Bangkok--6 Mar--Mind Touch Thai Optical Eyewear Distribution Company Limited (TOED), a leading importer and distributor of famous branded eyewear products, has introduced "TOM FORD" the latest luxurious eyewear brand from the US set to shake up Thailand’s luxury fashion eyewear market. The latest collection of "TOM FORD" eyewear, which has received very good feedback in the US, Europe, and now Asia, will be launched into the Thai market to meet the modern lifestyle of young Thai consumers, who love to wear fashion eyewear particularly in the coming summer season. The company projects to achieve the sales of more than 30 million baht in retail price value this year for TOM FORD eyewear. Jamorn Rummani, TOED’s managing director, revealed that the company has imported "TOM FORD" branded eyewear products to the Thai market three years ago to test the feedbacks of the Thai consumers exclusively through Better Vision optical outlets. The products have received a good welcome and widely recognized by the young Thai consumers, who prefer luxury and fashion eyewear brands. "TOM FORD" is now one of the leading famous brands in the luxury fashion eyewear industry around the world and its trend-setter success has encouraged increasing demand among the lovers of fashion eyewear in Thailand. "We this year decided to seriously penetrate the Thailand’s luxury and fashion eyewear market with our "Tom Ford" products. We are quite confident in "TOM FORD" brand, which has been widely recognized by fashion-conscious consumers around the world, including in the US, Europe, and Asia. "TOM FORD" eyewear is a high impact accessory that immediately makes a statement about personal style. We have promoted the strong positioning of "TOM FORD" as the ‘true luxury’ brand. TOM FORD eyewear has rapidly gained popularity and recognition among the Fashionista besides apparel, cosmetics, accessories, shoes and handbag," says Jamorn. Jamorn says that in order to support the official launch of "TOM FORD" eyewear in Thailand, the company has brought the brand’s latest collection featuring frames and sunglasses that are innovative and sophisticated in style while fused the drama of strong oversized shape with the sensuality of rich surfaces and finishes that rapidly become TOM FORD’s signature. To welcome the coming summer season in Thailand, the company plans to introduce 34 models of sunglasses into the market with prices ranging from 12,650 baht to 25,500 baht. Another 34 models of optical frames will be launched with prices starting from 12,150 baht to 20,000 baht. Each model will feature 2-6 different color shades and more than 200 different stock keeping units (SKUs). Core target customers are trendy and young customers, age between 25 and 45, who prefer upper middle to premium fashion eyewear. The company has set a strategy to distribute "TOM FORD" eyewear through 37 leading optical outlets or so called ‘selected point-of-sales’, of which 25 are ‘exclusive’ shops locating in Bangkok and major cities such as Phuket, Samui and the other 12 will be the existing Better Vision or ‘Hor Wan’ shops. Jamorn adds that the popularity of "TOM FORD" has increased dramatically among the Thai fans, and with proactive strategy set to promote "TOM FORD" eyewear in the Thai market this year, the company is confident to achieve about 2,000 eyeglasses in sales this year or worth between 30-36 million baht in retail value. The company also expects "TOM FORD" to gain market share of 5 per cent in the luxury segment of fashion eyewear brands. The company plans to spend about 3 million baht or 10 per cent of sales on marketing activities to support the product launch, including the launching event, public relations and print advertisement aimed towards the target consumers to build up brand awareness. "TOM FORD" eyewear collection is made in Italy by Marcolin S.p.A., one of the world’s leading eyewear manufacturer. For Thailand, the behavior of Thai consumers regarding the use of eyewear has continued to evolve. The younger generation pays more attention to the brand and design when choosing the eyewear to improve their personality as a fashion accessory resulted in the continuous growth of 3-5% in the fashion eyewear market despite economic difficulty during the past year. The total eyewear industry in Thailand is estimated to enjoy a continuous growth of about 5 per cent this year with total market for optical and sunglasses is expected to worth about 3,000 million baht. Of the market, the luxury fashion eyeglasses will account for more than 700 million baht this year, while the medium eyeglasses segment will worth about 1,500 million baht, and low-end eyeglasses at about 800 million baht. For media enquiry, please contact Mind Touch Company Limited Savitree Peungcharoenkun (081 816 4598) Chatsaral (Pom) Tiamwon (089 443 6886)