The Heritage
Lawrence & Mayo started its operations in London in the year 1877as a multi-national having operations in London, Cairo, Spain, Portugal, Alexandria etc. It was then owned by two London-based Jewish families – the Lawrence and the Mayo. The two families set up many branches of Lawrence & Mayo all over the world and to manage the operations in that particular country, they appointed a Country Head. As the operations grew worldwide, the family found it difficult to manage the vast chain and the Country Heads were made the Managing Partners. Slowly the two families started pulling out of the business, and sold of their share to the managing partners.
L&M opened its first Indian showroom in Calcutta in 1877 and as its clientele mostly consisted of the English, it set up a showroom wherever the British Army''''s troops were stationed.
In 1953, Isidore Mendonsa, who was then a director with Lawrence and Mayo took over the Indian operations by purchasing the controlling shares. He went on to set up an optical factory and showroom in Lahore and Karachi respectively.
Prior to Independence, the company catered to the royalty, the upper classes, the English and the distinguished in Indian society. L&M provided exclusive hand-made frames to the demanding elite clientele which the artisans had painstakingly hand crafted the frames. L&M was awarded the title of “Official Ophthalmic Opticians” to many Viceroys, Governor-Generals such as Sir Frederic Fleigh Roberts, the Marques of Linlithgow, Sir George Llyod, the Earl of Willingdon etc. Even the Princess of Wales bought a pair of ‘Amulet” glares protectors from Lawrence & Mayo''''s Bombay branch in the year 1906.
The Bombay branch of L&M is situated on the historic Dr. Dadabhai Nawroji Road which houses many other heritage buildings and is known as the "Heritage Mile". This L& M showroom in Mumbai was flanked by other British stores such as Whiteway Laidlaw, Jones&Jones catering to the Britisher and also to the royalty and the elite of the Indian Society. These elite English Stores find mention in Mulk Raj Anand''''s novel ''''Coolie''''. "For, always sensitive to the straight prim beauty of English shops, he found himself pushing the rickshaw by the varied showroom windows of Whiteway Laidlaw, Lawrence& Mayo, Sahib Singh and Co; chemists; the Modern Bookshop; Jones and Jones. Silversmiths and jewelers; Muhammad Gul, the furrier, Ho Wang, the Chinese shoemaker; and other fashionable purveyors of goods suited to European tastes"
Post-independence L&M decided to consolidate its activities, now catering to bourgeoisie (middle class) and adopting a more corporate outlook, 1979 saw L&M expand with opening of its branch in Secunderabad. The next few years saw L&M spread its wings in India by adding 2 to 3 branches every year.
The Pioneers
Among the many first that L&M have to their credit are: imports of international brands to India; introduction of contact lenses and colored contact lenses to the Indian consumers; introduction of computerized eye-testing. L&M brought the latest technologies to their showrooms and it is the only chain of opticians in India with 51 branches spread across 20 cities. L&M, which had been calling itself ''''Opticians to the Nation’, recently changed its positioning statement to ''''Your Family Optician. Nationwide. Since...1877''''
Customer is the King
Lawrence & Mayo is a service first company and an L&M customer is known to be a customer for life.
Earlier when trained ophthalmologists were hard to find, L&M engaged trained ophthalmologist and other trained personnel from the army in their showrooms.
Personnel from the lowest to the highest cadre across Lawrence & Mayo are put through comprehensive training and refresher programs. To complement the high service standards of its employees, the showroom has state-of-the-art machines to service the clients and provide the ultimate experience in eye-care.
A very cosmopolitan atmosphere prevails in the L&M showroom with products ranging from from its own reputed L&M brand to internationally reputed ones like Ray Ban, Armani, Boucheron, Dolce&Gabbana, Gucci, Valentino, Pierre Cardin, Fred, Cartier and Bvlgari.
It has been often been requested by the customers that spectacles be delivered within 2 hours - L&M has always been known to keep their promise.
These are some of the reasons why on an average 30,000 customer per month walk into L&M showrooms all over India. Mahatma Gandhi, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Justice Lentin, Mr. Amitabh Bacchan and his family have been some of the well-known regular customers of L&M.
The Lawrence & Mayo Experience
Lawrence & Mayo now traverses into its third century of operations, offering comprehensive and efficient eye care services.
L&M''''s vision was to make shopping at their showroom, a recreational activity- an experience to relish.
As soon as customer enters the L&M showroom, he is immediately attended to by ever courteous front-line ambassadors, who politely inquire about his requirements. If he is looking for a frame, the showroom at any given time more than 1000 styles on display.
For those who come without prescription, they can get their eyes tested at the fully equipped clinics by qualified professionals who ensure that a customer receives individual personalized care and attention. It is only at the L&M showroom, that there are 2 qualified optometrist under one roof.
Unlike large, off-site labs of other Opticians, at L& M, the lenses are manufactured by trained personnel from start to finish, allowing a custom-crafted spectacle for every individual customer. There is total quality control at every stage so that the final product is of the highest quality - a priority for every product that leaves L&M.
Social Responsibility
Lawrence & Mayo provides mobile screening programs with equipment like the Autorefractometer, Lensometer and Snellens chart in schools and colleges as part of their social service initiative. This program, now in its 25th year has benefited millions of children across the country.
The Lawrence & Mayo management
Including Isidore Mendonsa, L&M has seen three generations of the Mendonsa family manage the organizations. The family members come from varied backgrounds, bringing with them a highly professional approach to the managerial tasks and youthful vigor and energy. The second generation Mendonsa’s includes Mr. R.H. Mendonsa who is Chairman-cum-Managing Director; Mr.J Mendonsa is the Technical Director and Mr. M.Mendonca who is the Commercial Director of the company.
Lawrence and Mayo Scientific and Vacuum Instruments Division
This division is an integral part of the Lawrence and Mayo house since its inception in 1877. The division is at the forefront in providing state-of-art scientific and engineering instruments and has tie-ups with international companies such as Pentax-Japan, China National Machinery - China, Ural Optics - Russia and many more across the globe for importing modern equipment in India. It provides geometric and engineering instruments used for surveying and material testing, hydrometereology instruments, vacuum equipment and accessories. The company supplies these instruments to the army, the engineering colleges and institutes and construction industry. L&M is one of the biggest importers of this equipment and understands the market well. Hence, it is often requested by its international partners to provide inputs regarding the needs of the Today, L&M commands almost 20% market share in its field. A world wide award for the best distributor of Pentax was presented to the Chairman & Managing Director ,Mr.R.H.Mendonsa recently in Germany .
Future Plans
Lawrence & Mayo aims at retaining and enhancing its position in the Indian Ophthalmic Market /Industry through significant quality and service leadership by continuously investing in the business in terms of the technology and the people. According to R H Mendonsa (Chairman – Lawrence & Mayo) - “Lawrence & Mayo will be expanding its retail network in a planned way to maintain the competitive edge, while upholding identity and image through ethical and professional services” |