Frame Inventory

[Lady Nicole]

I am becoming increasingly dismayed at the pattern I have seen in various dispensaries where I have worked. The doctor grumbles about high bills while the optician cries "we need more frames" and the patient browses through boards overflowing with frames (half of which are so old they're ready to be discontinued) and bemoans the fact that "you don't have anything I like" which prompts the optician to dive into the cupboard and dig through the hundreds of hidden "overstock" frames in an attempt to find something impressive but ultimately accomplishing nothig more than reinforcing the idea that none of the frames on display are any good; an idea which is permanently fixed in the patient's mind when the optician offers to let them look through a frame catalog or two to find "something they like" for themselves. Then the optician goes back to the doctor and claims that they're having trouble finding frames for the patients and that we need to order more so there's a better selection.

I've worked as an optician for a few years now and I've seen this cycle repeated more than a few times. Is it like this everywhere? Am I the only person who thinks it could be done differently? :hammer:

[For-Life]

We do carry a stock of frames in the back. The problem is we deal with a company that if you buy six of one model you get a much better price than if you buy one. So you only re-order when the rep comes in. Other than that the problem can be solved with dilligence. I argue having price tags that show the date of purchase and carefully mapping out your market. Then re-order a frame upon sale, and replace the frames on the board with it. Then when the rep comes in exchange the frames that you need to. The rep should not mind, because you are constantly re-ordering the frames that you sell, not just turning his or her bags over.

If you need to get rid of product right away, sell it off. Remember, you have already paid for it, so even if you sell it at $1 you are further ahead than you were the day before (plus you make profit on the lenses).

[drk]

Fixing a broken inventory is like turning around the titanic...it takes years. What is needed is a very concise plan and it needs to be adhered to.

I swear, I'm only an OD, of course, and it took me about eight!!!!!!!! years to learn how to inventory frames correctly.

[Johns]

Lady Nicole,

I thought it was just me !

This past spring, I went down to visit the in-laws in Ocala Fl. Just to kill time and get out of the house for awhile, I drove around and hit 6 or 7 opticals (yeah I know, I need a life!). Anyway, I couldn't believe the old discontinued styles on the boards! I'm not just talking about tired, opticals in down and out neighborhoods...they were nasty at practices that had 3 and 4 OD's names on the building. Just to clarify, I didn't stay only in Ocala, but went to neighboring areas as well. I was very tempted to open a shop there myself - until I called some agents and heard $21-$44 per sq ft. for rent!

I don't know how these places attract their clinetelle, because it certainly isn't with their selection. On the other hand, when we went out to eat, I saw people wearing some really cool styles. I have no clue where they got their glasses, but it wasn't at the places I stopped in at.

[efsamuel]

This gets me becaause just yesterday I was wondering if I was spending too much time on my frame boards. Since we are an MD practice and see some patients every three months or so I like to have fresh things on the board. I do a combonation of some basic to trendy styles are kept on the boads and the "ultra" (there is pretty much a certain look or person who will wear this but everyone weants to try it on frame) is sold off the board or exchanged as trends come and go. DrK care to share your concise plan?

[optigrrl]

efsamuel - we change our displays every month, and people think we are getting in new product everyday!

[efsamuel]

Please do not laugh 'cuz I am sure this sounds like the dummest question but where do you do displays. I need creative places that do not get in the way. The only flat surface is the "ledge" on the frame case/display, the dispensing table (already with the lens center on it), and a cabinet that is kinda out of the way. We do not do window displays as we are not facing a main street and the windows have a tint (dialated patients are like vampires, they hiss when the lights are too bright). Dr does not like "clutter" and exam rooms are a no no. I do not have a check out per say, we have eldery patients and I have them sit, I run the cc and bring the recipt back for them to sign.

Currently I am "freshining up" my boards by re arranging every 5-6 weeks and rotating 10-15% of the frames to get rid of slow movers and pick up some new every 3-4 months. The slow movers have been on the board a few cycles or the ones that are just "too" out there.

[optigrrl]

Oh - we have glass cases with shelves. Only 2 frame boards. When we moved, we wanted more "boutique" look not clinical. Boards are hard to merchandise HOWEVER - there are companies out there who make attachments for frame boards that make little shelves, mirrored displays to feature certain frames and whatnot. Eyedesigns carries some but I think they only fit their products.

For me, I think frame boards do a disservice for displays because all frames look alike from the waiting room on a frame board. With shelves, you can at least change out the POP to get the attention of the patients.

[drk]

Hey, I'm just an O.D., but I like ten collections of 36 styles, with the following "markets" hit:

1.) Sporty eyewear
2.) Rimless/Light
3.) Durable/Tough
4.) French artsy fashion
5.) Italian sexy fashion
6.) Trendy, more expensive
7.) Trendy, less expensive
8.) Big, feminine, jeweled ladies
9.) Price sensitive omni-collection
10.) Kids

That's my plan, FWIW.

[Audiyoda]

Board Management is the one place most offices fail. The practice I'm in now was terrible - I told the doc upon hiring me I was going to make huge changes fast, because if you make them slowly they can take years or they don't take at all.

your first job is to make sure reps are doing their job. Don't rely on them to tell you what's old - you need to have a pile of frames ready to return an hour before your appointment. They should be everything from that rep that has not been sold at least once within the last 6 months. And when you see your rep, don't ask what is their best sellers - ask what is on the company's A and B list - nationwide best sellers.

If your reps aren't willing to do their jobs - return old product, properly maintain boards without asking for more and more space, and sell what the company says are top sellers rather than what the rep likes, re-think working with that rep.

Another thing you can do is purchase through a buying group - then you're not worrying about quantity discounts with one company. I always know I'll get XX% off with company ABC, and YY% off with company XYZ - regardless of quantity.

One thing I did when I cleaned house was to take all those old, discontinued frames and make them apart of a 'Value Line'. A discounted like for people looking to same some $$$ - the line offers no implied warranties (frame or lenses) and it's a WYSIWYG line - no special orders.

I still have a backstock - but it's dwindling. The doc wasn't too happy with his frame bills until he started to hear from patients on how happy there were with the frame selection. I keep track of what's selling and what's not - I pay attention to what reps are doing and I'm not doing business with the reps that cared more about their commissions/quotas than taking care of this office.

For what it's worth, we have our frames set up in the following:
Womens traditional
Womens trendy
Upscale Collections
Unisex
Mens traditional
Mens trendy
Kids
Sports Specific
Sunwear

[Joann Raytar]

We also Rx almost all of our frames since they are all delivered overnight by messenger. The only thing we have in understock are the frames we use for our $99 complete packages; those we buy in counts of ten. Our reps come in to rotate stock at least once a season or when a new product rolls out.

[rep]

That I would like to toss out.

Why not consider the following

Average Dispensary with one Doc
Average number of frames sold per day 4
Average number of frames sold per week 20
Average number of frames sold per month 86
Average number of frames needed with 2 times inventory turn 516

50% of your patients want a style change

10% will want a Luxury Designer Frame >$200 -51 Frames
15% will want a Designer Fashion Frame $150-$199 -77 Frames
25% will want a Fashion B leval Brand $100-$149 129 Frames

50% of your patients don't want a style change
25% will be interested in flex product and Sill drill rimless >$200-129 Frames
15% will be interested in Core Traditional Men's and Womens $125-$199 - 77 Frames
10% will be Kids, Sports Glasses $75-$124-51 Frames

If you work in a metropolitan area move the percentages higher in the fashion sectiion

If you work in a rural area move the percentages higher in the traditional areas.

This way you make the margins you need no matter if they want the latest in syle or really like the tratitional looks and sizes.

Tell me where I have gone wrong

Also
Tell me how you determine a Women trendy from and Upscale??????

And what is an Itallian Sexy Fashion vs A French Artsy Fashion.

Inquiring minds want to know.

Rep

[drk]

If you have to ask what "french artsy fashion" is, rep, well, I'm sorry, I can't help you...:D

If you don't know "Italian sexy" working for Luxborggica, then you're hopeless.

They're discrete fashion styles that resonate with my market. They might be "rugged, tractor fashion", "nursing home chic", or "rave/clubber style" in your market.

You have to pick looks that you want to "do", and that your market wants to "do".

A problem with doing the demographic breakdown the way you do it is this:
While only XX% wants higher priced fashion frames, to sell it right, you need a certain, probably higher number, not a market-proportioned segment of your collection.

How many core styles do you need to represent? Do you want to promote "Core" product? Heck no. Get a small collection that spins like crazy. "Cories" aren't fashion-conscious by definition.

But if you have only 5% of your frames high-end to cater to your 5% high-end customer, you'll never represent the lines the way a high-ender expects in order to have a high-end experience. DUH.

My advice for frame buyers: buy mostly what YOU want to sell, not just what the public wants. Just be sure you know what you're doing. Your job is frame fashion consultant, not frame toady. Frame toadies are available everywhere.

[Lady Nicole]

We also Rx almost all of our frames since they are all delivered overnight by messenger. The only thing we have in understock are the frames we use for our $99 complete packages; those we buy in counts of ten. Our reps come in to rotate stock at least once a season or when a new product rolls out.

So are you re-ordering stock every day? Every week? How do you keep from having empty spaces on the board?

[Johns]

So are you re-ordering stock every day? Every week? How do you keep from having empty spaces on the board?

For the most part, I only get frame bills in Oct. (after the Vegas show), and in April (after NY). It saves time, shipping, and you get better discounts. Again though, like DRK said, "You'd better know what you're doing..."

[rep]

If you have to ask what "french artsy fashion" is, rep, well, I'm sorry, I can't help you...:D

If you don't know "Italian sexy" working for Luxborggica, then you're hopeless.

They're discrete fashion styles that resonate with my market. They might be "rugged, tractor fashion", "nursing home chic", or "rave/clubber style" in your market.

You have to pick looks that you want to "do", and that your market wants to "do".

A problem with doing the demographic breakdown the way you do it is this:
While only XX% wants higher priced fashion frames, to sell it right, you need a certain, probably higher number, not a market-proportioned segment of your collection.

How many core styles do you need to represent? Do you want to promote "Core" product? Heck no. Get a small collection that spins like crazy. "Cories" aren't fashion-conscious by definition.

But if you have only 5% of your frames high-end to cater to your 5% high-end customer, you'll never represent the lines the way a high-ender expects in order to have a high-end experience. DUH.

My advice for frame buyers: buy mostly what YOU want to sell, not just what the public wants. Just be sure you know what you're doing. Your job is frame fashion consultant, not frame toady. Frame toadies are available everywhere.

The problem with picking the "looks you want to do" is that it may have absolutely no correlation with what consumers want and have been looking for. The reason I picked out those two categories(french artsy - and itallian sexy) is that you may have been influenced by the " rep speak" of specific frame vendors.

Take this for example. " Doc you just have to have the frenchy artzy fashion frames because this is a category you need in your dispensary." ( Probably LLG)

In fact that vendor does not have a designer name so they have to use categories in order sell their frames rather than a name that the public will recoginze. Easy to do - all you do is convince the account that they are missing this all important category and bingo new line in the dispensary.

I was basing my porportional distribution on the porpotional sales in the average dispensary. It has to be adjusted for each dispensary based on their actual sales not by what they think they sell. This is often quite different numbers.

I would challenge your assessment about core. The majority of frame sales in the average dispensary are core product (based on price and fashion) There are a ton on core brands ( not fashion) that are targeting that core market from almost every vendor.

I agree totally about needing enough of the high units in each desigher to represent the line in the right way. What I disagree with you on is how many designers you need, and which designers should fit in each category. You really don't need more than one or two luxury lines in a dispensary with only one doc if you are not in a major metropolitan market. So 50 pieces should be about right.

One of the biggest marketing errors I see is placing and A designer along side of a B or C leval designer. The public is totally confused by this. It would never ever happen in a fine department store. They know the difference and yet I feel that most optical personnel don't have a clue. Categories are so much easier for most of them to grasp.

Sorry you feel you have to take pot shots at my company. I was just trying to give some input to those on optiboard who may not have things worked out as well as you do in your dispensary. You seem totally satisfied with your sales and methodology so I wouldn't change a thing.

Things have changed a lot in frame buying and considering alternative buying viewpoints seems reasonable for everyone else.

Rep

[drk]

Rep, man, actually I love you from the off-topic section, so no malice here.

I am in a major metropolitan market.

I don't think we disagree that much.

French artsy = Lafont or Mikli. I'm sure there are others, but there IS a "french, eyewear as art" thing going on with the french. It was huge in the 90's, when fashion eyewear was exploding. It's sort of the "weird but cool" look. Not for very many people in this top 20 city, but for a few, though.

Italian sexy = Prada, Gucci (when they can), Gianfranco Ferre, stuff like that. That stuff is eaten up by the urbanites, especially (I belive) east-coasters in NY, Philly, etc, and very likely the "urban" market segments. It's typically a little more dark and sleek and serious, with a tendency towards luxurious. Just my opinion. It's a "look" that a large proportion of people want.

I think that you can really narrow down what styles are available by categorizing them. I know Luxottica does a really good job of this, very good job of this, so I know you understand.

The truth is, of course, that frames are about image, at least conceptually. (Ultimately, it's about which frame flatters your mug, though.)

If you're a "Johns" or a "Jedi", you will know your market better than a sales rep. But I agree, 85% of opticals would benefit by letting a frame rep teach them what to do. I'm not talking about those opticals, however.

We don't really disagree (except on core: Q: For cryin out loud, how much core do you need? A: Just enough to satisfy them when they don't buy your better product!)

[Christosfer]

THings sound like they may be getting a little hot in here.
Frame mgmt is one of my biggest challenges right now, I came into a practice that kept rotating in whatever sold, just reorder that old dinosaur. It was one of the worst frame selections I have ever seen.
I am turning it around, but you are all right when you say it takes time.

A couple things that I am trying to do. First of all I want to distinguish myself from wallymart, and I want a reputation in the area as a place for fashion.
One thing that I like to do that I think every one does, order that really funky frame in the collection to draw attention. Then when I sell it I move on to a new "funky" frame. I sell my clients a territory. Prodesign for example, I will order a couple of the really loud ones which I think I can move. You get someone in the bank down the street wearing a neon blue frame that goes with their piercings and hair dye job! Money!! Okay, I am being sarcastic, but it's true.

I think understanding your market is important, we can also influence the market. Buying what we like to sell is also a very good plan, nothing sells better than excitement if you ask me. If the Opticians are excited about new product then they will be contagious. Sell what you know, and know what you sell.

I don't like loading up the reps with returns when they come in either, doing even exchanges is a good way to tell them that you think their time is not valuable if you ask me. I atleast try to order a half dozen frames more than I return, otherwise I feel like I am slapping them in the face. That is not the case however if they have not been in to the clinic in a year.

P.S. Has Neostyle made a new frame since the 90's?
Anyone want a couple real nice "Sexy German" frames?
Macht Nicht...das ist alles.

[Johns]

THings sound like they may be getting a little hot in here.
.

Actually things have really cooled off, as this thread is over a year old.:D

That's not to say that this isn't a timeless topic though. In fact, there is a great discussion regarding inventory going on over in the "Eyecare Profesionals" forum. You have to pay a little, but it's worth both pennies!

Hope to see you over there.:cheers: