As Optik Marmaris

AS OPTİK MARMARİS

Visual Comfort & Aesthetics

Silmo Istanbul is an important event in terms of evaluating developments in the sector and establishing collaborations. It provides the opportunity to come together with professionals.

Hello Mr. Serhat. First of all, let’s get to know you a little bit and talk about your story of entering the sector…
Hello, I am Serhat Yelmen, born in 1984 in Izmit, I live in Marmaris and I am the founder of As Optik Marmaris store. I am a graduate of the Opticianry program and I have been working passionately in the opticianry sector for 22 years. My interest in this field dates back to 2002 when I started my apprenticeship. During my apprenticeship period, I had the opportunity to gain basic skills in the world of eyewear. In this process, I gained an awareness of the richness of the industry and how eyewear contributes to people’s quality of life. Opticianry has become not only a profession for me, but also a field where I improve people’s visual comfort and aesthetic understanding.
Could you tell us about the establishment of As Optik?
As Optik came to life in 2011 with my rich experience in the opticianry sector and the basic skills I gained from my apprenticeship period. I set out with an understanding that prioritizes customer satisfaction and focuses on the special needs of each customer. I had the chance to get to know the sector from the inside for a long time. By opening my own store in 2011, I aimed to offer solutions that meet both the aesthetic and functional needs of eyewear users. One of the most important elements that form the basis of As Optik is customer safety. I set out to not only sell eyeglasses to customers but also to offer quality solutions for their vision health. With these basic principles, As Optik continues to grow as a brand that offers personalized eyewear experiences and keeps customer satisfaction at the highest level.
How do you choose the optical and sunglasses brands you sell?
Our primary focus when choosing eyewear brands is quality. We consider technical features such as durability, visual appearance and UV protection in sunglasses. Design and fashionability are also important factors in meeting our customers’ expectations. After-sales support and warranty policies provided by our brands are also among the factors we consider to ensure customer satisfaction.

Designer brands are very popular in recent years. Do you also receive requests from your customers in this direction?
The demand for designer brands is increasing day by day. Our customers are interested in these brands because they like prominent designs, quality materials and a prestigious image. In order to respond to this demand, we allocate a large space in our store to the collections of various designer brands and ensure that our customers can easily access fashionable and quality products.
What are the after-sales services you provide to your customers? How do you think these services affect your future sales?
We pay special attention to after-sales services to maintain customer satisfaction. Warranty processes, repair facilities and consultancy services allow us to offer comprehensive support to make our customers’ eyewear experience hassle-free. The quality of these services positively impacts our future sales by increasing customer loyalty.
How do you inform your customers about changes and campaigns in your store?
We use various channels to inform our customers about the changes and campaigns organized in our stores. Email newsletters, social media platforms and in-store information materials are effective tools to inform our customers about innovations. In this way, we establish a strong communication with our customers and respond better to their expectations.
As a retailer, what are your views on the price competition between you and your colleagues?
We carefully analyze the price strategies of competitors in the sector and the services they offer to customers. This helps us understand the pricing strategies of other brands offering similar products and services and identify their competitive advantages. Price competition is important in the retail sector, but what matters most to us is the value we provide to customers. When quality products, reliable service and affordable prices are combined, our customers are satisfied. By achieving this balance, we remain competitive and strengthen customer loyalty. We hope that all our colleagues in the market will provide fair and competitive pricing and bring our sector to the level it deserves.

Is the sales and training information provided within the sector sufficient? Do you organize training programs for your store employees?
We attach importance to in-sector trainings and sales briefings in order to keep the level of knowledge and skills of our staff constantly updated. These trainings are critical in terms of providing the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively introduce new collections, give correct answers to technical questions and increase customer satisfaction. We also ensure that our staff maintain their professionalism by organizing regular training programs on customer relations and communication.
What do you think about the rates and awareness of eyeglass use in Turkey? What can be done to increase eyeglass use and who has a role to play?
Increasing eyeglass use requires the collaboration of many stakeholders and requires a combination of various strategies to create healthy eye habits across society. Health organizations, optical companies and government agencies can conduct awareness-raising campaigns in schools, online and on other visual platforms. Retail stores can organize discounts and campaigns for eyeglass purchases during certain periods and on special occasions. In collaboration with health professionals, eye health specialists can conduct regular eye examinations to determine the need for eyeglasses. Optical brands, the fashion industry and marketing teams can be pioneers in making eyewear fashionable and popular among younger age groups. Non-governmental organizations, health institutions and government-sponsored programs can be effective in this issue by organizing educational programs to raise family and community awareness, contributing to the use of eyeglasses to become a general family habit.
Do you follow international optical fairs and sectoral developments abroad?
We closely follow international optical fairs and sectoral developments. These fairs are important platforms to see innovations, new technologies and fashion in the sector. By integrating this information into our business, we aim to always offer our customers the most up-to-date and trendy products.
How would you evaluate the 10th Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair with its new and larger service area?
Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair is an important event in terms of evaluating the developments in the sector and establishing collaborations. The fair provides the opportunity to come together with other professionals in the sector and create opportunities for cooperation. Such fairs offer us an important perspective to understand the developments in the sector and customer demands. For this reason, I hope that Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair, which is held 10th time this year, will be better than the year before every year.
Thank you very much for this valuable interview. Finally, could you give us your comments on the transition of our magazine 4 your eyes to digital publishing?
Digital publishing is a great tool to keep up with developments in the industry and to provide customized content for customers. I think 4 your eyes has increased its readership with digital publishing and has become more effective in the sector by bringing the advantages of wide access.

 

 

February 2024

Soho Optik

SOHO OPTİK

Tecnology and Fashion in One

“I think fairs like Silmo Istanbul are very important for following the developments in the sector and establishing new business contacts.”

Hello Mr. Barkın. First of all, could you introduce yourself a little and share your story of entering the optical industry?
Hello, I was born in Istanbul in 2002. I completed my primary and secondary education at Sev Private American College and high school education at Saint Joseph High School. I am currently studying Mechanical and Construction double major at Özyeğin University and Opticianry at Işık University. As someone who wants to start his own business since a young age, I have examined the sectors. I have determined that contact lenses, laser surgeries, intraocular lens surgeries and especially intraocular surgeries performed with smart lenses have seriously reduced the demand in the optical sector, that we are in the period of the most intensive use of our eyes in the history of humanity, that telescopic lenses, prismatic lenses, blue light blocking lenses used in front of computers have entered and will enter the application area much more with the advancement of technology, and that the need for sunglasses is increasing due to global warming. I entered this sector by combining my Mechanical Engineering and Optician skills, taking into account that I can make very qualified optical applications in this new period.
Could you tell us about the establishment phase of Soho Optik?
I received consultancy services from Özlem Arafal, one of the biggest doyen of this sector, for 1.5 years. Afterwards, we added Özlem Öz, who has tremendous experience in boutique retailing in the sector, to our staff and received consultancy from her for 8 months. After opening our store, we had the chance to add İskender İrdal, one of the other important names, to our team. With the creativity of this trio, which I see as the biggest chance of my life, we overcome the difficulties, adopting love and respect as the most important value, we are walking our way happily together and we aim to progress on much bigger roads together.
What are the most popular optical and sunglasses brands sold in your store?
Our collection consists of fashion brands as well as special brands that combine technology and fashion, which are frequently demanded by our customers, and designer brands that have been very popular in recent years. In this direction, the brands we sell the most in optics and sunglasses are designer brands such as Lunor, Tavat, Kador, Oliver Peoples, Lool and popular brands such as Serengeti, Etnia Barcelona, Prada, Miu Miu.

Do you have products from every segment in your store? How do you think having different product segments reflects on your sales?
We offer options for every taste and every style in different segments in our store. Our products are not just eyewear but fashion statements. Having different product segments allows us to increase our competitiveness in the sector, promise consumers a certain quality guarantee, create a loyal customer base and increase our sales volume. We are also trying to appeal to different customer groups by expanding our brand portfolio day by day. With this perspective, I believe that we are also contributing to the development of the national economy.
Street stores or being located in a shopping mall? What is your preference and what are the reasons?
I think the answer to this question depends on the area where the store is located. The choice should be made according to the shopping habits of the target audience in the region where you plan to open a store. We started by opening our first store on Bağdat Street, one of the most important streets of Istanbul. The stores opened on the street have a customer profile that they have been building for years. Stores opened in shopping centers, on the other hand, offer physical and social differences to the consumer and therefore the customer profile changes. In line with our growth targets, we plan to open branches in shopping malls in locations where our target audience is located.

As a retailer, what are your views on price competition between you and your colleagues?
The pressure of intense price competition in the markets is increasing due to increasingly similar products, increasingly difficult product and service differentiation and decreasing profit rates. This situation has led us to restructure our marketing. We are trying to use various methods and techniques to realize and sustain long-term customer loyalty and, in this context, customer loyalty. The competitive power of companies that know and anticipate the current and future needs of customers and implement management strategies such as product development and diversification to meet these needs very quickly and before anyone else will always be high. Our biggest goal is to increase the number of loyal customers. This is achieved by ensuring that the customer is satisfied with the service provided and leaves your company satisfied.
What do you think about the rate and awareness of eyeglass use in our country? What can be done to increase eyeglass use and who has a role to play?
I think that Turkish people do not have enough knowledge about eye health and eyeglass use and this situation needs to change. I think that the main factors preventing access to glasses are the insufficient number of ophthalmologists, opticians and opticianry establishments and the concentration of eye health services in big city centers. Especially in rural areas, services are difficult to reach. In my opinion, the development of the optical sector is directly linked to population characteristics, fashion, ease of access to glasses and the importance society attaches to eye health. The number of ophthalmologists, opticians and opticianry establishments is lower than in developed countries, but this number is increasing every year. This shows that it will be easier to access glasses in Turkey in the future.
How would you evaluate the 10th Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair with its new and larger service area?
I have been visiting Silmo Istanbul for two years now. I think that such fairs are very important for following the developments in the sector and establishing new business contacts. Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair is an international organization that supports the development of the optical sector and brings together suppliers, dealers and employees in this field. I believe that such events are important for the growth of the sector.
We are glad for this valuable interview. Finally, could we learn your comments about the transition of our magazine 4 your eyes to digital publishing?
4 your eyes’ transition to digital publishing will enable it to reach a much wider audience.  It will be much more easily accessible as the phenomenon of time and space will disappear. We wish your team continued success.

 

January 2024

Galaxy Optik

Galaxy Optik

Corporate and Qualified

Our momentum in the optical sector in terms of supply and service is improving every year. We were able to observe this change very clearly at this year’s Silmo Istanbul.

Hello Mr. Samet, could you tell us about yourself and your story of meeting the optical industry?
Hello, I had a childhood in trade. With my mother’s background in textile export and my father’s background in hotel management, I chose to pursue a career in retail professionally after my school life. Ninety percent of my retail career was in the establishment and management of luxury consumption and start-up operations. The optical sector started with brand establishment and management in one of the start-up and luxury retail brands for the same reason. Likewise, Galaxy Optik is the latest example.

Could you tell us about the vision and goals of Galaxy Optik?
The most important motto of our Galaxy Optik brand in vision and mission is sustainability and accessibility in the service we provide to our guests in our Galaxy Optik stores. By this, I mean that we will not only grow the demand, but also the supply. To give an example, we will not have the motto of not being able to meet the needs of our customers or making them wait in all services in the field of optics or a new or continuous product, on the contrary, we will be able to meet all demands quickly and sustainably. This stance is born from the fact that we have at least half a century of history and 40 partners behind our Galaxy Optik brand. As luxury consumption and accessibility, we aim to provide accessibility at all points and fast service comfort to our customers in products and services in our stores with our target of 40 stores all over Turkey in both short and medium term.

As Galaxy Optik, what are the most important features that distinguish you from other optical brands when entering the Turkish market?
We will create a local and national chain optics brand in Turkey in the Chain Stores operation due to the fact that we have both experience, supply and sector partners with fast growth potential behind our brand. This will give us the chance to provide fast and quality service for both sunglasses and optical needs in the Turkish market.

Unlike your competitors in the sector, what kind of strategy will you follow for the satisfaction of your potential customers?
In the Turkish conjuncture, customer demands are changing very fast and we are aware of this. We will be able to meet all customer demands completely and at all times by combining experience and trend with both our past experienced partners and our second generation background management that has developed within this experience.

What are the added values that the management pyramid of the Galaxy Optik brand will provide to both the sector and your customers?
We have established a fully professional and corporate infrastructure system from the formation of the corporate identity of the Galaxy Optik brand to the preparation of operational strategies, from personnel selection to personnel training, from the creation of background systems to follow-up, and most importantly, this structure we have created is based on customer satisfaction. This system will enable us to be fully institutionalized as the Galaxy Optik brand and to grow at this level of institutionalization and provide 100% satisfaction service to our customers.

 

Do you have products from every group in your stores?
Yes, we do. We have the motto of accessibility and sustainability in the corporate identity of our brand. Galaxy Optik stores have product bars and ranges that appeal to every age, budget and segment group, and our most important feature will be to always have the products that our customers demand or will demand in our stocks or to supply them quickly and deliver them to all points in Turkey.

What are the most popular optical and sunglasses brands sold in your stores?
I can say that Prada, Tom Ford and Vycoz brands are very popular in sunglasses. In optical glasses, Silhouette, Yves Saint Laurent and Cartier stand out among the brands we sell the most.

How do you choose the optical and sunglasses brands you sell?
First of all, reliability and recognition are the most important factors for us. The service we want to provide to the customer is both an accessory that suits their style and a quality that will prioritize their health. We choose our brands based on these two issues.

Designer brands are very popular in recent years. Do you also receive requests from your customers in this direction?
I can honestly say no. Galaxy Optik is generally followed by cult and fashion followers, but there is no guarantee that this demand will not come tomorrow. As a brand, we closely follow the current designer works.

What are your after sales services?
First of all, we have established the infrastructure of our brand with the corporate system in all steps from the establishment stage of our brand. Without opening our stores, we have established our infrastructure to control the stock, Customer Crm tracking, campaign plans and fictions, creation of customer segmentation data, healthy control of all Kpi data in our stores and then to use them effectively in customer service, and we have trained our friends who will use and manage these systems by including them in the team. Currently, we are able to meet all the demands of all our after-sales customers during their first or subsequent store visits, as we determine all their needs, from Warranty Coverage, product availability to customer habits, with the system we have established.

What role do you think the showcase layout and interior design of an optical store plays in sales? What did you pay attention to while preparing these elements in your new location?
The world conjuncture is now completely based on visuals. Social life, commercial life, etc. The more attention is paid to these visual themes, the more the sense of empathy with the customers is brought to the forefront and the visual sequences that will touch these emotions are prepared, the supply and demand will always provide an upward acceleration at the same equal value.

While we have brought these issues to the forefront, we have designed our brand color options and in-store positioning based on the slogan “Beauty in Simplicity”. We welcome our customers in our stores with elegance in simplicity, far from confusion.

How would you evaluate the 10th Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair, which is being held for the 10th time with its new and larger service area?
First of all, I would like to say that the development in our market makes us very happy. Our momentum in the optical sector at the point of supply and service is improving every year. We were able to observe this change very clearly at this year’s Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair. I consider the mutual increase in need and service and most importantly, the fact that we are more integrated into the foreign market every year as very positive, especially for our country’s trade.

Thank you very much for this valuable interview. Finally, could we learn your comments on the transition of our magazine 4 your eyes to digital publishing?
I think it is a very positive step for you to catch the time and trend. Information is spreading very fast in this period, and a contrary flow of information unfortunately gets old at the same speed and degenerates before reaching the necessary places and those concerned. Therefore, I am sure that it will carry your awareness and publishing brand even further. I wish success to your team.

December 2023

Emgen Optik

EMGEN OPTİK

Rooted Legacy

“In addition to being informed about developments of abroad with Silmo Istanbul, it is a source of benefit and happiness to exchange ideas with colleagues you meet from different provinces.”

Hello Mr. Burak, could you tell us about yourself and your story of meeting the optical industry?
I was born in 1979 in Istanbul. I am one of the fourth generations in my family born in Istanbul. In 2002, I graduated from Istanbul Bilgi University business faculty. In 2005, I completed the international business master’s program at Bournemouth University. After working in different sectors until 2018, I entered our family business. When I realized that we are a well-established brand as Emgen Optik, I realized that I should continue this legacy in the most ideal way. I am currently actively continuing my business life as the chairman of the board of directors of our company. Putting making money on the back burner, I re-entered university after the age of 44. I am currently a student in the department of opticianry. My biggest goal is to develop this brand like my grandfather and father and to hand over a strong company that can manage itself to those who will take over the flag after me.
Emgen Optik has a rooted history. Could you tell us about how and when your store was founded?
Emgen Optik was born when my great grandfather, Pharmacist Salih Necati Emgen, opened his first pharmacy in Üsküdar Square in 1901. The company started to focus on the eyeglass business after 1925. After Salih Necati Emgen’s death in 1948, his son (my grandfather) Rahmi Emgen opened the store in Beyoğlu Istiklal Street, which operated until 2003, focusing only on opticianry. Rahmi Emgen, who was a founding member and president of the “All Opticians Association”, now known as the “Turkish Optical and Optometric Professions Association”, which was established in 1951, also realized the first optical lens production. In the early 1980s, my father Necati Çetin Emgen, who studied business administration in Austria and also has an optician’s diploma, took over the flag from my grandfather and continued the activities of Emgen Optik at the same address for 42 years.
You recently moved your store from Istiklal Street in Beyoğlu, one of the historical districts of Istanbul, to a location in Beyoğlu. What are the reasons for not giving up on Beyoğlu?
As you know, the main street buildings where the stores are located on Istiklal Street, although they are very valuable due to their status as historical monuments, are buildings with high renovation costs that you need to take care of seriously in terms of earthquake risk. On this occasion, we started to look for a newer and larger store that would not leave the borders of Beyoğlu towards the end of 2022. Our criteria included a new building concept and a comfortable space where our customers could spend more comfortable and longer time. We are very happy and peaceful that we were able to achieve these criteria in our new store. As much as we can, we will continue our commercial activities in Beyoğlu, which we see as the place where we were born and where we stayed the longest.

Do you have products from every group in your store?
Of course, we display and sell the product groups that should be in every optical store. From optical & sun frames, optical lens, contact lenses, solutions and many other eyewear accessories, we work with many brands, both foreign and domestic. Currently, we cooperate with a total of 21 distributors from different categories. As we stated in the promotional advertisements of our new shop, we have been an eyeglass shop since the day we were founded. We do not sell any other products (such as watches) or provide technical support other than eyeglasses and its other product groups.
What are the most popular brands of optical and sunglasses sold in your store?
We usually work with big international distributors. In sunglasses, we mainly sell Versace, Dolce Gabbana, Prada, Bulgari, Emperio Armani, Rayban, Persol and Vogue from Luxottica group. Carrera, David Beckham, Missoni, Jimmy Choo, Mark Jacob, Polaroid are the most demanded products from Safilo group. At the beginning of this year, we started selling Gucci, Saint Lauren, Montblanc, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga brands with Elit Optik. On the optical glasses side, Montblanc, Eschenbach (titanflex), Rayban, Dolce Gabbana, Silhoutte, Carrera, Vogue are the product ranges that stand out in the preference ranking.

How do you choose the brands of optics and sunglasses you sell?
We prioritize the demands of our existing customers and the availability of new iconic models. While we prefer classic models for our middle-aged customers, for our young and potential customers we prefer models with more vibrant colors and more iconic designs. Therefore, our brand choices are also formed in this direction. The main reason for our choices is brand awareness and production quality.
Designer brands are very popular in recent years. Do you also receive requests from your customers in this direction?
Although the popularity of designer brands has increased in recent years, we approach this issue with some caution. Because the shape and color of a pair of glasses are as important as their fit and their compatibility with the anatomical structures of the nose and behind the ears of the customers. We do not approve of a designer brand that has become popular with its abundant sharing strategies on social media but has a single-axis production. In addition to this, brands that rise rapidly on social media channels and lose their demand within 1-2 years are in the second plan for us.
What are your after sales services?
We continue to support our customers after sales. Especially during the sale, we advise our customers to come to us at certain intervals to eliminate deformations in the eyeglass frames that may occur in the future due to personal use. In addition to our spare parts support, we also offer services for the repair and maintenance of defective eyeglass frames, even if they did not buy them from us.
What role do you think the window layout and interior design of an optical store plays in sales? What did you pay attention to while preparing these elements in your new location?
In my opinion, the interior design and showcase of a store reflects the spirit of that company and its perspective on the customer. Therefore, the customer profile also forms and develops in this direction. As a company, we preferred to emphasize the differences to protect our brand integrity rather than adaptation to our location. As I mentioned before, we prioritize being sales-oriented due to our brand reputation. When we were discussing the new store design with our architect, I wanted only one thing: I wanted to see a concept of London Harrods in this store. Our architect also developed a different strategy based on the fact that we are an old company. As a result of this, I think we have brought a different interpretation to the classical optician concept consisting of white shelves with uniform, yellow led lights. Since we moved to our store, we have been receiving very, very positive comments and feedback from our local and especially foreign customers.
How would you evaluate Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair, which will be held for the 10th time with its new and larger service area, from the beginning to today?
Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair is really a very important organization. Unfortunately, our sector has a structure with different groupings that are not well organized today. At this point, Silmo Istanbul is an important platform that brings together all opticians in Turkey through suppliers. In addition to being informed about developments of abroad, it is a source of benefit and happiness to exchange ideas with colleagues from different provinces that you meet during booth visits.
Thank you very much for this valuable interview. Finally, could you tell us your comments on the transition of our magazine 4 youreyes to digital publishing?
It is an important project that needs to happen today, that needs to be analyzed very precisely and its continuity needs to be ensured. I believe that digital publication will be very useful for 4 your eyes magazine to reach more audiences and renew itself. In this way, I think that the opticianry profession and the eyewear sector will have a structure that can be measured and planned data collection with technical market research.

November 2023

Bebek Optik

Bebek Optik
Luxury and Quality in One

“Thanks to Silmo Istanbul, in addition to discovering new brands and products, I enjoy meeting my colleagues and discussing the future of the industry with them.”

Hello Mrs. Burcu, first of all, could you introduce yourself a little bit and tell us about how your path crossed with the optical sector?
I was born in 1978 and I am a mother of 3 children. I started my business life by designing jewelry. My husband has been doing this profession for 35 years. At first, I found it very enjoyable to visit my husband and choose sunglasses suitable for the wearer’s face… Afterwards, my visits turned into a 9am-7pm shift. I worked with my husband for about 10 years. Later, I realized more clearly that this profession is not about making sales, but that the eye is the most important limb of human life and I wanted to learn every fine detail. At the age of 40, I studied at university. I received my optician diploma. I combined all the knowledge I learned at school with my profession in order to do my profession correctly and healthily. Reading the correct prescription, noticing the prescriptions that are rarely written incorrectly, and at the same time ensuring that the users who come to my store with eye defects can be guided correctly is the most sensitive point of my profession.

How did you decide to open your store? Could you tell us about your establishment phase?
Our store is in its 4th year. We took over a previously existing store. I work as both the responsible manager and the business manager of this store. My bosses are Yağmur and Sabri Sarıoğlu family. We established this store together and we continue to renew it every year.

Do you have products from every group in your store?
Of course, there are lower segment products in our store, but there are also upper group and design boutique brands, and every year the requests of my customers, current trend models and noname design products are added to our store. The fact that we have a wide variety of products due to our location meets the demands of our customers at a higher rate, which is of course reflected in the increase in sales rates.

What are the most sold optical and sunglasses brands in your store?
Sales of every trendy brand and model are continuous. In general, since I am also in the Bebek neighborhood, the upper group sales are high. Gucci, YSL, Mykita, Serengeti, Bottega Veneta are the top brands in optics and sunglasses, followed by Rayban, Prada, Miu Miu.

How do you choose the optical and sunglasses brands you sell?
My store is located in Bebek, one of the most prestigious and most visited areas of Istanbul, which has a changing profile of people. For this reason, I prefer current products that follow the trend for my Bebek customers who are permanent residents and for my customers who will come from outside. Also, the people here really like the products that have a design and a different line that no one else has. That is why we also choose limited edition products. We can appeal to every customer who comes to our store. I believe that we have succeeded in changing the perception of “Bebek neighborhood is luxurious, prices are very high” in people’s minds with proportional prices in the product scale.

Designer brands are very popular in recent years. Do you also receive requests from your customers in this direction?
In our store, we give more space to design products as well as current new season trend products. Seeing that people feel comfortable and different when they look in the mirror when they wear a design product and the happiness on their face, knowing that not everyone will see the product they buy, directs us to boutique brands and design products.

What are your after sales services?
Depending on the customer’s request, our glasses are sold in our store in the best and healthy way with the right products guaranteed. After-sales repair, adjustment and maintenance products are free of charge. We also provide free adjustment repair service even if the customer has bought a product from another optic. We offer the right to cancel the return up to 15 days if the product he bought does not fit him.

How do you inform your customers about changes and campaigns in your store?
We have an active Instagram account. Also, our store does not make its discounts according to the season. We sell the product on the label at the beginning of the summer season and do not discount it at the end of the season. We think this is unfair to our customers. Think of it like this, you buy an X brand at the label price, you come back 3 months later and the product you bought is on sale for half the price. This situation creates sadness and regret in the customer. That’s why we always apply the maximum discount we can make at the end of the season. This makes us preferred in our region. Also, our website will be launched after the new year. Additional discounts special for the first user, sales close to the cost of the products left over from a few seasons ago will enable us to reach people more easily.

What role do you think the window layout and interior design of an optical store play in sales? What did you consider when preparing these elements?
The showcase of a store gives the whole impression about that store. You first look at the showcase and if you like it, you go inside. This is the same in every sector. If you don’t like the showcase, if you don’t find it of good quality, you won’t be curious about the inside of a store. I display products in the showcase that are clean, easy to choose, will arouse curiosity and make the customer go inside. We have a bright store where each brand has its own place in the interior design. The customer should be able to easily choose the brand and model they want. It is important for the customer to be able to easily see what they are trying on in the mirrors at the point of movement in terms of comfort and saving time. In addition, since the continuation of the brands are exhibited in the drawers under the brands of the stands, it is easy and comfortable to choose in that order.

As someone who serves in the sector, what do you think about the rate and awareness of eyeglass use in our country? What can be done to increase the use of eyeglasses and who has a duty?
I have been serving in this sector for twenty years and I see that people still use glasses unconsciously, although not as much as before. Someone who cannot read near can say that they can read with my mother’s father’s glasses without any examination. Or someone who is bored with glasses wants to wear contact lenses by heart, and contact lenses are never sold in our store without a prescription. As an optician, I convey the necessary information to my customers about the disadvantages of this. There are also sunglasses bought from clothing stores or the market because they are cheap. Of course, I often share the damage they cause to the eye on our Instagram account. One thing I have noticed is that the misuse of glasses in the old times has decreased nowadays. I think the advancement of technology and social media providing accurate information has reduced this rate a lot.

Now, the awareness of getting comfortable vision and using a healthy product with the right product at the right time is widespread, not just because it is fashionable or to look more beautiful. Social media is the right address to emphasize the accuracy and importance of this in terms of health.

Do you follow international optical fairs and sectoral developments abroad?
It is very important to have information for the upcoming season at fairs abroad. We follow them closely. At least we can follow the trends about what we will sell in the season. In addition, the sector is developing very fast. We can learn about new lenses, coatings, new trend brands and developments in contact lenses at fairs.

What are your opinions and evaluations about Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair?
I have been following Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair with excitement for years. In addition to the new season products, I enjoy meeting with my colleagues in such an area, chatting, discussing the development of our profession and doing this hosted by Silmo Istanbul.

Could we learn your opinions about 4 your eyes, which started to be published in digitally?
Your magazine 4 your eyes is the first source of information that I have been reading and reviewing with pleasure in our store for years and sometimes the first source of information that I learn about a missing information. Now that it is on social media and digital media, it allows me to access it more easily. Thanks to you, I can follow the sectoral innovations and reach the information of my new colleagues and their stores.

October 2023

Dita Optik Lens

Dita Optik Lens
Eyewear Passion

Silmo Istanbul offers an ideal opportunity to see many brands and products together. It also gives us the chance to meet and chat with our colleagues again.

Hello Mr. Tarık. First of all, could you introduce yourself a little and tell us about how your path crossed with the optical sector?
Hello, I was born in Istanbul in 1980. In 2006, I graduated from Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Opticianry Department and received my optician license. My uncle İbrahim İnanç was instrumental in me starting my profession and getting interested in this profession. He is the first eyeglass case manufacturer in Turkey. It was thanks to him that I first saw the production of eyeglass cases and their stages during the school holidays. I also had the chance to get to know different optical stores while delivering the glasses cases to the these stores. Therefore, during the summer vacation of 1995, I wanted to work at Karizma Optik and Saat store in Nişantaşı. Although this store sells both optics and watches, I was more interested in the optical aspect. I think this first official step into the profession contributed greatly to my self-confidence and experience.

How did you decide to open your store? How many stores do you have? Could you tell us about the vision and goals with which you opened your store?
We opened our first store in 2000 with my brothers who entered the optical sector before me. We expanded this store with two branches we opened in 2002. However, in 2004, we came to a turning point and parted our commercial ways as brothers. I took over a well-established optical store in the historical Galata district of Istanbul in the same year and laid the foundations of our current store Dita Optik. Then I opened our second branch named Dita Gözlük Aşkı. The second branch was followed by the store named Dita Optik Pera, which we opened this year. Although our stores are located in historical and close neighborhoods of Istanbul, we wanted to give our branches different names because they have different concepts. While opening our stores with my wife Dilek Taşgın, who is also an optician, our main mission was to offer the most accurate and most suitable products for our customers without compromising the ethical rules in sales. With this goal in mind, we continue to offer quality products and quality lenses to our customers.

Your newly opened store is located in a place frequented by tourists. Could you tell us about the advantages and disadvantages of serving tourists?
Our newly opened store is located in a location frequented by local and foreign tourists. However, I would like to state here that all our customers are very valuable to us, regardless of whether they are local or foreign. We have the chance to meet with people from all over the world in our stores.

Do you have products from every group in your store? How do you choose the optical and sunglasses brands you will sell?
We have products from every group in our store. Especially in the optical service, we advise our customers to take their time, see the options and make a decision by getting the right information from us. We are also selective when choosing products for our store. We try to choose quality, proper and long-lasting products. When we sell glasses, we are not only selling glasses, we are also selling an important accessory. When we show the right options, the happiness of our customers makes us even happier.

What are the most sold optical and sunglasses brands in your store?
In our store, we bring together the products of Doğan Optik, Atölye Optik, Safilo, Derigo, Luxottica, Ata Optik, Elite Optik and many distributors with our customers. Our customers can access countless brands and models from our store.

Designer brands are very popular in recent years. Do you also receive requests from your customers in this direction?
The fact that our stores are located in museums, historical palaces and architectural monuments, where art is prominent and art events are organized, guides our product choices. Most of our customers are people who know what to buy and come with brand and model information. Recently, we have been observing a trend towards designer brands. Based on this, we also include designer brands in our stores.

How do you inform your customers about changes and campaigns in your store?
Today, people prefer to access information about your store via the internet and social media. We think that advertising and correct expression are important in these channels and we attach importance to this issue. We also inform our customers from time to time with the optical program we use and SMS.

As a retailer, what are your views on the price competition between you and your colleagues?
When you value your customers and find the right product with a proper explanation, your customers will not look for other places. Eyewear business is a business of trust. People should trust you. The customer can catch this with your stance, your expression and the atmosphere of your store. I am always busy with the question of how I can make my store better. I do not follow the price policy of the stores near me. When you do your job right, people do not look for other places.

As someone who serves the sector, what do you think about the rate and awareness of eyeglass use in our country? What can be done to increase the use of eyeglasses and who has a duty?
Although eye surgeries have increased with the developing technology, I think that the use of prescription glasses will continue regardless. Today, sales of sunglasses have increased with laser surgeries and this is a positive development for us. However, if we make people love glasses by giving them beautiful glasses and aesthetic designs, we can turn them away from the desire to have laser surgery. I think that if we adopt the view that glasses are not only a means of vision but also an accessory as all colleagues, we can sell more than one pair of glasses to our customers with this awareness. Lens companies should organize seminars in hospitals and eye polyclinics to inform ophthalmologists about the developing technology. I believe this will make a positive contribution to our profession.

Do you follow international optical fairs and sectoral developments abroad?
We had the chance to visit the Mido fair in Milan among the fairs abroad. We will participate in fairs abroad again. Silmo Paris visit is also in our plans. I think fairs are very useful to see sectoral developments closely. I especially recommend every colleague to visit all the fairs.

What are your opinions and evaluations about Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair held between December 17-20, 2022?
This valuable fair held in our country took place with a nice intensity. The sector came together for four days with the fair atmosphere that everyone missed. Silmo Istanbul offers an ideal opportunity to see many brands and products together. It also offers the chance to meet and chat with our colleagues and many professionals again. We look forward to coming together again at Silmo Istanbul 2023.

Could we learn your views on 4 your eyes, which started to be published digitally as of 2023?
Although we are a little sad that we cannot bring 4 your eyes magazine, which we have been looking forward to coming to our stores every month for years, together with our customers during their shopping, it is very important and pleasing for us that your magazine reaches a wider audience thanks to digital publication. Thank you for your quality news, efforts and this interview.

September 2023

Taşkın Gözlük Galerisi Optik

Taşkın Gözlük Galerisi Optik
New & Bold

Silmo Istanbul 2022 was to the full for us. We are very pleased that the fair area will be expanded in 2023 as there is a great deal of interest. We look forward to discovering new models and brands.

Hello Mr. Taşkın. First of all, could you introduce yourself a little and tell us about how your path crossed with the optical sector?
I was born in Istanbul, Ortaköy in 1985. After completing my education, I worked as a manager in the food and beverage and entertainment sector for many years. My management life continued until 2019. In 2020, I opened my own store by entering the optical sector.

How did you decide to open your store? Could you tell us about the vision and goals you opened your store with?
Glasses have always been one of the indispensable parts of my style. The need for an innovative, up-to-date store with a different line in the region we live in had already existed for years, and I liked to follow the current models by participating in the national & international fair visits of my friends in the sector. During the pandemic period, I had the chance to take a step into the optical sector by turning the decline of the entertainment sector into an opportunity.

Do you have products from every group in your store? How do you choose the brands of optics and sunglasses you will sell?
When you enter the store, you can find the newest, most beautiful optical and sunglasses models as well as the most classic, indispensable, ageless models of all kinds and at every budget. Since we travel abroad not only during fair periods but also in all seasons, we have the chance to analyze the options in the world better and lead the way.

What are the most popular brands of optical and sunglasses sold in your store?
We had the chance to showcase the most popular models and brands recently, which makes fashion brands stand out. In addition to giants such as Prada, Tom Ford, Versace, Dolce&Gabbana, boutique brands that we like more find buyers.

Designer brands are very popular in recent years. Do you also receive this kind of demand from your customers?
We can easily say that our customers are interested in and demand designer brands. I can say that the desire to be different, extraordinary and iconic is a situation we encounter in many people. For this reason, we give brands with a style difference and a different perspective a chance to take place on our shelves.

What are your after sales services?
Apart from mediating with the service we provide within the scope of the warranty of the product groups, we have a very assertive technical team for the repair of any defective product. Like everything touched by a woman’s hand, I have a team that makes even a discarded pair of glasses brand new, restoration, maintenance, lens renewal.

How do you inform your customers about changes and campaigns in your store?
We are an active brand on social media. Sometimes we share special day campaigns with our customers on our pages and via SMS.

What role do you think the window layout and interior design of an optical store play in sales? What did you pay attention to while preparing these elements?
We try to display every product that is wanted, wanted to be seen and wondered. We organize our shelves in such a way that our guests can easily try and leave them. In this way, we ensure that they can easily access the products they like and make their shopping comfortable and enjoyable.

As a retailer, what are your views on the price competition between you and your colleagues?
In terms of pricing, we are in favor of offering quality service without reducing the value of the products in the market conditions by complying with the sales prices recommended by the companies. There is also such an issue that the prices we hear from customers and see on the internet unfortunately upset us. In order to prevent this, I think that companies should apply sanctions on this issue. In other words, a product should be sold according to its value. The factor that distinguishes us from our competitors is our service quality.

As someone who serves in the sector, what do you think about the rate and awareness of eyeglass use in our country? What can be done to increase the use of glasses and who has a duty?
I observe that the awareness of eyeglasses is increasing day by day. While we used to tell only us, it is very promising to see that there are now conscious users who know what they want. As opticians, we need to explain the lens features to our customers without getting bored. We should recommend glasses and lenses according to the purpose of the user.

Do you follow international optical fairs and sectoral developments abroad?
We went to all the fairs after the pandemic. During our travels abroad at different times, observing what kind of products people outside our country prefer made important contributions to our vision and we developed our collections accordingly. Following every new development was both enjoyable and opened our horizons.

What are your opinions and evaluations about Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair held between December 17-20, 2022?
It was a very enjoyable fair. We were at Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair as Taşkın Gözlük Galerisi Optik. It was a full fair for us. Since we have many world brands in our store, we had the opportunity to visit the stands of boutique brands with much different designs and lines. We made agreements with new brands and added them to our organization. In 2023, we heard that the exhibition area will be built in a bigger area, and we think this is a very right decision. Since there is a lot of interest in Silmo Istanbul, we are very pleased to hear that the area will be expanded. We think that the fair will be even more beautiful in the coming years. We look forward to discovering new models and brands.

What are your views on 4 your eyes, which started to be broadcast digitally in 2023?
We are in the age of communication and using digital platforms to make use of this is a very right choice. It will be much more efficient to reach more than certain age groups. We believe that the service you offer to our sector is really valuable. As Taşkın Gözlük Galerisi Optik, we would like to thank 4 your eyes family and wish you continued success.

August 2023

Akdere Optik

AKDERE OPTİK
Respond to the Needs

“As a professional in the optical industry, I was very delighted to have the chance to shop in a very crowded and exciting atmosphere once more when I have participated Silmo Istanbul’s 2022 edition.”

Hello Mr. Davut. First of all, could you introduce yourself a little bit and tell us about how your path crossed with the optical sector?
Hello, I am Davut Akdere. I am the store owner and responsible manager of Akdere Optik, located in the Başakşehir district of Istanbul. I graduated from Aydın University Opticianry Department in 2015 and I have been in the sector since then. Since my family elders have been serving in the health sector for years, I made my choice in this direction with their guidance.

How did you decide to open your store? Could you tell us about your establishment phase?
We had the intention of opening an optical store and during this time, we discovered that there was no optical store in Kayaşehir that could meet the needs of the region. For this reason, we opened our store, which we had previously invested in after the pandemic, in order to serve the needs and demands of the region.

Could you tell us about the vision and goals you opened your store with?
Quality products, quality service, honesty and sincerity are what make us who we are. Our customers are our guests, so we show the same respect to the customers who come to our store as a guest should be treated. We see customer satisfaction as our biggest gain.

Do you carry products from every group in your store? How do you think having different product segments reflects on your sales?
We carry products from almost every style and every segment. We already have a very wide collection in order to satisfy everyone who visits our store. I can say with peace of mind that the more different and branded products we have, the higher the sales are. Every day we make an agreement with a new world brand.

What are the most sold optical and sunglasses brands in your store?
Mykita, Silhoutte, Chopard, Bvlgari, Vycoz, Furla, Lacoste and Salvore Ferragamo are among our most sold optical brands. As for sunglasses, we sell Serengeti, Mykita, Bvlgari, Chopard, Gucci, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Tom Ford, Prada, Miu Miu, Versace, Salvatore Ferragamo, Lanvin and other world brands.

How do you choose the brands of optics and sunglasses you sell?
We try to make our choices in optics and sunglasses by considering the demands of our customers. Because although fashion and trends are important elements, what our customers need or demand comes first for us.

Designer brands are very popular in recent years. Do you also receive this kind of demand from your customers?
We have a great deal of foreign customers in our region and our foreign customers do not show much demand for designer brands. However I have customers who demand designer brands. That is why we closely follow the products of designer brands and try to keep them in our store, although not in large numbers.

What are your after sales services?
After-sales service is as important as sales for us. While selling, we inform every customer about after-sales, we care and help all problems from the smallest to the biggest.

How do you inform your customers about the changes and campaigns in your store?
We inform our customers about our campaigns through our social media accounts and the brochures, which we hang in the store. These methods are enough for our customers to be aware of the innovations and campaigns in our store.

What role do you think the showcase layout and interior design of an optical store plays in sales? What did you consider when preparing these elements?
The showcase is the summary of a store, it should give information about the interior. It should be revised according to the season, special occasions and at certain intervals. In this direction, we attach great importance to the decoration of our showcase.

As a retailer, what are your views on the price competition between you and your colleagues?
Almost all companies share the selling prices of the products with us. I think it is necessary to make sales by paying attention to this. As Akdere Optik, we approach this issue very sensitively. There is also such an issue that the prices we hear from customers and the prices we see on the internet unfortunately upset us. In order to prevent this, I wish companies to impose sanctions on this issue.

As someone who serves in the sector, what do you think about the rate and awareness of eyeglass use in our country? What can be done to increase the use of eyeglasses and who has a duty?

I observe that the awareness of glasses is increasing day by day. It is very promising to see that there are now conscious users who know what they want, while in the past only we used to tell them. As opticians, we need to explain the properties of glasses without getting bored and we should recommend glasses and glasses according to the purpose.

Do you follow international optical fairs and sectoral developments abroad?
Yes, we follow them closely and are interested in them. We see sectoral developments, technological innovations, trends, the latest collections of world brands and all innovations through these fairs and we get excited about our profession.

What are your opinions and evaluations about Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair, which took place between December 17-20, 2022?
As one of the optical industry professionals, I was very delighted to have the chance to shop in a very crowded and exciting atmosphere once more when I attended Silmo Istanbul’s 2022 edition. We are looking forward to the 2023 edition, which will celebrate the tenth anniversary of this wonderful event that brings retailers together with other professionals.

What are your views on 4 your eyes, which will be published digitally as of 2023?
I think it is a very good and logical decision to keep up with the times. Now every issue of 4 your eyes is just a click away. I realize that I read the magazine in much more detail after your transition to digital publication. Thank you for the interview and I wish you exponential success.

July 2023

Yener Optik

YENER OPTİK

Innovation & Sincerity

I think Silmo Istanbul is a great chance for our sector. The last fair was very good with both wholesaler and retailer participation rate; it made significant contributions to the sector and us.

Hello Mrs. Şerife, first of all, could you introduce yourself a little bit and tell us about how your path crossed with the optical sector?
Hello, I am Şerife Elik Kaya. I am the responsible manager of Yener Optik Burhaniye branch, I am also the wife of its founder Mr. Yener. I started the optical sector about six years ago by deciding to open our own store with my husband. My husband had already been in the sector for fifteen years. Afterwards, I studied opticianry and tried to improve myself both in theory and practice, and I still continue to improve.

How did you decide to open your store? Could you tell us about your establishment phase?
After working in the sector for many years, we wanted to evaluate our own experiences and bring a new perspective to the sector with our own understanding of service and craftsmanship. For this purpose, we decided to open our store in our region to offer the latest creations boutique products to our customers, to provide the highest quality and reliable service with our state-of-the-art machinery and equipment and to focus on one hundred percent customer satisfaction. While designing our store, we worked with interior architects who are experts and experienced in this field by adding our own ideas.

Could you tell us with which vision and goals you opened your store?
First of all, being in the health sector requires our communication with people to be real and sincere. First of all, we take care of our customers like one of our family members. In doing so, we have created a boutique product portfolio with the world’s leading lens companies, optical and sunglasses brands. We constantly follow the latest creations and the latest technology products and offer them to our customers. Our vision is innovation and sincerity.

Do you have products from every group in your store? How do you think having different product segments reflects on your sales?
Yes, we have products in almost every segment and for every budget. Although we mainly carry middle and upper segment products, we also have a wide product portfolio that can be used on a daily basis. Thus, we appeal to all our customers. We are the most ambitious optical store in the gulf for the products of world famous brands.

What are the most sold optical and sunglasses brands in your store?
The optical brands we sell the most are Mykita, Tom Ford, Etnia Barcelona, Seiko, Modo, Moleskine, Façonnable, Charmant, Dutz, LongChamp and other world-famous fashion brands. Among the sunglasses brands we sell the most are Mykita, Serengeti, Tom Ford, Prada, Versace, For Arts Sake, Burberry, Dolce&Gabbana, Nikon and Lacoste.

How do you choose the brands of optical and sunglasses you sell?
In optical glasses, we choose products that people will be satisfied with their ergonomic design in accordance with fashion. We keep the latest creations in sunglasses in our store.

Designer brands are very popular in recent years. Do you also receive demand from your customers in this direction?
In the constantly renewing and developing information age, we have to constantly renew and develop. Therefore, we are in contact with designer brands and respond to the demands of our customers. We are also very happy by satisfying our customers who are bored with classic models and want different designs.

What are your after sales services?
What is important for us is our after-sales service rather than making sales. We help all our customers, whether they buy products from our store or not, with after-sales. While doing this, we try to do it in the shortest term. One of our goals is to make all our customers who come to our store happy, not to say ‘no’, and to think empathetically.

How do you inform your customers about changes and campaigns in your store?
We regularly organize campaigns on special occasions in our store. We organize special events especially on our anniversaries. We increase our target audience by using the power of social media and other digital platforms. We deliver information about our campaigns and events to our customers through social media and our automation program.

What role do you think the window layout and interior design of an optical store play in sales? What did you pay attention to while preparing these elements?
We offer our customers an idea about our store by presenting models from simple but latest creations in our showcase layout, as well as using digital visuals. In this way, our customers prefer our store by knowing and seeing which brands and product groups are available in our store. We also constantly update our products in interior design according to the season. Since the region we are in is a summer region, we mostly feature sunglasses in the interior during the summer months. Therefore, while preparing our showcases, we act according to brands, product groups and seasonal season. This reflects positively on our sales.

As a retailer, what are your views on the price competition between you and your colleagues?
In terms of pricing, we are in favor of offering quality service without reducing the value of the products in the market conditions by complying with the sales prices recommended by the companies. In other words, a product should be sold according to its value. The factor that distinguishes us from our competitors is our service quality.

As someone who serves in the sector, what do you think about the rate and awareness of eyeglass use in our country? What can be done to increase the use of eyeglasses and who has a duty?
First of all, we think that optometry education should be available in our country. Because adults should have an eye examination once a year and children every six months. Unfortunately, they have to postpone this due to economic conditions and lack of physicians. The gradual increase in our population, the insufficient number of hospitals and physicians, and the fact that private hospitals and private practices see this situation as purely commercial harms the health sector. We are very sensitive about informing all our customers who come to our store about the awareness of using glasses and we wish all our colleagues to do the same. Because the more this awareness develops, the more our sector will develop.  In addition, since we are in the health sector, we wish more work to be done on the inspection of products and the sale of products on the internet.

Do you follow international optical fairs and sectoral developments abroad?
Of course we do. We follow all optical fairs both in Turkey and abroad and we take care to attend them. In this way, we follow the latest products, the latest technologies and constantly update our store accordingly.

What are your opinions and evaluations about Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair, which took place between December 17-20, 2022?
I think Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair is a great chance for our sector. Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair, which took place between December 17-20, 2022, was very good with both wholesaler and retailer participation rate and made very good contributions to the sector in general and to us in particular. I hope it will continue to develop and grow.

Could we learn your views on 4 your eyes, which started to be published in digital media as of 2023?
With the development of digital technology in every field, I think this is a very positive step. Thus, 4 your eyes can be accessed by everyone, not just those in the industry. At the same time, I think you are making a great contribution to sustainability technology, I support you and wish you continued success.

June 2023

Akademi Optik

AKADEMİ OPTİK

QUALITY SERVICE

“I believe that the continuity of Silmo Istanbul will make great
contributions to our sector.”

Hello Mr. Ramazan, First of all, could you introduce yourself a little bit and tell us about how your path crossed with the optical sector?
Hello, I am Ramazan Şahin. I am one of the founding partners of Academy Lens Optik Balmumcu branch. I started the optical sector about twelve-thirteen years ago by studying the opticianship department. After working in corporate and individual optical stores for years, we realized the idea of opening our own store with our partners.

How did you decide to open your store? Could you tell us about your establishment phase?
Together with my three optician friends, we decided to open Academy Lens Optik in Balmumcu to provide the highest quality service with the latest technology focus measurement and lens cutting machines, where we can reflect our own professional perspective, completely focused on one hundred percent customer satisfaction, preserving the understanding of craftsmanship that people long for today. After working in different companies for many years, we made such a decision because we wanted to evaluate our own experience and present our different perspective and service understanding to our valued customers in our own store. Our store was specially designed by successful interior architects and furniture decoration companies.

Could you tell us about the vision and goals with which you opened your store?
We have created a valuable boutique product portfolio by realizing our desire to work with the world’s leading optical and sunglasses brands. We accept our customers as members of our own family with our goal of preserving that sincere and artisanal understanding that is about to disappear in our country.

Do you have products from every group in your store? How do you think having different product segments reflects on your sales?
Yes, we try to include products from almost every segment. We have a product portfolio suitable for many people’s budgets. We have a wide range of products that can be used on a daily basis together with the world’s highest quality elite brands, which we mainly call middle and upper group products. I can say that we are one of the most ambitious optical stores in Istanbul with our large stock of titanium brands, which are highly popular and highly preferred by people.

What are the most popular optical and sunglasses brands sold in your store?
The optical brands we sell the most are Lindberg, Mykita, Silhouette, Lunor, Tom Ford, Markus T and other world famous fashion brands. In sunglasses brands, Tom Ford, Prada, Versace, Dolce&Gabbana, Killian, Rayban are among the brands we sell the most.

How do you choose the optical and sunglasses brands you sell?
We try to choose the products that will please people the most with their ergonomic design in optical glasses. In sunglasses, we try to stay up to date by keeping the most trendy products among fashion brands in our stock.

Designer brands are very popular in recent years. Do you also receive requests from your customers in this direction?
Yes, we experience that people’s preferences change over the years. Designer brands are quite popular. We understand that people get bored with classic models and turn to new and different design glasses and we are happy to serve them with many designer brands and models. In today’s information age, which is renewed in every sense, unfortunately, those who cannot keep up with the change are one step behind.

What are your after sales services?
Making sales is an issue that everyone is successful. But unfortunately, regardless of the sector in our country, the success rate in after-sales services is low. Businesses that want to protect and retain their own customer base should attach more importance to after-sales service than sales to their customers. This is the issue we are most sensitive to by empathizing. Our customers should never leave our store unhappy. Our first goal is to accept that there is no such thing as nothing and to make all our customers happy regardless of the subject.

How do you inform your customers about changes and campaigns in your store?
We regularly create campaigns on special occasions in our store. At the same time, we offer a cocktail and music recital in May every year with the traditional ‘Hello Summer’ slogan. We inform our valued customers about these campaigns and events through the computer program we use and social media.

What role do you think the showcase layout and interior design of an optical store plays in sales? What did you pay attention to while preparing these elements?
You need to ask yourself the following question to create an easy perspective and interior design where people can spend the most time: If it were me, what would be the first place that catches my eye when I enter the store? Where would be the crucial aisle in the store that would catch my attention first? My suggestion to the stores where the old understanding continues should be that we are one of the nations with a strong visual memory. Since we are a society focused on watching in general, instead of keeping crowded stock in our showcases, we can benefit from digital visual works with simple, few but impressive models.

As one of the retailers, what are your views on the price competition between you and your colleagues?
We stay away from the concept of being expensive in terms of price. We understand that products should be at optimum prices that can compensate for our quality services. A product should neither be too affordable nor too expensive. If you pay attention, even when you buy a phone from the marketplace, there are no extreme price differences. We keep the prices at the average of the market prices and we are in favor of being preferred with our own service quality and effective services. Everyone pays a price, but one idea that I think is effective because of our location is that if you want to buy a quality product, you want to buy it with the best service. And that’s what we are most assertive about across the country is our quality service.

As someone who serves in the sector, what do you think about the rate and awareness of eyeglass use in our country? What can be done to increase the use of eyeglasses and who has a role to play?
I think that optometry, which is widespread throughout the world, should also operate in our country. Unfortunately, since most eye hospitals consider our sector as commercial, the trust of the lower-middle class people is broken and the examination periods are prolonged. In connection with the country’s economy, people who usually change their glasses once a year have to do it a little longer. I think that social service guarantees should be increased and people should be encouraged to have more frequent eye examinations and shopping.

Do you follow international optical fairs and sectoral developments abroad?
Of course, in order not to be deprived of the most up-to-date products and information, I follow the developments related to our sector by constantly participating in optical fairs in order to keep us up-to-date like digital devices and technology.

What are your opinions and evaluations about Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair held between December 17-20, 2022?
We had a great fair again. We realized that there was a great participation rate. When one attends Silmo Istanbul, one cannot understand how time passes and therefore feels the need to visit every day. I believe that the continuity of Silmo Istanbul will make great contributions to our sector.

Could we learn your views on 4 your eyes, which started to be published in digital media as of 2023?
People have adapted to the digital world. Digital environments have become a part of our lives regardless of age. For this reason, I support your digital presence for faster access and wish you continued success.

May 2023