After more than a month of inactivity, Singapore online eyewear specialist SeeChic has closed for the foreseeable future.

Founder Thomas Brochier says he made this decision as a result of an underperforming fiscal year and missed opportunities to raise more capital.

In Singapore, fewer than 5 per cent of all contact lenses are bought online compared with 55 per cent in the US. With the city having one of the highest rates of myopia in the world, Brochier saw a gap in the eye-care market to bring convenience, service and savings to customers. The French entrepreneur and former UK country manager of Italian eyewear giant Luxottica raised US$1.6 million in seed funding to launch the website on Black Friday in November 2015.

“Singaporean healthcare regulations recommend a yearly check-up before buying contact lenses, but not many people can do so. The corporate eye test not only gives office workers the opportunity to correct their vision, but companies the opportunity to show care to their employees,” Brochier said about the company’s USP of free eye tests, which was well-received but significantly increased overhead costs.