Eyecare solutions retailer GKB Opticals plans to more than double its store count to at least 200 across the country over the next five years, investing over ₹100 crore.

Presently the Kolkata-based company has 91 stores in 28 cities. In Kolkata it has 17 stores.

“Even though Kolkata has got the highest number of stores, cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai are also fast catching up. The number of stores in Bengaluru and Mumbai are now 15 and 11, respectively. And Chennai has got eight stores,” GKB Opticals COO Sumit Dutta told businessline.

“Currently, we are present in metro and tier-I cities. After five years we are projecting more than 200 stores. Then we may also penetrate into some of the tier-II cities, where we would get good locations. The idea is from the present 28 cities we want to expand to more than 35 cities in India. We will also increase our store count in the current cities,” Dutta said, adding for the store expansion capital investment would be more than ₹100 crore.

Online space

The company plans to increase its brand value by focussing primarily on store expansion. “Also, we plan to grow even online in terms of brand awareness because nowadays consumers are interacting with brands online first and then offline. So, even in the online space we are planning to grow considerably. The future will be a more 360-degree approach, where we will be growing from all fronts,” said Priyanka Gupta, Director of Brands.

Gupta said the positioning of the brand will continue to be premium luxury. “We plan to target only those segments of people who are aspirational to buy or they require to come into our store for an impulse buy or a planned purchase,” she added.

GKB Opticals has announced a collaboration with Widex, a leading player in hearing technology solutions, to offer vision and hearing care under one roof.

The company said this strategic partnership brings together its expertise in vision care with Widex’s hearing aids, offering a one-stop solution for individuals. The services will be available at its stores in six major cities.