Home-grown brand enters crowded eyewear market

SPH Brightcove Video
At local eyewear brand O+, frame designs take on a more classic and vintage inspiration as opposed to eccentric and wacky frames, shares co-founder and head designer Shamus Hwang.

SINGAPORE - Local eyewear brand O+ seems to have found the sweet spot in a crowded eyewear market.

The company, established last year by Mr David Hwang and his sons Silas and Shamus, produces eyewear for the mid-priced market.

All their frames are designed in-house and prices start from $249 with prescription lenses.

While this costs more than some stores that promote quick sevices at low prices, Mr David Hwang said O+ makes up for it with quality and customer service.

And the results are showing.

Just seven months since opening a store at OUE Downtown, the brand already has a following with a fifth of sales coming from repeat customers. Customers are also buying two to three pairs of glasses at a go.

Mr David Hwang, 57, said, "We initially thought of launching new designs every three months, but now we have to launch them every month to keep up with demand."

While he declined to reveal sales figures, Mr Hwang said the projection is that the company would recoup its $350,000 investment into the business within two years.

At O+ offices in Kaki Bukit, a three-man design team comes up with new frames and uses 3D printing to produce prototypes. Approved designs are then manufactured in the company's own facility in China.

Watch our video to learn more about the design process.

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