India’s third-leading optical retail chain Specsmakers has taken up an innovative, Integrated Marketing Communication covering all the major media outfits. This is the first time the company has ventured across ATL & BTL media in a bid to strengthen its brand presence across the market it operates.
S. Shriram, Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Specsmakers said, “We have been advertising across various media for the past several years. But this time, we have taken up Tv, Radio, Print, Hoardings & Bus Shelters, Google Ads, Social Media Advertising as well as new age media such as in-App advertising. Other than this, we have also tied up with leading retail chains such as Basics, Croma, MaxRetail among various others, where our Gift Vouchers are being given to their customers and vice-versa in some cases. The purpose of this campaign is to ensure we are present across all possible media and to be on top of the mind of customers even as they ponder buying spectacles”.
Like for all Retailers, it has been a tough phase for the past 18 months for Specsmakers with sporadic lockdowns across Tamil Nadu & Karnataka which affected the business immensely. Yet, the company has been able to scramble things up slowly but surely and has been on the growth path for the past six months and nearing near-normal pre-Covid sales figures after Deepavali this year. The company has also been opening new stores but not as aggressively as it was pre-Pandemic. “We have taken a measured approach with regards to new store openings and are going easy on expansion now. We open stores only where the demand potential is really high, and we are equally realistic & ecstatic about the opportunities.” The company opened new stores in Tier 3 towns like Avinashi and Dindugal over the last 2 months and plans to open in towns like Behrampur (Odisha) Ongole & Rajahmundry (in AP) and in Mandya, Karnataka later this month. A total of 5 new outlets are planned to be2inaugurated in Dec. ’21 taking the total tally to 252 stores. “We should be 275 – 280 stores strong by Mar. 22 followed by which we are planning to add another 100 stores in FY 22-23”, said Shriram.
The Company celebrated RED – Retail Employees Day on 12 Dec., an annual event celebrated across the Retail Industry. “We cut a cake on 12/12 at each of our 247 stores across TN, KA, AP, TS & Puducherry and thanked our employees for their sincere contribution towards the growth of the company all along. We plan to scale the celebrations next year in a much bigger way and we hope by then, the pandemic will be completely behind us by then. We currently employ 530+ retail staff and this number should reach 600 by Mar. ‘22”, reckoned Shriram.
