Founded in June 2024, the brand is now poised to take its next step of expansion with offline entry, new category launches and market expansion
Bengaluru: Noida-based eyewear brand Que, backed by Indian former cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, plans to start physical retailing in 2025, a top company official told IndiaRetailing.
Que was founded in June this year by co-founders Shashank Saurabh, Abhishek Deep, and Kumar Vagish, following months of planning since October 2023. Within three months, the brand has acquired over 1,000 customers and is aiming to reach 10,000 consumers by its first anniversary and with a revenue target of Rs 5 crore for this financial year.
“We are planning to venture into offline retail within the next year,” said Saurabh. “We plan to begin by opening stores in airports and forming partnerships with large format retailers like Pantaloons, Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop, and others in tier one cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.”
The founders envision the company as a lifestyle brand. “Even though we launched the brand with sunglass ranges, we will soon expand to include watches, belts, accessories, and footwear in a year, but we have no plans to enter the clothing category,” he added.
Que is also aiming for international expansion in the coming months, with a particular focus on the UAE market and will be launching both online and offline.
Currently, the eyewear retailer operates through its own D2C website and the e-commerce platform Amazon. All of its sales are generated online, with 90% coming directly from its website and the remaining 10% from Amazon. In three to five months, it will also launch on Reliance’s Ajio and quick commerce platforms.
Que primarily targets a younger consumer demographic, focusing on individuals between the ages of 18 and 35. “As we continue to expand our product range, we plan to introduce options that appeal to a broader age range while maintaining our core focus on the youth market.” Saurabh said.
At present, it retails 38 stock keeping units (SKUs) for both men and women, with the collection being updated every three months. The retailer is seeing the highest demand for wayfarer frames in North India, while aviator frames are the preferred choice among customers in South and West India, stated Saurabh.
In May this year, the company onboarded Dhawan as an investor, partner, and brand ambassador.
Dhawan began his investment journey in 2022 by launching a global fund aimed at supporting sports tech startups. Last year, he invested an undisclosed amount in D2C food brand TagZ and became its brand ambassador. More recently, he joined Shviz, a D2C sexual wellness and grooming brand, as both an investor and brand ambassador.
