As Britain’s fastest growing eyewear company in the UK last year, Specscart is one to watch. The Manufacturer’s Molly Cooper recently sat down with CEO, Sid Sethi, to discuss the company’s rapid growth and breaking tradition in the industry.
There are very few labs making glasses in the UK. However, with a manufacturing hub in Manchester, Specscart’s site produces 300 pairs of machine and handcrafted eyewear each day, ranging from sunglasses, prescription glasses and ski goggles. The company has 23 employees, including technicians with over 100 years of combined experience to deliver its glasses to over 120 countries worldwide.
While at university, and days before his final exam, Sid Sethi found himself with a pair of broken glasses. He went into the town centre to find a replacement and was met by glasses locked to stands with expensive price tags. Not only that, but after paying £300 for a pair, he then had to wait another three weeks for them to arrive.
Sid knew something wasn’t right after digging deeper into the eyewear industry. He discovered that all the major eyewear players were owned by two major conglomerates. Almost 75% of people wear some form of corrective eyewear in the UK but are nevertheless limited to one pair due to cost and availability.
“If I wear different shoes to the gym than I do to work, why can’t I wear different glasses? As something you wear every day, why can’t they be fashionable,” he said.
The user experience
For Sid, the main issue with the eyewear industry was the user experience. He wanted people to think differently about glasses and as such, he founded Specscart.
The Albert Gubay Enterprise Award Sid won came with a rent-free refitted shop in Walkden, Salford, and a £5,000 cash injection for the business. “Initially we were not the manufacturer; I was buying single samples from China and listing them on our site.” Sid commented. “By night I was coding; by day I was working in the shop. At weekends I was acting as a sales representative to get our glasses into opticians.”
From then the business grew and in 2019, it opened its manufacturing hub in Bury. Sid is now listed as a Forbes 30 under 30 on the Europe list for 2024 and the company has been named a Sunday Times ‘One to Watch’ for its fast growth.
Breaking down traditional barriers
One common issue Sid witnessed with the eyewear sector was the unknown that customers were experiencing around when their products were going to arrive. “Typically, when ordering a pair of glasses there is no lead time, customers are given a rough estimate of two to three weeks, or told they’ll receive an email or text when they have arrived. There’s no tracking system,” he said.
In the age of Amazon and Uber, you can track your item from the moment of order and know exactly the moment it’s going to arrive. So, why can’t it be the same when ordering glasses? “I created software that shows the minute the order is placed and goes into the lab, then a three-hour countdown begins – which is the time in which the job has to be completed and the goods sent out.”
Immediately, by allowing customers to see this process, Specscart saw a huge shift in its user experience and positive feedback from customers. “One review was from a customer whose glasses broke a day before their driving test; we ensured a new pair arrived by 9.00am the following day – in time for them to wear during their test. It reflects what can be achieved in the manufacturing process. Customers don’t have to deal with three week lead times.”
Outsourcing items can make production cheaper. In the UK, labour and energy costs are at an all-time high, so a big question for Sid and Specscart is how to ensure that they are competing with manufacturing companies which have their facilities overseas. “To match this, we’ve had to ensure we are being as efficient as possible,” he said.
AI for the mundane
Admin tasks are time consuming so being able to reduce them was vital for efficiency. “I couldn’t afford to have a person sitting at a computer screen all day ordering stock. Glasses come with prescriptions, so it’s not as simple as restocking small, medium or large. There are hundreds of frames to lens combinations,” explained Sid. The software he created was to ensure the stock never dropped below a certain level. “On average around five sets of lenses get ordered in a two-month window; once that drops to four, the machine automatically sends a repeat order for that lens and the raw material, so that the technician can produce that pair.”
Another way in which Specscart has optimised processes for efficiency was using AI and machine learning. “Last Christmas, I shut down the hub for a few days to give everyone some time off. However, I was tempted to go in myself and make some glasses,” explained Sid.
However, it was only once Sid arrived that he realised he didn’t actually know how. He wasn’t familiar with the process the experienced technicians used to set the bevel to cut the lenses – a key process in the making of a pair of glasses. Sid needed to utilise machine learning to recall the settings of the bevel so it could be processed automatically.
“If our system could recognise the jobs coming in and then record them when the technician sets the machine, then the next time the same job comes in, the machine will have learned what was done previously and it could repeat the process,” explained Sid. This would ensure less mistakes were made, even by inexperienced apprentices.
Sid created intermediary software between the machines’ hardware and applied an algorithm which can learn whatever the technicians are doing on a real-time basis. “This was implemented last year and now our lab is almost 100% automated. It allows us to produce more glasses with a smaller number of people.”
Keeping costs down
Costs are high. For Sid, the only way UK manufacturers will have scope to grow and continue in the future is by introducing as much technology as possible into their production processes. “Technology is available and if used in the right way, can make processes incredibly efficient. I try to look at what processes we can take out and automate through machine learning,” said Sid.
Specscart has been profitable since the very beginning, something Sid puts down to conscious decision-making. “We don’t invest in things we don’t need. There may be times when you are overburdened but can’t afford the extra pair of hands you think you need. Ask yourself what you can do with what you have,” he said.
When introducing something new, Sid tests the waters by running the automated processes. If the requirement for that process continues, then he may inject another person into the line. “People talk, but the numbers scream, so that’s where I always look. I ask what is our delay in the lab? How fast are the orders coming in? How much time is it taking per job? Once I analyse those numbers, I can take steps towards streamlining operations to improve them,” he added.
Transferring skills
Specscart is a growing business and knows it will have to increase staff inline with its turnover. “Simultaneously, we want skills to be passed on. We currently have three technicians with over 100 years of combined experience. However, we also have two freshers who we employed when we began seeing an increased number of orders. We want skills to transfer from our experienced technicians to them,” explained Sid.
Although automating processes and continuing to fulfill orders as efficiently as possible is the main goal, Sid also knows that having a plan B is still important. “Companies and production facilities are closing left, right and centre, and skills go with them. So, skills need to be transferred and that can’t always be done with machines – you need people,” he said.
The key point for Sid is not to let customers down, but as orders increase so does the workload for staff. “I must make sure that the people who are coming in really want to be here and enjoy the work they do. We have a career plan at Specscart, and I can see a spark in workers’ eyes when they’re here,” added Sid.
Scalability and future plans
“We ship to 120 countries and have reviews from customers in locations I’ve never advertised in, including Japan and the Falkland Islands,” said Sid. Specscart’s next move is to launch a US-based website while also continuing to work on optimising machines and incoming orders in its UK hub.
“The future for us is going global, which will include the US, Dubai and the Middle East, which are our main targets for 2025. After that, we’ll look at other locations where we can expand,” he said.
Another question on Sid’s mind is whether the UK manufacturing hub will be able to handle the global expansion. “I would like to deal with everything from the UK, but we may need to open a small dispatch centre in the US. However, at the same time, I need to keep costs low, so we will have to monitor the situation closely.” Speaking with DHL, Sid has already worked out that he can ship glasses the next day to the East Coast, and to the West Coast in two days, sticking to his promise of cutting traditional lead times.
“I have spent so much time and so much passion on Specscart, I know I can create something very special and become one of the top three players in this industry,” he concluded.
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