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Bausch & Lomb eyes vision care market

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, Aug. 10

BAUSCH & Lomb India Ltd has formulated a specific marketing exercise to expand the vision care market in India.

Naming India as a `strategic' market for the company's worldwide operations, Mr. J.P. Singh, Vice-President, vision care business, B&L, said at a press conference recently that eyecare awareness being very low in India, the market has huge growth potenti al.

The domestic vision care market is estimated at Rs. 50 crores, of which B&L has the majority 60 per cent share. The other prominent players in this segment are Ciba Vision and Johnson & Johnson.

The Rs. 60-crore B&L's business is divided into two distinct segments _ vision care and surgical care _ both of which account for roughly Rs. 30 crores each to the company's business.

Mr. Singh said the company has been growing at 25-30 per cent annually over the past one-two years and that B&L hopes to maintain the same growth rate in the next one year.

Beginning September, the company will inaugurate a Bausch & Lomb International School of Optometry in collaboration with the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad. The institute, being set up on an investment of $4 millions (Rs. 18 crores), will offer a four-year course to students.

In addition, B&L is expanding reach of its Indian Contact Lens Education Programme (CLEP) to second-tier cities.

Two other significant initiatives by B&L this year will be tapping schools and colleges across 50 SEC-A, B and C cities against the 20 cities it approached last year, and building a practitioner base here.

B&L proposes to have a presence in 100 cities over the next one year, up from 70 cities it currently retails its products in.

B&L has invested Rs. 15-16 crores at its Bhiwadi plant for both lenses and eyecare solutions. Mr. Singh said while a second manufacturing base was not on the agenda, the company could pump in more investments in the same factory.

The company announced the launch of PureVision on Saturday, a 30-day continuous wear contact lens developed over 10 years of research and development.

Priced at Rs. 1,200 a pair, PureVision's initial availability is being restricted to Delhi and Mumbai. B&L proposes to tap other cities like Calcutta, Chennai, Pune, Bangalore and Ahmedabad after three months. The company is targeting 5-10 per cent of al l contact lens users as potential PureVision consumers.