Years ago, being farsighted and absent-minded – have you ever lost a pair of reading glasses? – was very expensive in Spain. In the early 1990s, getting reading glasses cost a considerable amount of money and required ordering them from an optician and waiting days or even weeks. While that was the situation in our country, in the US you could instantly get prescription glasses at any pharmacy.
This unbalanced situation led Víctor Castillo to take the plunge in 1994 and set up a company, Productos Loring, which produced affordable, pre-assembled, pre-graduated glasses and, very importantly, with the necessary quality parameters that a class 1 medical product requires.
In fact, “our license to manufacture reading glasses is issued by the Ministry of Health, so that they can be sold in the pharmacy channel,” the company explains.
Victor Castillo’s decision to start his own business came at a key moment in his life, at the age of 60, after finishing a 30-year career as a commander at Iberia. Far from launching the company and retiring to observe, Castillo remained active for years as general manager, until he was replaced in 2016 by María Martín, who joined the company four years earlier.
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In fact, recent years have seen the eyewear company, still owned by the founder’s family, experience its most spectacular development thanks, above all, to the launch and distribution of other brands: the lines of dress glasses and sunglasses by the internationally renowned designer Hannibal Laguna in 2015 and in 2017, Toro de Osborne.
In addition to their own Loring brand, they manufacture for other national and international brands, which also distribute the product within the pharmacy channel.
Founded in 1994 by a former Iberia pilot, Víctor Castillo, the products are now present in some 8,400 pharmacies
Another important milestone in its history was the launch of the first sunglasses for both adults and children, which were added to the Loring catalogue in 2005 and caused a sales boom, given that they were the first to incorporate this product in the pharmacy channel.
The company closed 2017 with a turnover of 2.6 million euros and the forecast is to grow by 3% in 2018 after several years with sustained increases, which have led to an accumulated increase of 27% in seven years. In fact, revenues have more than doubled – 57% – in just over a decade.
Countries, prices and NGOs
Internationalisation. They have been present in both Portugal and France for years and have just landed in Tunisia. “Exports will be a key element for us in the coming years,” they warn.
Affordable. One of their best assets is their price. Loring reading glasses are available from 9 euros. Hannibal Laguna and Toro de Osborne brands start at 17 euros. As for the minimum price of sunglasses, they are 14 euros for babies and children and 26 euros for adults.
Social projects. Loring Products collaborates with projects related to the visual health of people who are at risk of social exclusion or in countries without access to visual corrections. Cruz Roja, África Directo, Ulls del món or Fundación La Arruzafa are some of the NGOs to which they have provided reading glasses and sunglasses for projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The most recent donation was to the Aladina Foundation, to which they have donated sunglasses for children.
As for market share, they are around 35%-45% of Spanish pharmacies. “That means we are present in more than 8,400 pharmacies,” he says.
“25 years ago, our offer was very innovative and we were among the first to see that pharmacies needed another approach, and today this is a reality. We can see this in the wide variety of OTC products (those without the need for a medical prescription) and services that they are investing in,” says María Martín, general manager of Loring.
Production in Asia
The company started with just three people, but now has 16 on staff. In fact, in the last five years, due to the growth it has experienced, it has added five new jobs. “We are very stable in terms of employment; the average career in the company is eight years, although we have also brought in new blood in certain departments, such as product or sales.”
Furthermore, according to the general manager, María Martín, “we can boast of never having made any staff cuts and of being a very close-knit team. It is an undisputed leader in the sector, which maintains a family atmosphere and policy.”
They manufacture in Asian countries, so they do not have their own factory, but that does not mean that they neglect the production process, since, as the company explains, “we do carry out internal audits with our consultancy in these factories that guarantee the quality standards required by Spanish and European regulations. In addition to the controls, we carry out these tests again in the laboratory, carried out by the responsible technician, who, using specific instruments, once again certifies that these quality parameters are exceeded by far.”
As for incorporating more brands, “for the moment our portfolio “It is very complete,” says the general director.
Three brands for three types of customers
We usually go to the pharmacy to buy medicines or products that our doctor prescribes and that we need. “Glasses are also a necessity, yes, but the moment of buying them is totally different. We are talking about a playful moment of purchase, of enjoyment,” says María Martín, general manager of Loring.
That is why they immediately accepted the proposal of designer Hannibal Laguna, who approached them to launch his collection of glasses. “He had a very clear project: to bring fashion from the international catwalk directly to pharmacies and, in addition, at an affordable price. The key was to do it with quality and with the help of someone with recognition,” recalls the executive.
Martín believes that with this brand they have managed to position themselves among a predominantly female audience that seeks “glasses to be just another accessory, like shoes or a handbag.”
It is also worth noting that last February, the aforementioned designer presented a preview of his sunglasses collection on the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid catwalk.
As for the Toro de Osborne brand, it is aimed at a unisex and very diverse public. “This brand has also been a differentiating point and has been very well received, especially in tourist spots, as it is the Spanish brand par excellence.”
For its part, Loring, which is the brand with which they have been on the market since the beginning, continues with its positioning of quality glasses at an affordable price.
In total, they have more than 100 designs of different styles in reading glasses and sunglasses, models that are constantly being renewed and the catalogue is being expanded.
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