The eyewear industry is still stuck in analog. Coptiq applied AI to digitize the entire process from product design to production and sales.
Park Hyeong-jin, CEO of Coptiq, which operates the custom eyewear brand Breezm, is looking to "personalization" and "digital transformation" for the future of the eyewear industry. Breezm combines AI facial scanning and 3D printing technology to make glasses optimized for each customer's face, and is a corporations.
In an interview with ChosunBiz, Park said, "What matters most to customers is glasses that fit their face exactly," adding, "We analyze the face with a 3D scan, have AI recommend the best-matching eyewear design based on accumulated data, and then make it with 3D printing."
Breezm's differentiated edge lies in custom design. When a customer visits a store, they go through facial scanning, vision testing, lens selection, and other steps for about an hour. Afterward, a facial avatar and topographic map are generated, and AI analyzes the facial data to propose candidate eyewear designs with the best fit.
"Everyone differs in face size, nose height, and even the height of both ears. Conventional glasses struggle to capture these details perfectly, but Breezm can design the bridge width, nose pads, and frame structure for each individual. Not only the feel when worn but also the visual balance improves a great deal."
Production is carried out at Breezm Foundry Seongsu, an in-house 3D-printing smart factory in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. It takes about a week from order to delivery. Prices range from the low 100,000 won to the mid-200,000 won.
Park cited SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won as a memorable customer. In 2019, when the business was in its early days, Chey visited the Yeoksam store in Seoul with his daughter to make custom glasses for her, Park said.
Coptiq currently operates 16 stores nationwide, including in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, Busan, and Daegu, and opened its first overseas store in Manhattan, New York, in Apr. 2024.
Park picked the U.S. market as the key stage for the company's future growth. "The U.S. eyewear market is about 100 trillion won, roughly 30 times Korea's. In particular, because a variety of races coexist, demand for custom glasses is higher than for standardized ones. This is why Breezm is getting a good response in the United States."
Since opening, the New York store has steadily posted average monthly sales of about 70 million won. A mobile application was also released for U.S. consumers. In the United States, online eyewear sales are allowed, so customers can scan their face with an iPhone and complete the order.
Park said, "Korea has traditionally had excellent eyewear manufacturing technology, and we have the strength of being able to combine it with IT capabilities," emphasizing, "We are targeting the global market by combining Korea's manufacturing competitiveness with digital technology."
The business is also growing rapidly. Coptiq posted 12 billion won in sales last year and is aiming for 20 billion won this year. The cumulative amount of investment raised to date comes to about 20 billion won.
Park's foray into the eyewear industry goes back 20 years. After graduating from the Yonsei University School of Business, Park worked as a brand marketer at P&G Korea and then founded the fashion eyewear brand ALO in 2006. In 2017, Park returned to the eyewear market by establishing Coptiq with co-CEO Seong Woo-seok, a former certified public accountant who handled investment bank M&A.
Breezm has recently drawn attention in global management circles. Last year, it was featured as a digital transformation case in the eyewear industry in course materials for the Executive Education program at Harvard Business School (HBS).
Park also revealed plans to enter the smart glasses market. Park said, "The smart glasses market is growing rapidly," adding, "We already have a platform for making custom glasses, so we can collaborate with various smart glasses corporations."
Park went on, "We are currently collaborating with a golf rangefinder corporations to launch in the second half a smart eyewear product that incorporates the Voice Caddie application," emphasizing, "Going forward, glasses will evolve from simple vision aids into personalized digital devices."