| NEW YORK--Even with all the technology and manufacturing resources at their disposal it still takes more than a beautifully designed frame to get the consumers attention and that is where brands really have the chance to shine.
"It all happens from a marketing perspective," stated Luxottica's Beccarini. "If you look at a basic frame like Killer Loop, it may not seem that different compared to one from Persol but when you look closer the details are cleaner; crystal lenses, polarization, the logoing details and the way you make each frame needs to be communicated in the marketing campaign."
"When we go out and talk to our end users, they definitely get it when we show them the lifestyle. When we try to explain a Michael Kors product on its own as opposed to sitting at a table with the shoe, the bag and the belt, it?s kind of like the light bulb goes on," confirmed Marchon's Ginsberg. "So we do a much better job training them but they also understand it because it is a whole breadth of assortment and they really see that its not just about the sunglasses but its now about the presentation of the brand. The iconic design elements that whoever was behind that brand figured out and how we have been able to interpret it and I think that?s the difference. We?re not just an eyewear company, we're not just selling a sku, but we?re really selling this whole dream into a world that was not so easy to enter. So it is something for optical retailers to leverage through the merchandising, the POP, the displays, by all the things that we offer that help to promote and support that to the consumer. |
| "From our perspective more and more marketing is taking a major role in defining and positioning a brand," said Fabio D'Angelantonio, marketing director for Luxottica. "As a brand gets stronger you know how the collection is going to be developed, but you start from the brand; what it represents, what it promises to consumers, it helps the designer form a direction."
"We've trained the consumers in the fashion industry to appreciate and accept newness, so they come into the retail locations wanting to see the next collection," declared Ginsberg. "They are not complacent enough to think that it's not going to change. And they've translated that expectation to our category as well. We're delivering newness every quarter and our release schedule has accelerated because of that expectation. We've been able to do that because we now have this proliferation of designs that keep evolving and keep morphing. This is no longer a seasonal business, it's a year-round business, 24/7. Now that its part of a global lifestyle branding, we're in business all the time, so we're selling sunglasses all year and we're selling optical all year." |