Originally Posted by Tigerclaw
Small local strip mall. No real walk by traffic
Distinstion location
Small local strip mall. No real walk by traffic
Distinstion location
We are a Maui dealer and have heard nothing of the sort.
I'm Andrew Hamm and I approve this message.
With your soon to be opened optical you will be entering the retail realm. Most of your comments the last week or so gives the impression of not being very consumer friendly. You would benefit greatly listening to some of the advice Barry could give you. He's one of the most successful single locations in the country.
Barryhut rules!
The worst thing you can do for a patient is be their buddy. Well, not "the worst", but you know what I mean. I have people drive over 50 miles to see me, people that come to me to shake my hand to thank me for saving their lives, and I know more about customer service than 99% of OD's. That doesn't equate to me handing over the keys to my profession to people like you who think expiration dates aren't enforceable and just blame optometrists because you miss out on a sale every now and then because of the way an OD chooses to do business.
In other words, what the consumer wants is not always what they need. As a doctor I meet needs, not wants, at least not when they are mutually exclusive. If Barry is successful in his own venture, which I hope is the case and have no reason to doubt it, then good for him. He knows his business. I know mine. The problem is where he advocates as though he knows mine better than I do.
I'm glad you have it all figured out. I wish you success in the future.
Being a good doctor is not the same as being a good retailer. Lets face it, the optical/dispensary is retail based. People need a pair of glasses to see. People want fashion. Something that represents them. A look. Glasses have the ability to be want, but you got to cater to what they want. Do you want your dispensary to look like a fine department store, or an outlet center? Nordstom's or Marshall's?
While I agree 54 is not a good number for many offices, I also get that the company wants to maintain a level of decorum in how they are represented as well. At least they don't tell you where to display your product, what products it has to be surrounded by, and what brands you can't sell if you are to carry that line...
FWIW, the information I have been given is that all NEW accounts must open at the minimums. All EST accounts are being steered towards it with rep discretion. However minimums are a must to be on locators, and to get full support.
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
And a greenie to you!!!!
You have more suns than I have total frames going up on my boards! Give us a couple of years.. Then the when you come and visit your Alma Mater, you can stop by and see if we've started to catch up to you. No wonder you were always able to help someone out :)
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
What's a greenie? is that optiboard talk?
Look under your name- you now have 2 green dots!!!
They're given when someone likes your post and clicks on the reputation (star) spot next to "blog this post".
I can make a line of 12 look really nice or a line of 120 look really crappy - 120 pairs of frames staring at you from a board, etc. I am allowing 1 line that is a treasured and exclusive brand from Japan to carry a high number just because I would be the 2nd store in the continental US. I consider it an honor to carry them. Everyone else - start at a reasonable minimum and if it sells we can go deeper. Square footage and shelves don't come free. That's real estate. In grocery stores they fight over it.
Its true-ish. Corporate has spoken, but given the reps some flexibility.
Funny...I was wondering about my Oakley rep doing that to us. Out of the blue, he emailed us and said that we were under the recommended sales requirement to continue to have a rep and that we needed $1000 more by the end of Sept (He emailed us 1 week prior). I had never heard of a sales number figure in order to continue to have an Oakley rep. We sell frames pretty well and believe our numbers are ok. I know certain mfg will have a min number frames per year to continue carrying their line, but never $$$$ amount in order to have a rep. We gave in and placed an order. Were we taken? He also said he would do an Oct ship date...unfortunately that was not the case. Anyone else have this with Oakley? Thoughts?
At least they gave you the heads up at all...I was told in January I came in $300 short for last year and I was de-repped immediately.....
I guess it might be said that I am preemptedly de-repping my own Oakley Acct.
B
You are correct, real estate is money. Its not just about suckering the location to carry it.
My experience, and what I have seen from many of my peers, is that if you only carry 12 frames from a company, unless it is something very niche, it doesn't sell nearly as well as the frames you have devoted more real estate to.
Trying to represent all that is Maui, Oakley, Rayban, LaFont, Barton Pierra, and many other lines, by carrying not even a 10th of their collection doesn't give the product any presence. The can't see the variety of shapes, color, sizes and it either disappears into a sea of other frames, or it sticks out like a sore thumb. Neither is too attractive to the patient, the distributor, or the office. It appears as a more haphazard thought, compared to a well thought out sentence. It is also more difficult to maintain. Do you want to see 20 reps for 25 frame lines? How far will a rep go to help you with your 6 frames? Is it worth your rep's time, money, and costs to visit your account? (You may be luckier than I, but here in the midwest, I have reps that live a good 6 hours away, plus.)
I am not saying you need to carry 50 of a collection or not at all. I am just saying each collection should appear to be purposeful in what it brings to your office, and something you believe is worth being there.
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
Yeah 12 is definitely on the low side unless you are talking sun I think, but I'm not letting the reps dictate my business model. There are too many fish in the sea. It's a paradox that the more presence they have in the market the more they want in your store, and because there is so much saturation, it can make your sales difficult. There is one brand you MUST carry, and we all know what that one is. Everyone else is expendable. I am having to pare down my potential lines just for the reasons you stated, but if I had an expendable line's rep making me jump through extra hoops, I'd cancel my account and have a word with their boss.
Yeah, Altair is pretty awesome.
Oh, I agree. I have people telling me I am crazy that I don't want to carry certain brands.. but what?!? That's the number one selling. Its also the number one frame that can be found anywhere, including 5 places in the mall alone.
On the flip side though, how would you feel if everyone in your area picked up the same special line you just committed to, and now it could be found at any optical?
Do you think there is a valid way for a manufacturer to correct their heading when they decide to switch from the desire to be in every office to being only in the offices that are going to support them (through making money of) the most?
The fashion scene is kind of funny. It isn't like facial tissue where people go to a specific store because they sell Kleenex. Or that the Puffs brand has any air of luxury over Kleenex... But with clothing and accessories it is very much a different animal. People don't brag about having Kate Spade or Coach purses because they are sold at EVERY store that sells accessories in America. Yup, I just walked into Target and bought a Luis Vutton.
Just the same as Tag Hauer watches are only officially retailed through select stores.
When they become mass market driven and located at virtually any store across a spectrum, then the perceived value is driven down.
Its also much harder for these companies to provide a local rep to service all these accounts. When some of these companies EMPLOY, not contract out sales positions, it becomes even harder economically to support a face to face rep when there are 20 accounts in a given 5 mile radius.
Who are going to be the best accounts to be in? Hard to say, but usually the more they have, the more they sell, the more mutually beneficial it is. It may not always hold true, but it does typically.
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
I agree with what you are saying. I want to be the optical that patients drive 45 minutes or more to get to because we are the only ones that carry X brand. With the ubiquitous brands.... it really depends. I only reluctantly agreed to take Lux brands for now, since I will carry better lines than anyone near me, and brand loyalists will come. That said, I tend to view most lines as having their top 20%, their bottom 20%, and the quintiles in between. If I have 1000 frames from 40 lines, that means I probably have 25 of the top 30 sellers in each line, or at least I strive for that. Increasing my line by 5 may get me those other 5 top sellers, but anything beyond that puts me into worse and worse sellers. If Maui Jim wants you to carry 54 unique frames, that means you are carrying their 54th best selling frame. With Maui Jim specifically, maybe I just haven't seen THAT much variety that would make their 54th seller sell instead of my #1 Ray-Ban or maybe even my #30 at about 2/3rds the price. Personally, probably since I don't wear glasses, I lean towards sunglasses and have to catch myself from overloading my inventory with sun. In my store I will run about 12% sun, so starting off with about 75 pairs. Why in the **** would I give 54 of those to Maui Jim? Even if I wanted 150 pairs? Costas are big here, Ray-Ban's are big everywhere, and then there are the luxury brands and other fashion lines... I was considering Maui Jim already with hesitation. Now I know not to worry about them for the time being. I love my pair, but they're not THAT commanding a brand.
Last edited by Tigerclaw; 10-24-2015 at 01:19 PM.
I completely understand. We are getting ready to open, and while I love Maui too, I am not bringing them in because of the commitment as well. I see many frame lines get blasted due to "ridiculous" minimums. I may not agree that the number the demand is worth the name, but I understand where the retailers are coming from. In fact, I embrace it because it will force practices to develop their own story, and not just be a smattering of this and that because that's what I have been told sells.
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
Like most things, it comes down to balance. Balance the desire against wanting to have the top 10 of a hundred lines versus the manufacturer's desire to turn our opticals into free showrooms for their brand and their brand only.
I will say this, if they don't like the number of suns that you carry, have them buy them all back! Then go buy from someone that actually gives a rip
Really? They'll give you your money back when you drop the line???
I thought that was soo 20th century.
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