Tata Group's optical retail firm focuses on kids and teens as screen-time surges among kids

Titan Eye Plus, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, is shifting its focus towards children and teenagers as optical problems surge among this demographic, largely attributed to the excessive use of digital devices. Chief Marketing Officer Maneesh Krishnamurthy told Storyboard18 that 'Kids' have been the fastest growing segment for the eyecare brand because of the change in lifestyle and poor dietary habits.

"Two things that are driving kids category to grow very fast: 1) the changing lifestyle as young children spend less time outdoors, and more time on digital devices. 2) A lot of intake of unhealthy food which has a direct impact on eye-related issues," Krishnamurthy said.

On Children's Day 2024, the eyewear brand screened 30,000 kids and found that the incidence of Myopia and associated vision challenges was about 33 percent, that is one in every three kids who has an issue of nearsightedness. Krishnamurthy has projected that eye vision-related problems will escalate to 50 percent because he doesn't see any major shift in a trend toward a healthier lifestyles.

"We have observed a condition called progressive Myopia among the children, which means the eye power is changing very rapidly. And there is now a solution globally available, which either stops this rapid change of power or slows it down a lot. However, the solution is effective and expensive," Krishnamurthy added that Titan Eye+ has introduced its own solution in this area at Rs 5000--about one-fourth of the price of global peers.

Talking about the change in spending habits of Indian consumers, Krishnamurthy said that premiumization was growing at a fast pace in the country, and "as a mid-premium and premium player, we stand to be the biggest beneficiaries from that," he added.

Titan Eye+ retails over 20 international brands such as Ray-Ban, Vogue, Cartier, and Gucci. "It's very high double-digit value growth that we are experiencing. There are about 100 of our 900 stores that play the premium game really well". Consumer preferences for premium offerings saw sales of International brands record growth of 53 percent YoY in Q2 FY 2025. The company's Aristo is another premium segment that sells 18-carat gold frames. "Our customers purchase the gold frames during Dhanteras, Diwali, and Akshaya Tritiya. Since the price goes Rs 1 lakh plus so such designs are not meant for mass consumption".

Krishnamurthy said that Titan Eye+ has also introduced a new retail brand called 'Runway', a sunglasses-only brand to be operated in airports, and mall kiosks. The first Runway store will be launched at Indira Gandhi International Airport's Terminal 1 in Delhi soon.

On quick commerce, the CMO said Titan Eye+ is in talks with multiple platforms, particularly in the sunglasses and smart glasses segments. "Just like e-commerce, we are present on Tata Cliq and Tata Neu, as well as on Flipkart and Amazon. For Q-commerce also we'll try to be on multiple platforms. So we have an inclusive approach on channels, and would expect that to continue in any place that we see".

Titan Eye+ recorded a total income of Rs 201 crore in Q2 FY25 up 7 percent compared to Q2 FY24. According to the regulatory filing, the company said that frames and lenses saw healthy growth in volumes while sunglasses recorded a volume decline due to seasonality. International brand sales recorded a strong growth of 53 percent over Q2FY24.