Their progress has not come without hard work and a decidedly
mindful approach to the frame and lens offerings in their mix at all
spectrums of the price scale. They report a major re-thinking of the
role of “core” brands, either private label or supplier house brands,
which reflect a new creativity (sometimes in collaboration with
suppliers) and offer a price-tier alternative.
Often combined with exclusive lens treatments and coatings, these
lines are striking a chord with consumers, retailers tell VM, when
blended into an overall merchandise assortment that still includes a
strong mix of consumer-recognized branded collections.
House brands, retailers say, appeal to a new consumer mindset
which is embracing individuality and is searching for value at every
price point. Many customers, they report, are responding to originality
as a choice for their primary eyewear purchase—as well as a new and
desirable option for the recently-elusive “add-on” eyewear sale.
“House and core brands are key to our success and profitability,”
said general manager Boyce Moffitt of Spex, an optical retailer with 14
locations throughout the greater Chicago area. While Moffitt insists
that core brands have always been an important part of Spex’s mix, he
admits that added emphasis has been placed on the company’s selection of
non-branded labels.
In recent years, Moffitt has seen a shift toward color and
details in eyewear preferences—both of which draw customers to house
brands. No longer afraid of going for bolder looks, clients “are focused
on wardrobing their frames because they have realized that eyewear is
an important accessory when completing their fashion choices,” he said.
Moffitt also attributes this change in priority to widespread Internet
research on frames, collections and technology.
While focus on core brands has narrowed brand selection, Spex has
been able to provide deeper assortments, strengthen relationships with
key vendors and increase sales. “Less crossover in styles creates
greater clarity in selection for the clients, and it also helps promote
the wardrobing of frames,” he said.
According to Moffitt, “the recession has definitely increased
sales in our house brands,” especially for clients who want more than
one pair of glasses. “While multiple pair sales took a hit over the past
few years, we were able to maintain a strong multiple sale percentage
because these brands allowed them to select more than one pair within
their budget,” he said, adding, “This represents a key shift in consumer
spending habits over the past few years, especially with our male
clients.”
At the 18 Henry Ford Optimeyes locations in Michigan, customers’
key focus is the quality/value equation, according to Shirleen Steele,
the chain’s director of purchasing. “That’s what consumers are looking
for, whether they’re interested in designer frames or house brands,” she
told VM. “Everyone wants great quality at the best value they can
find—that’s our continuing challenge.”
The Optimeyes stores—including six large Super Vision Centers,
with a seventh due to open July 1—carry about 60 percent of their
eyewear inventory in designer brands, the rest in suppliers’ house
brands. That ratio has shifted a bit more toward house brands in the
past two years, Steele said, adding, “We’ve been very strategic in the
placement of the brands we carry, working closely with our vendors to
bring in those national brands at the best possible pricing.”
As a result, she said, the chain has seen little drop-off in
consumers’ interest in opting for designer eyewear, particularly at the
Super Vision locations, which highlight designer frames on island
displays at the center of their dispensaries.
Optimeyes has also managed to maintain a steady percentage of
add-on sales, Steele noted, particularly in the areas of photo chromic
and AR lenses. “If anything, we’ve seen growth in our add-on business,”
she said. “We’ve found that if we can show the patient the value these
add-ons bring to their eyewear, they’ll buy them.”
While much can be attributed to the economy, at The Eyewear
Gallery in Houston owner Tina Ozcelik said the surge toward originality
in eyewear is a result of the recession. She believes clients struggling
to stand out in a competitive market are using unique eyewear to
portray self-confidence. “What has set us apart in this economy is the
ability to offer hard-to-find house brands. Anybody can get a licensed
brand, but the house brand offers a chance to stand apart,” Ozcelik
said.
Ozcelik has found customer interest merging quality and
originality. As a result, she has placed more emphasis on house brands
in her single-location boutique. “The consumer has become more
expressive of their own identity. They no longer purchase a frame purely
on name brand,” she said.
Despite the economic woes that have kept Arizona among the
highest states in the nation in foreclosures and unemployment levels,
Chandler, Ariz.-based Nationwide Vision finished 2010 with its
comparable-store sales 7.5 percent ahead of 2009, according to president
Al Bernstein.
“Our statewide economy is still bad, and our exam bookings are
down, with a lot more cancellations and no-shows,” Bernstein
acknowledged. “Yet our average eyeglass tickets have held tight, at
about $204—once we get patients into our offices, they are ready to
buy.”
Nationwide has not seen any major shift in consumers’ readiness
to buy designer frame brands vs. vendors’ house brands, he told VM, with
sales in that category aided by promotions such as a “Fashion Week”
event held in November. Designer brands currently make up less than 30
percent of the 64-unit chain’s eyewear inventory, a percentage that has
remained constant in recent years, although Bernstein said the company
has tightened up on depth of inventory in that category. Another 15
percent of Nationwide’s frame inventory is devoted to private-label
eyewear, with house brands making up the remainder.
“We do a huge business with Arizona Medicare and Medicaid
patients, including a lot of children, and much of that business is in
the house brands,” Bernstein noted. “But the ‘designer’ customers still
want that eyewear, even though money is tighter.”
Stephen Franklin, chief executive officer of Maryland-based
Accurate Optical agreed. “We haven’t seen any lessening of interest in
demand for designer brands among our customers, despite the recession. I
imagine in some parts of the country consumers are shifting away from
designer eyewear in favor of lower-priced ‘house’ labels, but we haven’t
experienced that in our market. We see no movement to save money by
buying unbranded eyewear.”
At 14-store Accurate Optical, house brands currently account for
only about 20 percent of the stores’ frame inventory. Rather than seek
out those lower-priced options, Franklin said, “our customers are
looking for deals on the designer brands.” Despite this trend toward
bargain-hunting, however, Accurate Optical achieved a 2 percent increase
in dollar sales last year, he noted.
Chain executives are taking a second look at private-label
eyewear, however, Franklin said. Accurate Optical has already begun a
“soft” launch of digital lenses under the name Luminosity, with plans to
begin advertising them soon. In addition, company executives are
considering bringing back their Chesapeake Eyes private-label frame
brand after a three-year hiatus. “We’re currently discussing
revitalizing that brand in light of the economy,” he explained.
The economy has not dampened Accurate Optical’s expansion plans,
however. The chain added a second location in Delaware in September, and
opens a new store in Berlin, Md., on Feb. 15. It will also relocate a
store in Cambridge, Md., by early summer.
Long Island’s Optics Plus has also seen clients gravitate toward
unlicensed eyewear. According to president Richard Bauman, house brand
purchases come mostly from women looking for their second or third pair
of eyeglasses. “People who buy them usually need them as an additional
pair. It’s a very necessity-based purchase,” he said. Today, house
brands make up around 20 percent of the single-location practice’s frame
offering—a number that has doubled in recent years due to increased
demand.
“The recession has certainly helped the sale of house brands.
We’ve had to bring in lower-priced lines as an alternative,” Bauman
said, noting an increase in patients who use insurance or are
increasingly price conscious. He added, “People complain about the price
but they still want the Chanel. Still, it’s good to have the
alternative.”
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