Optique Eyecare is meeting the Kiwi demand for quality eye care after a successful run across the Pacific.
Optique Eyecare is meeting the Kiwi demand for quality eye care after a successful run across the Pacific.
Namita Kulhalli and Sashi Singh started Optique Eyecare in Suva after noticing a gap in the Fijian market for affordable, holistic eye health care.
The couple started their journey at the University of Auckland as optometry students, and have since provided essential healthcare across the Pacific.
Kulhalli says the pairhave expanded their optometry clinic to Aotearoa to continue their mission to bring positive health outcomes, opening their first New Zealand store in Glenfield, Auckland in September.
Why did you start Optique Eyecare?
My husband Sashi and I are both optometrists. We graduated from Auckland University, and then we both sort of worked full time. We did a lot of locuming stints around New Zealand and Australia. Sashi is from Fiji, so he’s always had the intention of going back across for a little while.
Optique Eyecare owners Namita Kulhalli and Sashi Singh started the business to promote eye health in Fiji.
There was a real need for therapeutically qualified optometrists in Fiji so we were there for about a year and decided to open up our first practice in Suva in 2017.
We’re interested in the pathology of eye care. There are a lot of diabetics in Fiji, lots of glaucoma patients and cataracts, and I think a general lack of awareness of the importance of regular eye testing.
People are not aware optometrists should be able to diagnose these conditions and treat them as well. We had a really great response and that prompted us to open our second Suva practice in 2021.
We are looking to expand in Fiji still, so we’re hopefully opening up another one or two practices in the coming years.
What made you expand to Aotearoa?
We relocated back to Auckland after the pandemic. We’ve found there’s a gap in the market here for premium eye care services and affordable eyewear.
We found that in the New Zealand market, boutique optometrists deliver an excellent level of service and eye care but margins on designer brands and quality eyewear are quite high and not necessarily affordable.
Then you’ve got more volume-based franchise stores in the market, which make optometry more commercial. These are good for the consumer too but are not necessarily delivering that personalised level of service or durability.
We like to think we’re in between those two models - still delivering that tailored eye care service and going all out in our equipment and technology. At the same time, we’re making designer brands more affordable and we have a value offering. We like to think we’ve got something for everyone.
Optique Eyecare's first New Zealand store in Glenfield, Auckland.
Are you looking to expand further in Fiji?
Yes, we are. At the moment with our two practices located in Suva, we’re getting a lot of people travelling from the west and from the other islands as well, which don’t really have any optometry presence at all.
I think now people are starting to become more aware of the importance of regular testing and ocular health and vision in general.
We were lucky enough to do a few community outreach programmes where we were able to travel to smaller, more remote areas and do eye screenings and information sessions.
A lot of people had diabetes. They were not aware of it and it was through screening and eye testing that we were able to pick up on some changes at the back of the eyes, refer them to their doctors and they could start treatment from there.
It’s very much a holistic approach to healthcare. It’s not just about the eyes but about general health. We also run diabetic screening programmes in Fiji to check for any pathological symptoms of diabetes, hypertension and vascular conditions.
We definitely want to expand in the next few years because we’ve got a lot of people travelling from remote places to see us.
We’d like to open a branch in the west [of Fiji] as well as maybe some of the other islands but that’s in the works at the moment.
Natima Kulhalli says the business goes "all out" when it comes to investing in eye care equipment.
Was it challenging to transfer the business from Fiji to New Zealand?
It’s been interesting because it’s a very different market. We’ve worked for many years in New Zealand, but setting up a business here has been a learning experience, however our motivation is the same.
There’s a lot more competition here but I feel we’ve got a place.
We’re still medical professionals and just like going to your GP or your dentist, you’re going to keep going back to someone who goes that extra mile.
We feel there’s a lack of education out there in general across both markets about the scope of optometry.
It has changed a lot, even in the last 10 to 15 years. People still think of optometrists as just making glasses, but we’re a lot more than that.
Even in New Zealand, there is government-led school screening at the moment, but it’s quite basic and a lot of prescriptions in younger children still are missed, unfortunately.
That school screening is only for preschool-age kids as well - there’s nothing that goes above that. Uncorrected refractive errors affect children’s learning and their concentration at school. A lot of children don’t necessarily communicate that because it’s very normal to them.
What do you want to achieve through the business?
There is that lack of awareness of what optometrists do. A lot of people will still go to their GP for visual problems as opposed to going to their optometrist. So I think it’s about building awareness and the importance of regular eye testing and removing obstacles for people to come in.
Alka Prasad is an Auckland-based business reporter covering small business and retail.
