Business - Titan to have 200 eye plus stores by 2011

Tata group company Titan Industries is embarking on a major expansion of its eyewear retail business with plans to have 200 showrooms across the country by 2010-11.The company, at present, has 28 exclusive Titan Eye Plus outlets in nine cities and plans to add another 172 stores during the next over two-and-a-half years with a view to emerge as the leader in the estimated Rs 1,500 crore Indian eyewear market. "We have just opened three showrooms in Delhi, taking the total number of showrooms to 28 across nine major cities. Our plan is to set up another 172 showrooms by end of 2010-11 and spread to more than 40 cities," Titan Industries Chief Operating Officer (Eyewear Business) S Ravi Kant told media. He said around 85 per cent of the new showrooms would be of franchise model, while the rest would be company owned. Of the company's 28 existing stores, eight are company owned and the rest 20 franchises. He, however, refused to disclose the investment plans of the company. The company started its retail eyewear business in 2007. Kant said the company is looking for a turnover of around Rs 500 crore by 2010-11. "The Rs 1,500 crore Indian market is witnessing a growth of around 15 per cent annually and we want to emerge as the market leader with at least 25-30 per cent share," he said. Titan Eye Plus is present in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore. "Our plan during the next two-and-a-half years is to spread our presence into Tier II and II cities," Kant said.