REEL OPTİK
A Pioneer of Fashion
Silmo Istanbul is a newborn child, but it is growing very quickly. Silmo Istanbul, whose momentum is rising with each passing year, has a very important role in the increase of manufacturers.
Hello… First of all, can you introduce yourself a little and talk about how your paths crossed with the optics industry?
My meeting with the optics industry happened by chance in 1989. I had an approach if I should give English lessons at first. Later, when I entered the profession, I started to love this job very much. At the time, I was working with Mr. Muharrem at Şişli Optik. A great person, a doyen of the industry… I worked with another doyen, Mr. Nurhan’s father, Nubar Ütücü. There was a lot of things that I learned from him. I kind of fell in love with the profession. I worked with another doyen Mr. Fahri for about fifteen years. Of course, you learn many aspects of the sector from them. Working with these people was like attending school. I have been working at Reel Optik for the last five or six years. Reel Optik, founded in 1989, is perhaps one of the oldest stores. It is a very special store that tries to catch the fashion, completely boutique in terms of its customer’s perspective. It did not want to branch out, it preferred to continue as a boutique store.
What did Reel Optik contribute to you? What did you contribute to them?
Reel Optik has shown that there are many more accessible points in this business. I have experienced that more boutique works can be done here. I saw that the customer portfolio is much more different. I saw that glasses are used not only as a health element, but also as an accessory.
Can you talk about the establishment and branching process of Reel Optik?
Reel Optik is a company that has never thought of branching out and still does not think of doing it. They want to work as a boutique with their own clients in Nişantaşı. Since they do not want to compromise on their quality of service, they do not consider branching out.
What are your criteria when choosing the brands and products in your store? Is it enough for a product to be a trend?
A brand’s being a trend for that period is not a sufficient criterion for us. We are a store that always aims to go one step further. We have teams. Our friends in our wholesale department are constantly abroad. They have the chance to see the new products coming out in the factories. We are trying to bring it to Turkey and present it to our customers. We call our customers and say that the glasses that are suitable for them have arrived, and to come and check them out. We offer the products to their liking and direct the products we choose according to the demands of our customers. We do not have every trending brand in our store because you have to make a difference. As Reel Optik, we care about the wishes of our customers.
How would you describe the sectoral vision and DNA of Reel Optik?
It is one of the companies that has caught the fashion very well since the day it was opened, and even became a pioneer of fashion. Reel Optik first offered the white-framed glasses, which were released in 1995-1996. Glasses with facet-colored lenses and stones, which were released in the 2000s, were again distributed in the sector after they were first featured here. We are a company that has pioneered the sector very well. The most exclusive collections of brands met with users first at the Reel Optik in Nişantaşı. We are a company that has taken itself one step further every year. Special handmade wooden glasses, horn glasses, and custom-made glasses were also brought together with the sector in our store for the first time.
Your store is in Nişantaşı, which is the center of fashion. What sets you apart from other stores in this fiercely competitive environment?
Of course, we also sell what everyone else is selling. Our difference is our service. We also sell the services. Our real process starts after the sale. We ask our customers to call and visit us from time to time. We can examine the glasses they use while they are drinking their coffee. With this communication, we ensure that the customer uses the product correctly and beautifully. We also provide product related trainings here. Competition has no end, and instead of competing with it, we try to satisfy our customers with the service we provide. 100% customer satisfaction is very important to us.
Do the customers who come to buy glasses come with brand and model awareness? Or are you making the right choice for them? What is the ratio of this?
Where we are located is Nişantaşı. Many models are requested in Nişantaşı, so plenty of people come here with brand and model awareness. I can say that the rate goes up to about 65%. When someone comes here, the glasses they want or the glasses they see in their friend’s eyes may not fit the person’s face. We communicate it by showing it to them. We tell you what should be used, especially if it is optical glasses. It may not fit their face. Their visual focus may not be the nasal cavities. That’s why we show you the glasses we recommend. We do not sell optical glasses that we do not find suitable. There are sometimes customers who want differences in sunglasses. As long as it adapts to your face, it does not cause any discomfort.
Everyone is on a quest to be different. Different designers, different store concepts, even marginal customer base. What are your thoughts on this marketing trend in the fashion world?
This difference is good for all of us. This success can be achieved in stores that we call multi-stores. They can catch this variety and present it to their customers in many stores at the same time. But in boutique stores like ours, we cannot do this. We are trying to serve our customers with our service, decoration and products. The more satisfied our customer is, the more our difference from others emerges.
What do you think will be the trends of this year? Which is your favorite brand?
Designer products are at the forefront this year. Designer branded products are preferred more than fashion brand products. In horn glasses, especially Maybach is a product that we sell a lot. The situation is different for fashion brands. The brand can become a trend that year with a model in its collection. However, this situation does not show continuity for any brand. Sometimes collections repeat themselves. They move too fast, which harms both the brand and us. If a brand’s collection is good this year, it may be bad the next year. Designer brands, which we call boutique brands, take themselves one step further every year because their aim is, above all, to provide comfort and suit the user. In fact, there is no obvious trend situation this year. Turquoise color is in the foreground this year. Mustard colors are the same. Of course, for those who do not give up on the classics, light browns, smoked, slightly less sharp colors will be in the foreground. Naturalness and transparency will be at the forefront. More assertive, more stylish, more slanting glasses that fit into the eye socket will be trending. The trend in sunglasses can change every minute. You see today, there are also collections in the interim periods. Since the use of sunglasses does not have a season, the collections start in March and are renewed in July and August. As my favorite brand in sunglasses, I can put Maybach first. Silhouette and Mykita are among the top selling brands at the moment. Apart from that, Bottega Venetta, Yves Saint Laurent, Fendi and Dior are our brands that are selling very well.
In the recent years, many brands have been investing in recycling. Do you include recycled products or brands in your store?
We also support recycling. We ask our customers for their old glasses and lenses and collect them for recycling. We reserve some for recycling, and we plan to send some to people in need. We clean the product to be used for the second time and make it ready for use. We do all of this for free.
Do you keep up with international fairs held abroad?
I think every person who says they are an optician in Turkey should go to fairs. It doesn’t matter if it’s a wholesaler or not. The way the products are served, the products, the wholesalers and the manufacturers abroad should all be seen. I have been attending fairs for roughly 15 years. I also attend for our wholesale department, but the main focus is for our store. We have to keep up with which models are more dominant. In addition, you have the chance to see all companies together at the fairs, not just a few companies. I think the atmosphere of the fairs is different.
If we compare Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair with international fairs, how would you describe its position?
It’s just a newborn child, but it is growing magnificently. It goes up with a rising momentum every year. It is a fair we like very much. Yes, there are fairs abroad, but we were upset about why we couldn’t do it here. Now we see that Silmo Istanbul is rising a lot thanks to you. Although it is like a newborn child, I believe that it will pass Paris and Milan in a very short time. This is because the Middle East is a completely different place. Such a fair has never been held before. The added value you add to our country cannot be ignored. It is incredible. I think that Silmo Istanbul has a very important role in increasing the number of manufacturers and manufacturing quality in products. For example, we attend the fair with our company in the wholesale section every year. There were points we couldn’t reach. The fair offers the opportunity to reach, meet and mingle with these people and stores. Most importantly, since it is a growing fair every day, foreign visitors come a lot. We can sit and talk and trade with them. We see our shortcomings and surpluses. I believe that foreign visitors will increase and foreign companies will attend the fair more.
What do you think about 4 your eyes, which started to be published digitally as of 2023?
To be frank, we were very surprised by such a good approach to the sector when the magazine first came out. We attach importance to your growth day by day and to guide the optics industry with each passing day. I’m very glad you switched to digital. Before anything, our trees will no longer be cut down with such a change. We will all have access to the digital broadcast. I believe this will reach a wider audience.
January 2023