Eyewear retail chain, GKB Optical has gone online with the launch of gkboptical.com. The website brings over 50 international eyewear brands (Ray-Ban, Oakley, Prada, Versace, Tag, DKNY, Dolce & Gabbana, Tommy Hilfiger, Vogue, Maui-Jim) and almost 5000 products with price tags ranging from Rs. 400 to Rs 35,000.
GKBOpticals is led by Dhruv Gupta, who earlier was cofounder of Desimartini (which was acquired by HT). Some of the key features of GKBOpticals are Try on Virtual Mirror & Face Shape guide, that helps customers choose and try the best product while sitting at home.
“In the last few months, the online store is experiencing a 50% growth month on month, and has shipped orders to over 200 cities/towns across India. Dhruv says “The wide choice of products, fast & free shipping, warranty, 100% money back return policy, which give the customers peace of mind while shopping online. We have over 25 qualified eyecare specialists on call, 7 days a week” [release].
An important point to note about GKBOpticals’ online foray is that they are leveraging a strong synergy between the 60+ GKB Opticals retail outlets and the online store. That is, customers can avail service facility or take delivery of their product from any GKB retail outlet in 17 cities/towns. This has a dual benefit- of ease of service to online customers, and leveraging its strong brand awareness, from its customer base of 1 million.
Here is a quick QnA with Dhruv, CEO of GKB online
1. How are you sourcing products (vs. the offline store) ?
We source products through direct tie ups with brands & their representing companies. We leverage the same inventory as the retail stores, so we have a large stock, without additional costs.
2. How much of revenue contribution does GKB believes the online store will bring?
GKB Opticals has revenues of 100+ crores, along with being in a growth stage. Online retail helps us reach a much larger audience, where customers can get quality, variety, and other services, like COD, free shipping, etc. So, it’s a good value proposition for the customer looking to buy any kind of eyewear. Thus, the online store, will be a strong contributor towards revenues of the overall group.
3. What has been the traction so far?
Since launching a couple of months back, we have been shipping orders to over 200 cities/towns across India.
————–
Very recently, Pharmacy Chain MedPlus Forayed Into Ecommerce with the launch of MedplusBeauty.
Do you expect more such offline retailers launching their online store in 2012?
