and brands while choosing our products. Since our main goal is to appeal to the needs and tastes of our customers, we focus on diversity in the product portfolio of our store. We work with almost all of the world’s leading optical and sunglasses brands. Since we are next to a hospital, we have more optical frames, but of course we have allocated a large area for sunglasses in order to keep up with the sunny and summery weather of Izmir. We mostly work with the brands and products of Luxottica Group. We also carry various brands such as Lacoste, Calvin Klein, Furla, Guess, Vycoz, Silhouette and Dutz.
What sets Kübra Karaca Optik apart from other optical stores in Çiğli?
Our optical store has brought a breath of fresh air to our region with its design and location. Our carefully selected décor, our selection of optical and sunglasses from trendy brands, our warm and friendly approach have received positive reactions from our environment. Our explanatory narrative and sincere information during and after sales made it easier for us to gain the trust of our customers despite being a new store.
What are your top priorities for customer satisfaction? Could you tell us about your after-sales services?
We increase customer satisfaction by offering gifts, discounts and advantages for our customers. Our events such as campaigns on special occasions, new product launches and seasonal discounts attract great interest. In these events, we aim to keep our customer satisfaction at the highest level with opportunities such as gift vouchers and discount coupons. In case of any problems with our products, we offer spare parts support, as well as repair and maintenance services for all kinds of glasses, even if they are not purchased from our store.
Which shapes, materials, and colors will dominate this summer’s optical and sunglass trends?
Rather than myself, I find it more valuable to share the views of our optician Nermin, who has many years of experience in the sector. She underlines that the eyewear fashion for the 2025 summer season will include geometric forms, large frames, colored lenses and retro influences, and that the trend colors will definitely be bold and popular colors such as pink, orange, blue and green. In our country, eyewear have started to be accepted as stylish accessories that reflect personal expression and keep up with the pace of modern life. Especially in these sunny days, we believe that the energy of vibrant colors will have a good effect on our happiness.
Are the current sales and training programs on industry innovations, trends, and new technologies sufficient? What needs improvement?
We observe companies trying to offer training in certain sessions at both domestic and international fairs. However, we think that these presentations are insufficient in the limited time we spend to meet new products at fairs. We believe that some brands should organize events such as training camps or seminar days, especially related to optical lens technologies, to enable us to provide healthier and more scientific information to our customers.
Do you visit international fairs? How important is it to follow them?
Nermin has experience in this field, but as we mentioned at the beginning of our interview that we are a new-born business. We hope that we can participate in the 2025 Silmo Paris Fair as Kübra Karaca Optik in our first year. We think that participating in fairs abroad is important not only to broaden our perspective but also to be among the first to be aware of the progress of the sector. We believe that these fairs are also useful for exchanging ideas with our colleagues abroad. We also think that they are valuable in terms of opening up space for the use of new technologies in our country., we hope to attend Silmo Paris in our first year, 2025. We believe participating in global fairs broadens our perspective and keeps us first to know industry developments. These fairs are also valuable for exchanging ideas with international colleagues and helping bring new technologies to our country.
How do you view the development and value that Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair brought to the industry?
First of all, we would like to state that Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair had a very important place in the establishment phase of our store. Thanks to Silmo Istanbul, we had the opportunity to examine many products on site during the process of opening our store. In particular, we procured the devices and tools we use in our workshop from Silmo Istanbul. The opportunity to compare and examine all the features of all products at the same time made a great contribution to drawing our sectoral path. Moreover, just by issuing our entrance card to Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair online, our business also won a gift in the draws of the fair. We find the thoughtfulness of gifts that increase our motivation and enthusiasm valuable and thank you on behalf of our store. Beyond that, we think that Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair has a very important place for the growth and development of our sector. The fair brings together many brands and professionals in their fields and offers us the latest trends and technology. It provides environments such as new product discoveries, new technologies and information sharing. We support the contribution of Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair to the growth and transformation of our industry and its strong impact on establishing new business connections.
Thank you for this valuable interview. Finally, may we ask your views on 4 your eyes?
In today’s world of technology, digital publishing reaches much wider audiences and offers easy access. By expanding innovative content and technologies, these experiences can become richer and more varied. We thank you for providing this interview opportunity and wish success to your entire team.
July 2025