Singaporeans can now get their contact lenses online from this startup

Photo credit: Gratisography.

I’m a card-carrying near-sighted person. I rely quite a lot on my prescription glasses and contact lenses for all my eyesight-related interactions with the world around me (otherwise known as “seeing stuff”). But getting new contact lenses can be a hassle. For one, it’s illegal to sell contact lenses in Singapore without a prescription by an optometrist. So you have to arrange for an annual eye test, visit the doctor, and pay the relevant fee. And then go to the store and get your lenses.

In a country where you can get your groceries to appear at your door by tapping on your phone, buying lenses shouldn’t be this much trouble.

SeeChic employs optometrists who give you an eye test on the spot and write you a prescription.

Enter SeeChic. The Singapore-based startup is an ecommerce business selling contact lenses and sunglasses online. But it also helps with eye tests. It employs optometrists who visit your place, at home or at work, and give you a test on the spot. Then they write up a prescription, which you can use to buy your lenses from SeeChic’s estore, or any other store for that matter.

And if you already have a prescription, you can validate it through SeeChic’s website and then buy your lenses. The store features established brands like Acuvue, FreshLook, SofLens, and Air Optix. It holds its own inventory, so it can ensure timely delivery.

Eyewear expert

Founder and CEO Thomas Brochier knows a few things about eyes, their care, and their accessories. He came to Singapore as commercial director for international eyewear company Luxottica for the Asia-Pacific market, after serving as its country manager in the UK for three years.

“Part of my role was to look for opportunities, grow the team, open subsidiaries,” he tells Tech in Asia. He was also part of a plan to launch an ecommerce service with the company, that ultimately didn’t pan out.

The groundwork was laid out, though. He had the market data and he saw the opportunity there. “So I took the leap and I started putting the pieces together,” he says.

SeeChic founder & CEO, Thomas Brochier. Photo credit: Ryan Pyle.

Thomas decided to go with contact lenses because, while people in Singapore and Southeast Asia tend to shop online quite a lot, products like contact lenses don’t tend to be part of that. In the US, he says, ecommerce accounts for 50 percent of contact lens retail. In Europe, it’s 30 to 35 percent. Sunglasses are a bit behind, with 14 percent in the US and about 10 percent in Europe buying them online.

Singapore’s myopia-rich population and its penchant for fashion and style are also factors in SeeChic’s plans.

iTest

The free eye tests are conducted by certified optometrists who use cutting edge portable equipment. This includes an autorefractor powered by a modified iPhone that can take readings on the spot and an iPad for displaying eye charts.

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