Name your best-selling sunglasses and sport frames. We just recently got rid of Rudy Project.It's good quality but selling 3-4 frames a year is not worth having them. And they discontinued their sales reps.
Name your best-selling sunglasses and sport frames. We just recently got rid of Rudy Project.It's good quality but selling 3-4 frames a year is not worth having them. And they discontinued their sales reps.
This I need to know also.
Maybe it's just me, but it seems that the only name brand suns that anyone ever asks for are the line you stopped carrying 2 months ago!:hammer:
Ophthalmic Optician, Society to Advance Opticianry
^^^Funny, but true.
I think the market for the big-name sunglasses is fickle. Maui Jim's "hot", then RayBan, then Oakley, etc. And we all know it's as much fluff as "DKNY" vs. "Coach" vs. "Banana Republic".
What would be much more useful is to find the characteristics that make athletic sport sunglasses really work well (biking, running, tennis vs. "non-athletic sports" like fishing, golf, driving, boating.)
For example, you need a lightweight frame, and that's usually plastic. Wraps are always good. Any "gripping" material on the frame is a big plus. Rx-ability is key for me.
Really, we could go with matte black, 8-base, plastic frames with rubberized temples/nosepieces forever and ever, regardless of the "brand" or supplier.
As to lenses, I really think "less" is more from a true sport lens perspective. These things get a little beat, and get wiped by bike shirts or tennis towels. Simple poly polar grey or brown is a great starting point.
Last edited by drk; 04-19-2010 at 09:30 AM.
I can't answer this!
I send all of my *patients* that want sunglass or sport glasses to the local Petro-Mart or Costco, BJ's, REI, EMS, etc.
Cabelas, LL Bean, Bass Pro Shop, and countless others have plenty of name brand sun and sport glasses to pick from!
Fezz, I know you probably have good reasons, but why do you not carry some? Seems like you're losing the chance at income there.
Oh, we do oakley and maui here. I hate oakley but sell them as a neccessary evil. Since trivex just came out on polar, however, I have been doing a ton of raybans and dropping trivex nupolar lenses in them. Still do a ton of MJs, but as far as I am concerned, the oakley case can just collect dust.
Last edited by gunner05; 04-19-2010 at 10:27 AM.
I do very well with Kaenon, Costa Del Mar and Maui Jim in my practice. I've tried Rudy Project twice over the past 10-12 years and they did not sell well either time. The biggest thing for me is making sure I have a large collection of these brands to choose from and to have something technical about the frame, lens or Rx lens technology that I can mention in the exam room and the opticians can highlight as well. We had a sunglasses trunk show on Friday afternoon and my lead optician said we sold about 7 Kaenon's(3 Rx) in the 3 hours. The Oakley rep was in the office and we probably moved 4-5 Oakley suns as well. Costa Del Mar is a big name where I live so they always do well for us.
I really like Kaenon, though I don't carry it.
idock, why the MJ and Costa? Aren't they essentially the same?
drk, I don't feel the MJ and Costa are even in the same ballpark. Costa's glass lens in non-Rx applications has awesome clarity and we sell a lot of the Wave580 lenses due to our coastal location. Frames are the weakest part of Costa for me in that I think the quality used to be better but they make up for it in having lots of choices on style and color. Costa does not have anything to compete with the MJSport or Titanium line as far as lightweight options go. MJ also has been wonderful to work with on the Rx's. Fastest turnaround of any lab I have worked with and work quality seems great.
I have been planning on bringing the WileyX line in as well. I think they are developing a good following and provide a couple of unique features that the others don't with Z87 and the rubber/vented seal.
I also carry Oakley and Ray Ban as major sunglasses players with each(MJ, Costa, Oakley and Kaenon) having a standalone display case in both offices. I keep a full board of designer brands(Vera Bradley, Coach, Prada, Gucci, etc) as well as higher end(Gold&Wood,MYKITA,OliverPeoples and Paul Smith)
Originally Posted by gunner05
I do carry some, but not many.
I do not carry any of the well know, *Brand* names.
I do not DIG being the showcase and Try-On*O*Rama for these *brands* so someone can waste my precious time picking out a sunny that they like, then go buy online at just about every place under the sun!
Kaenon!
Dude.
Guess what? You've got a fever. And the only prescription is "more sunglasses".
WileyX, Maui Jim, Ray Ban and Nike.
Clinton Tower
The intellect to live free is in short supply
ALT248=°
2020idock, Holey Cow, how many frames especially sunglass frames do you stock? We carry around 700 total and find it hard to handle the inventory and sales reps.
Costa, Kaenon, Nike, Smith, and some of the designer brands as well. we do really well with Costa here. I tried to bring in more sport specific stuff, but there is just not a need for it in my area as much as I would like.
Fezz- I greatly value your opinion on this site daily! Today would be the one time I disagree with you. Every single person that walks into your office is potentally your biggest sale, and best patient to walk through the door. I am sure you do not judge your patients in the same manner when dealing with opthalmic sales. It is not up to us to judge a book by it's cover. And even if you had one person come in a week and try on suns and leave without buying, there is still opportunity there. Just my 2 cent. Please do not take this as a bash on you.
LDO, ABOC, NCLEC
Slow down everyone your moving to fast, frames can't catch you when your moving like that!
I am under the general belief that the market for sunglasses that ODs and Opticians will do best in is the prescription market. I am sure there are many stores out there that do a good number of sales in the non-prescription market, but I feel for most, the RX should be the focus.
There are several reasons why. First, I think that non-RX sunglass wearers have many more places to choose from, ie: clothing stores, sports stores, kiosks, ect. Second, many non-sunglass wearers still wear cheap sunglasses. To them, they wear them for trips, the occasional day outside, or for fashion. Many have several pairs, and at $10 a pair, it makes sense. To them, they do not need polarization or a sports specific use. They need something to block out the sun and provide UV protection.
On the otherhand, RX-Sunglass wears are investing in expensive lenses and thus need a good quality pair. They know the only place to buy them is from an OD or an Optician. So this is your market.
Therefore, who cares about brand names? I can get many good quality sunglasses, put great lenses in them, and sell them for less than a pair of Oakleys. For instance, we carry the Humphrey's line of sunglasses that are inexpensive but good quality. We do tonnes of them a year in prescriptions. We do tonnes with backside AR and many in polarization. The brand name and the more expensive ones, not so much.
People want the look and quality as a priority.
Rudys move in spurts in our office, usually only as part of their "Gear Project" promotion. The last several months the Wiley X frames seem to just fly.
We are getting out off Rudy for the same reasons.
I have been looking into bringing in Kaenon, and bolle as replacements.
Wiley X was good, i dealt with them at a previous office. If we needed a biker style, wiley X would be the first company i call. It was also good for the people that work for companies that will reimburse for safety glasses.
I think Kaenon will give us a great mix of sporty/fashionable, and bolle will cover the people that just want sporty and functionable.
Wiley X is doing somthing right in their advertising department this year. We went from moving none to moving a ton seemingly overnight, and we haven't done a thing to cause it.
I have around 1500 in one office(approx 300-350suns and around 700(approx. 150-175suns) in the other. I decided quite a few years ago that I wanted to be known as the place to go for quality sunglasses in my area and every year it gets better and better.
I know, I know. I like sunglasses better than cowbell so it's all good!!
I have been thinking I need to bring them into one office for the past 9-12 months. You might have helped me make that move!! They are a little lower price point than most of the collections I currently have so I think they would work pretty well. As DrK said, I have a fever!
xx
Last edited by bob66hall; 04-20-2010 at 07:46 PM.
I agree with you on the sport specific side, I don't get much action there. How does the Smith line do in the office with Costa and Kaenon? Smith also has prescription available on their website if I am not mistaken, do you use their lab for Rx? Quality? Retail Price point in comparison with Costa and Kaenon?
At the risk of making an enemy or two, we see ECP's generally landing in one of two camps. Camp One sells plano suns, provides a good retail service to their patients and others, and makes money doing it. Camp Two tries it, and says, "They didn't sell." My view is Camp Two sat back and did not do the selling! They won't sell themselves, folks. The profit is there for those who choose to earn it. Otherwise, you leave it to LUX and others to take this business.
Having now aggravated half the audience, I'll offer to make sure any OptiBoarder that may choose to do business with 7eye is treated very well. Check out their "Active Lifestyle Collection" at www.7eye.com. Retails $79 to $250. And PM me if you wish guidance or special help.
With all due respect, if you invest tens of thousands of dollars into stocking sunwear, and it doesn't sell, I don't think that "did not do the selling" is always the reason for failure. Demographics, location, climate, and other factors all play in to the mix.
At one point, we had an office that stocked well over 800 styles of suns. If it was a popular name, we carried it. I had custom made sunglass displays going down the middle of the office. You couldn't get to the front desk w/out walking by at least 70 different styles, and almost as many to leave the office. We offered spiffs, discounts, packages, and any other incentive we could to sell them. We sponsored road races, donated suns to charities, and were featured on local television stations. We were even listed at "The number one place to buy sunglasses" in our county, in a newspaper competition. That year we sold 47 pairs of sunglasses. What is that...around 4 per month?
Today, we have niche suns that cater to specific activities, but stock only around 30 skus per office. We sell about 50 suns per year.
In the above examples, I'm talking plano. Our Rx sales are very high, but we don't use branded frames, as the quality in most is no different than what we can get for lower end frames. We package them, and that helps with the sale.
If you notice, many of the posts that are moving suns are in Tx, Nc, and Ca. Texas, has the advantage of having a great sunglass climate, as well as one of the best economies in the country. There are more factors than just "not doing the selling..."
Ophthalmic Optician, Society to Advance Opticianry
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