An Interview with Bhavik Gopal Kumar of R. Kumar Opticians

An interview with Bhavik Gopal Kumar, Companion at R Kumar Opticians—a multi-award-winning luxurious eyewear model with a 60-year legacy

In our interview with Bhavik Gopal Kumar, Companion at R. Kumar Opticians, we discover the wealthy 60-year legacy of this multi-award-winning luxurious eyewear model.

Kumar shares his insights on the evolution of eyewear style, the significance of workmanship, and the model’s dedication to high quality and innovation.

Are you able to share your journey within the optical business and what led you to grow to be a accomplice at R Kumar Opticians?

Bhavik Gopal Kumar: This tradition of giving emphasis to schooling, studying about issues in absolute depth & embracing change has stored us on the forefront of our enterprise because the days of the nice man himself, my grandfather & founder of R Kumar Opticians.

He was the very first to suit contact lenses within the metropolis. He was additionally among the many only a few who travelled overseas to check the technical features of the optical and call lenses enterprise regardless of already operating one himself.

The truth that he rose to the highest from completely nothing, in a land the place he wasn’t born or introduced up, left an indelible mark on me.

Every of our members of the family has labored greater than 12 hours every day of the week all their lives to arrange a improbable platform for us & there is no such thing as a method I might have ever been drawn to every other enterprise however the one I’m in.

So, I joined R Kumar in 2008 after finishing my 4-year Bachelor of Optometry course in Mumbai.

The model has at all times been recognized for its technical prowess as a lot as for its buyer relationships & product choices. And I’m delighted & grateful I’ve been capable of proceed the legacy ahead.

How do you make sure that your workforce stays up to date with the newest tendencies and applied sciences in eyewear?

Bhavik Gopal Kumar: We regularly puzzled why individuals selected to store overseas regardless of the merchandise being accessible in our personal nation. We discovered that with most of our consumers, worth or availability wasn’t the difficulty.

The largest problem was that our showroom employees wasn’t absolutely conscious of the manufacturers, merchandise & tendencies that almost all of our audiences have been following.

Resulting from inadequate coaching on the manufacturers, the maisons & the present assortment on show brought about quite a lot of gaps in communication with our clients.

Therefore, we be certain that we usually prepare our workers on the manufacturers and the collections we supply, together with the newest & seasonal tendencies like Summer season Assortment 2025. 

We put the identical emphasis on the technical facet of the enterprise – optometry & shelling out. We be certain that we incorporate the very best scientific practices and put money into probably the most trendy gear.

Furthermore, we work onerous to maintain our optometrist & gross sales employees updated with their information on the lenses we dispense.

We additionally talk about & prepare them on the newest efficient options to handle the altering life of the modern-day city client.

We’re hyper-focused on making certain that our stock stays recent, at all times having the very best merchandise in inventory & nice merchandising at our showrooms in order that clients take pleasure in an incredible shopping for expertise.

With our e-commerce web site, we assist our purchasers to discover past what they see on the bodily areas.

Are you able to talk about any revolutionary providers or merchandise that R Kumar Opticians has launched lately?

Bhavik Gopal Kumar: At R Kumar, we host a number of revolutionary providers that we offer by means of our lens & body choices, which supplies us the sting in opposition to different gamers in our line of enterprise.

Most noteworthy being – customised lenses to supply tailored options to our purchasers at totally different ages & levels of their lives.

1. We have been among the many early adaptors of the anti-fatigue lenses, which have been designed to cut back eye strains, particularly for many who work on digital units for a protracted variety of hours.

2. Equally, we have now been on the forefront of selling myopia management lenses. Our lenses promise to handle myopia and assist limit the expansion of myopia in youngsters.

3. As well as, we work very carefully with our labs to assist our purchasers obtain crystal clear imaginative and prescient with the finest anti-reflection coatings designed to spice up absolute transparency & resistance to put on and tear attributable to cleansing.

4. Coming to frames, we launched clip-on eyewear fairly early in 2019-2020 the place a magnetic clip on would merge with the body entrance and convert your glasses into powered sun shades by means of the darkish lenses fitted on the clip on.

The innovation & the investments we made within the stock actually introduced great worth to our customers. Clip-ons have now grow to be a significant class within the eyewear prescription enterprise.

In recognition of our unwavering efforts towards elevating the extent of optical enterprise house, we have been awarded the ⁠Gen X award on the You & Eye awards within the yr 2023.

5. Furthermore, we lately invested in 3D printed eyewear and curated 3D printed eyewear from not solely European but additionally indian manufacturers to advertise a extra eco-friendly, sustainable but extraordinarily snug & low-maintenance eyewear different.

How do you see the way forward for the optical business evolving within the subsequent few years?

Bhavik Gopal Kumar: I  consider the way forward for the optical business is headed in the direction of a time the place tech could have a significant position to play.

With Meta all set to launch within the nation later this yr, we could have a rising demand from our pair of glasses to serve a couple of goal.

As a lot as type, manufacturers & luxurious can’t be changed, there will probably be a brand new class of electronics that can coexist with the standard pair of glasses.

There may be already a substantial shift from numerous producers to work on extra sustainable supplies like bio-acetate, 3d prints and the like to cut back the carbon affect of producing eyewear.

Because the onset of AI & its fast growth on the velocity of sunshine, we may properly be a state of affairs the place purchasers will inform a machine about their particular necessities & the machine will curate eyewear from our collections that will match these precise specs. 

We’re additionally seeing a small however potential development sector within the custom-made body house – in the intervening time, it’s fairly nascent in India. We’ll see the rise of individuals asking for a press release product slightly than simply flashing a model label for any kind of validation.

Sun shades, however, I believe will proceed to continue to grow as a class, constantly compelling individuals to sport totally different pairs for various events & outfits.

The instances forward are clearly very thrilling and can carry forth new challenges, which I’m positive will create new alternatives as properly.

What are the most typical misconceptions individuals have about eye care and eyewear?

Bhavik Gopal Kumar: Each particular person carries a distinct false impression about glasses. Those who’ve been carrying glasses have their very own, those who don’t put on any have theirs.

I come throughout frequent queries like can lenses might be scratch-proof and blue mild filters – how they work. Some consider “you probably have energy & put on your glasses, your eyes grow to be dependent & weak”, to which I usually really feel speechless.

Most of those “myths” floating round glasses aren’t fully the fault of the layman. It usually happens as a result of companies in Optical house lack sufficient info & well-trained proffesionals who can reply all queries matter-of-factly.

Because the instances are altering and tech/AI is taking part in an enormous half in educating purchasers & evolving our enterprise practices, I consider we’re in a greater place to service our purchasers higher – each when it comes to informing them of all of the accessible selections after which making certain that they’ve entry to these.

What recommendation would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs within the optical discipline?

Bhavik Gopal Kumar: My easy recommendation for any aspiring entrepreneur could be to first perceive the nuances of the enterprise, discover the zone in which you’ll function profitably & then go on an enlargement path.

As a lot because the lakhs of customers inside attain, the chance to supply nice eyewear options is equally great. Thus, we have to be certain that we dispense glasses & not merely offload stock that we couldn’t promote attributable to overstocking.

Tip 1: “Keep away from utilizing generic lenses that aren’t backed by an incredible lab or tech to make sure we don’t make issues worse for a consumer by offering one thing that will match the finances however not their precise necessities.”

Tip 2: “Make investments closely into delivering an incredible purchasing experience- stock, employees & the science behind good glasses. An awesome showroom serves just like the icing on the cake.”

Tip 3: “Attempt to create a hybrid online-offline mannequin during which the shopper’s expectations are higher managed & there’s extra transparency with every buy.”

There’s at all times a 360-degree strategy for every mission we undertake at R Kumar by preserving our clients’ expectations because the guiding drive. I hope you do too.

And like all enterprise guru will inform you – Run a marathon, not a dash!

In conclusion, Kumar’s ardour for excellence and dedication to buyer satisfaction proceed to drive R. Kumar Opticians ahead, making certain that the model stays a frontrunner within the luxurious eyewear market.

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