What line is too upscale for discount market?

[paw]

Regarding the thread about RayBan now available at Target...there seems to be some disgust that RayBan would be available there.

Which leads me to wonder, what frame lines would refuse to allow their frames to be sold by a mass merchandiser or discount place? Or does the lure of high volume sales corrupt any thought of exclusivity?

[Ray Parent]

Wouldn't Armani be a prime example of this? Admittedly it took him a few years to come to this conclusion, but the end results are the same

[chip anderson]

Cartier

[varmint]

Tura

[Joann Raytar]

EyeTailor & Billy Brock ;)

[fletch]

If there is a big enough demand for a product it will find it's way into chains.

Ray You mentioned Armani! What do you mean! I have heard they are selling it to just about anyone that will pay for it! As far as I can tell there in no approval process. You just have to buy 24 units and you in!

[Ray Parent]

Well, it seemed the move to pull the license from Luxottica was aimed at narrowing the number of locations carrying the product. Lencrafters sold a huge amount of Armani, easily the most frequently sold frames for the higher end stock at the stores I worked at. (I spent a bit over 5 years with the company working in one of the highest volume locations as well as in one of the lowest volume established locations in the Los Angeles area.)

Now I could be wrong, but I can't see Armani popping up in Target, Sears, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco etc. Right now, Armani is easily the most recognizable line that I see, but that is mainly due to Luxottica and its advertising. A year from now, who knows? I probably visit 40 or so dispensing locations a month and have done so for the last 19 months. I know some of these locations have no intention of replacing the Armani stock they currently have while others look forward to getting it from Safilo. The idea of Armani wanting to increase volume by pulling the license from Lux just doesn't seem right to me. As it stands, Eyemed keeps growing, they just picked up a significant portion of the Southern California market, so I know there will be more Eyemed providers shortly.

[fletch]

Ray

I agree that Armani will not show up in places like target? However Safilo does do business with Walmart! I don't think those places will carry it! But What about Pearle Vision and other local chains! Plus Luxottica is taking back thousands of Armaini each week. I would imagine they will send all that product to Lenscrafters. That should keep then full of Armani's for 2 or three years! I think one of Safilo's big mistakes was not buying up all the Armani's from Lux.

Safilo just anounced they expect to sell 60% more than they thought they would! That is about 150 million. Without selling to chains they could never do it.

[Ray Parent]

For the purpose of this discussion, what happens to the remaining stock of Armani in Lux's inventory is a moot point. I think they will be more concerned will developing their replacement lines than anything else. They don't need to be as agressive to reduce the stock, the name as well as the inevitable price cuts will take care of that. I'm sure anything that they get stuck with in the end will be shifted into Gift of Sight for a huge tax write off.

I have to admit, I really am at a loss discussing chains outside of my region. Pearle Vision is all but non-exsistent in my area, I have only 1 in my list of about 1500 providers that I visit. Cole as a whole has plenty of locations, but that's mainly Sears, JC Penny, and Target and those are hardly places people shop for higher-end eyewear. Vista died out last December.

Sterling and For Eyes have limited presence in California. Upon further research looks like Sterling is taking over some of the old Vista locations. So I'll make a point of stopping into a Sterling soon to check them out.

Guess I need to put a qualifier on my statements. My opinions are based off my work in the Southern California market, mainly Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The three main chains in California are Lenscrafters, Cole and Wal-Mart, Lenscrafters situation is pretty clear and Armani seems to be a bit too high-end for the majority of Cole and Wal-Mart shoppers.

[Susan Henault]

I appreciate the talk about frames and sunglass lines, but what about spectacle and contact lenses? I had a doctor tell me a few months ago that he gave one of his patients a $50 refund, because she came back to him with a quote from a Walmart store that said she could have gotten 'no-line' bifocals in Transitions, for $50 less than what he charged her. He was so befuddled, he wrote her a check for the difference -- without ever asking if they were comparing apples to apples. She very likely would have paid more (and waited longer) for a special order, brand name (high end) progressive in Transitions from Walmart!

Chains have their place and do very well at what they do best: mass merchandise. Based on their massive buying power, they offer one product on the menu for $29, $59 or $89. Is one product really going to completely meet the needs and solve the visual problems of each patient? Not likely. I really believe that independents need to set themselves apart by solving visual problems, not just filling prescriptions.

[Johns]

Susan:

Anyone that would be "befuddled" by a patient questioning his/her prices, deserves to lose $50. I agree w/ you...it's not the same fruit.

[PAkev]

One thing to remember is the fact that every frame will someday be discontinued. The question is what graveyard will they end up at as their final resting place?

While some manufacturers make a conscious effort to maintain the integrity of their product line others find a way to squeeze every penny out of their existing "phaseout" or "closeout" inventory.

I had Fendi, Nike, and Guess removed from my boards because a SAM'S club up the road was selling closeout suwear styles at a prices less than what I paid for my current inventory. I brought this to the attention of my rep who said since they were closeouts there was nothing he could do. Fine, but once I sold through their inventory I replaced my Marchon and Viva designer lines with Silhouette and Tura.

Kevin

[Vegas Eyes]

Best of both worlds?

Our location and inventory is undoubtedly upscale.
Our customer on the other hand runs the gamut ! We
get clients from all over the country as well as the world.
Many people understand higher end merchandise but some
just don't get IT ! For this reason we have in our location
a selection of close out frames that we deeply discount.
Prices on this selection are anywhere from $99.00 to $150.00
for premium (now discontinued) product. It feels good to
introduce a customer to better quality product that they would not normally even try on because of price. Hopefully next time
they visit us they'll rember how much they enjoyed those
glasses and will be apt to pay regular price for the "current"
styles available in that collection. The bottom line:
Don't alienate anyone. You know what your customer wants.
Make an effort to shake things up a bit. Don't knock it till you
try it!


:D

[varmint]

I heard Vegas Eyes is having a huge pig roast & party at the shop for all optiboard members during expo!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D :cheers:

[AZeller]

apples and apples

While awaiting my CA OD license, I'm working for a local OD. A customer got her new, expensive Panamics with all the bells and whistles, high end frame, amazing customer service, etc. Two days later she called saying, "My coworkers are making fun of me; they never heard of paying $$$ for a pair of glasses. Costco quoted me $." My suggested reply to the doc: "Does she want to drive a Hyundai, or a Mercedes?"