In an interview with ÓpticaPro, CEO Rui Borges took stock of three decades of change in the Portuguese optical market which have seen MultiOpticas consolidate their position as a sales leader.
ÓpticaPro: With the exponential growth of tourism in Portugal, the sunglasses sector has also grown. Is it an important component for MultiOptics and Solaris?
Rui Borges: Absolutely! We see the whole sun-related industry growing internationally, so we cannot afford to miss out. As opticians, this business is critical to us for several reasons. It is a product linked to fashion, so we need to have something that sets us apart. But there is more than the fashion component too. The great strength of Solaris is its integration within the GrandOptical and MultiOpticas stores, which allows us to offer sunglasses with graduated lenses.
OP: At the moment you have 215 stores in Portugal. The goal is to continue to grow and open more stores?
RB: We will open another six to eight stores by the end of the year, both company owned and franchised. There are still some gaps in the market where we can develop our business, space to grow and opportunities that we have identified to increase our presence.
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