Rate my frame collection.

[drk]

Be mean. Be nasty. Be honest.

Here's what we sell for women:

Coach
Tory Burch
Prodesign
Silhouette
Legre
Liz Claiborne
Vogue


We have a smattering of frames from other lines (DVF, Ralph Lauren, Ted Baker, D&G, Armani, JNY, Adensco. (I hate smatterings; that means I've tried something that's failed.)

Here's my situation:
1. I'm unwilling to do the leg work to ferret out "fresh" brands at Vision Expos, for various reasons.
2. I'm not trying to be unique. People see me to burn their vision benefits, mainly. We're "Dr's-officey".
3. I've given up my fight against boycotting <insert name here>.
4. I like frame companies that come into my office. I'll pay for that service.
5. Our clientele is "fashion conscious" but not "edgy". No yellow frames needed. But turquoise will sell.

So...do me a favor. Give it to me straight. Rate my frame collection.

[Uilleann]

Are the managed care lemmings coming to see you looking for "just what my 'insurance' covers"? There are a number of other vendors I could suggest, but it depends on what you think might move the best for the people with the fists full of cash. ;) Is there a particular price point you're aiming for? (You can PM for that of course)

[drk]

Thanks for asking.

No, most people want good glasses, meaning $200-300 retail for the most part.

[mervinek]

I would look into Clear vision. They have a variety that will meet different ages and styles. Our rep "bought" board space by giving us 40% off our order and taking the number of frames that we agreed upon out and donating them. For example, we gave him 20 of our cheap frames (book cost around $xx or so... discontinued and ugly frames we couldn't move) and he took them to donate and gave us 40% off our new order which was mostly BCBG, Ellen Tracy frames that were book cost around $xx ish. It was a win win. We do very well with their frames. Not sure if your local rep can do that, but it's worth looking into it. We are in Central PA and did it about 5 years ago.

[cturtle77]

My absolute favorite brand is Prodesign. I wish we carried them. And I love Silhouettes almost as much. To me Coach is boring, but the masses love them.

Kate Spade is a another great designer with a lot more variety that is comparable to Coach. Lilly Pulitzer is another fun designer who works well for those petite faces as well.

You seem pretty well rounded as it is.

[jefe]

Legre's frames look nice, but I've stopped buying new ones due to quality issues. Prodesign is good. Liz Claiborne seems to have popular styles. Silhouette is overpriced, but people like them. Vogue, Tory Burch and Coach probably sell well but are boring.

[drk]

I appreciate it. Expected worse.

[Robert Martellaro]

My absolute favorite brand is Prodesign. I wish we carried them. And I love Silhouettes almost as much.

My wife wears Prodesign, and I wear Silhouette. If I had to narrow my selection down to two vendors, and I might do that before I have to check out, those would be the two.

I appreciate it. Expected worse.

It's still early.

[AngeHamm]

Prodesign and Silhouette are two of my favorites, and Legre is my favorite line at that price point. Coach is fine, Tory Burch is a yawn. I would replace one of those with Kate Spade, which is the best ladies' line I've ever seen.

[DanLiv]

If you're not trying to reinvent the wheel and want what sells, I'd concentrate more with Lux. Drop Liz and Legre and save yourself from two more vendors, pick up some more Lux lines to replace, and get better pricing and rebates by concentrating more business with Lux. Liz and Legre don't have anything special that Lux doesn't for the same price.


I think one only needs a relationship with one of the big vendors (Lux, Safilo, Marchon, a few others) as they all cover the same field of style and price. You're just doubling or tripling up on similar product and seeing more reps when one company can do it all, and they all have extra incentives for concentrating more business with them. These are your bread-and-butter frame sales, and like bread and butter should just be simple and easy staples, taking neither too much time or money. I chose Safilo for all mid mid-range (50% of all my frame sales are with them), SD Eyes (formerly Silver Dollar) for all my base product (30% of sales). I have more vendors for my upper end (OVVO, Tom Davies, STATE, Silhouette, Seraphin), more than I should for only 20% of sales but that's where all the fun stuff is. Both Safilo and SD Eyes have good rebate and extra discount programs for the volume I give them, and between the two I have only 5 reps to take care of 80% of my product.


Prodesign and Silhouette are both excellent and fill a void in Lux offerings.

[AngeHamm]

If you're not trying to reinvent the wheel and want what sells, I'd concentrate more with Lux. Drop Liz and Legre and save yourself from two more vendors, pick up some more Lux lines to replace, and get better pricing and rebates by concentrating more business with Lux. Liz and Legre don't have anything special that Lux doesn't for the same price.

I think one only needs a relationship with one of the big vendors (Lux, Safilo, Marchon, a few others) as they all cover the same field of style and price. You're just doubling or tripling up on similar product and seeing more reps when one company can do it all, and they all have extra incentives for concentrating more business with them. These are your bread-and-butter frame sales, and like bread and butter should just be simple and easy staples, taking neither too much time or money. I chose Safilo for all mid mid-range (50% of all my frame sales are with them), SD Eyes (formerly Silver Dollar) for all my base product (30% of sales). I have more vendors for my upper end (OVVO, Tom Davies, STATE, Silhouette, Seraphin), more than I should for only 20% of sales but that's where all the fun stuff is. Both Safilo and SD Eyes have good rebate and extra discount programs for the volume I give them, and between the two I have only 5 reps to take care of 80% of my product.

Prodesign and Silhouette are both excellent and fill a void in Lux offerings.

I agree with the basic concept of this, but have to differ on two points:

1) I don't know anyone who has frames as funky as Legre for a comparable price point. Certainly no one from Luxottica.

2) Rather than lose Liz Claiborne for more Lux lines, I'd lose both Lux lines in favor of more Safilo. You'll get better discounts and, in my experience, MUCH better rep support from Safilo than from Luxottica. I'm lucky if I hear from my Lux reps once a year, and that yearly call is usually just to say "You need to order 24 frames from Designer XXXXX by the end of the year to keep the line."

[gaspoweredrobot]

Safilo's major sticking point is warranties and resupplying, we've had a few frame order bottlenecks this year alone. To be fair though, the Kate Spade collection is all over the place now, so it's understandable to a point.

Liu Jo is a nice, mid-price line from Marchon that does a good job of aping Legre's large sizes and fun colorways, but it depends on whether you want to get in bed with Marchon on anything. Judging from your current line-up, probably not. Pricing-wise it's comparable to Ray-Ban, Lacoste, or a little bit south of Tory Burch and Coach if you prefer.

[optilady1]

I say go a little backwards: which Manufacturers are easier to work with, then what do they have that it good for your office. Clear vision couldn't be easier to deal with along with Marchon- no hoop jumping for warranties. I don't want to have to get an RA to return something. Both have multiple frame lines that are low to mid price wise that pt's like.

I love the independents but many are also difficult to deal with for warranties or returns. If I had to pick only one, I really like Etnia because of the huge amount of mens/womens/and childrens styles, and they do come in very wearable ones. also, you can order a hinge replacement that is doable in house by even the most average optician.

[AngeHamm]

Liu Jo is a nice, mid-price line from Marchon that does a good job of aping Legre's large sizes and fun colorways, but it depends on whether you want to get in bed with Marchon on anything. Judging from your current line-up, probably not. Pricing-wise it's comparable to Ray-Ban, Lacoste, or a little bit south of Tory Burch and Coach if you prefer.

I'd never looked at Liu Jo until you just mentioned it. Great-looking frames! I would argue that they are, however, quite a bit more feminine than Legre, which has dozens of really sharp men's styles.

[MissMolly]

Prodesign and Silhouette are solid lines for sure! I love ProDesign for covering the metals niche, and they do it so well-- especially for petites and small bridges, which can be such difficult fits. I really like Vogue for an economy line, they are lightweight, comfortable, come in a lot of nice colors and can appeal to younger or older depending on how you buy. We carry it and have some of each. Very PAL friendly.


Tory Burch--- not a fan! I carried that line briefly and could not get rid of it fast enough. I switched it out for more Burberry, which if you want to cater to those who are interested in a label, I think that Burberry is much better--- and they have some good mens options as well as womens. I found TB to be pretty poor quality for such a name; which is kind of embarrassing. Plus they are heavy.


Also, I prefer Tiffany & Co. or even Dolce&Gabbana over Coach, personally. But I get it if it sells.


If you have people who are willing to spend 2 to 3 on frames--- are you in an area that would appreciate Oliver Peoples? It would be a little over 3 retail for most of their models. I think Oliver Peoples would work anywhere, but sometimes people are only willing to pay a little more if they recognize a name. I love OVP because they are excellent quality, can be very classic to retro/throwback to a signature piece. They also have some very good options for petites (Luv, Ashton, Follies for women Denison for men/unisex) and for wide fits (JonJon in 56eye, Zuko in a 54-- maybe 56). A lot of great unisex styles-- Fairmont (comes in 3 sizes), Maslon. They have some great modified round shapes with keyhole bridges that are easier to wear as round becomes more accepted. They will also put custom nose pads on any plastic frame at the factory as an add-on. OVP is great for people who DON'T want branding on their frames. Very tailored. And our rep is fantastic, even tracking down frames as needed if there is a backorder/discontinuation. Plus in 3 years, I have yet to process one warranty job due to breakage. We do OVP and Paul Smith (the more modern/brighter colors and more playful shapes line from OVP).


As for independents, we have been loving Andy Wolf--- I almost don't even want to talk about it, as I feel like it's our best kept secret!!

[CCGREEN]

Tough request there drk.
As we all should know, what moves in your market will grow moss in mine. But its still interesting to see how many people, looking to be helpful, make suggestions without knowing your market.

[AngeHamm]

Tough request there drk.
As we all should know, what moves in your market will grow moss in mine. But its still interesting to see how many people, looking to be helpful, make suggestions without knowing your market.

I am in a practice that is literally one parking lot up the hill from one where I worked just two years ago, and the frames that move here are radically different from the frames that moved there. It's bizarre and almost completely unpredictable.

[Uilleann]

I can't suggest strongly enough completely jettisoning the likes of Lux, Safilo, Marchon, etc. Prodesign is as solid as they come. For slightly less cost, but still very fashionable, Europa offers some great design and reasonable cost across many lines. We recently brought in State Optical as well (all zyls, slightly higher end "luxury" line, hand made in Chicago, USA of all places) who are also being distributed through Europa. Might be worth a look. Shwood out of Portland is another we've had some solid success with. As for the rep situation, they can easily make or break a vendor line for an office. When they're good, they're great! But more and more often, we're seeing them completely flake out, not service our account regularly (if at ALL), and get more persnickity about exchanges/warranty issues & returns. We actually have far less trouble with the independents than we do any the giant gorillas. YMMV as always...

[gaspoweredrobot]

Tough request there drk.
As we all should know, what moves in your market will grow moss in mine. But its still interesting to see how many people, looking to be helpful, make suggestions without knowing your market.

Well, if a brand is good, a brand is good. Build quality and service from the reps/company has nothing to do with local markets. It's up to drk to take our suggestions, look at the lines, see what works for that practice and market, etc. We're both talking in tautologies here, of course, but no need to be cautious about suggesting frame lines!

[gaspoweredrobot]

I am in a practice that is literally one parking lot up the hill from one where I worked just two years ago, and the frames that move here are radically different from the frames that moved there. It's bizarre and almost completely unpredictable.

Did you also overhaul your showroom, practice interior, etc? Setting the tone of your showroom can often influence what "environment" the patient finds themselves in, and has some sway on their choices. You would expect different types of frames to sell in places that look like Lenscrafters as opposed to a place that looks like a ritzy lounge or something like that, you know?

This is good advice for anyone who's planning to do any facelifts, rebranding, or even swapping out entire lines/vendors -- make the product match the environment. Would you be happy with Williams-Sonoma pricing on cookware with a Wal-Mart interior? Probably not.

[Quince]

[QUOTE=MissMolly;533973

Also, I prefer Tiffany & Co. or even Dolce&Gabbana over Coach, personally. But I get it if it sells.

[/QUOTE]


Tiffany is eye catching and pretty, but the quality leaves much to be desired. We have all three lines and in my experience more people ask for Coach specifically and it is great for the petites. D&G has too much of a price range for no range in the quality (especially the prints on the plastics... ew).

Vogue is great for its price bracket and it looks like you have the higher end covered. If you are wanting to look around, I've always thought that Eastern States Eyewear is great for being well rounded. Great men's and women's with a range of low to high end options. Always wonderful service and product.

[Quince]

As for independents, we have been loving Andy Wolf--- I almost don't even want to talk about it, as I feel like it's our best kept secret!!

Ooh lala! Just looked these up

Looks like a local competitor has them so I might try and snoop- just a little.

[drk]

Prodesign and Silhouette are solid lines for sure! I love ProDesign for covering the metals niche, and they do it so well-- especially for petites and small bridges, which can be such difficult fits. I really like Vogue for an economy line, they are lightweight, comfortable, come in a lot of nice colors and can appeal to younger or older depending on how you buy. We carry it and have some of each. Very PAL friendly.


Tory Burch--- not a fan! I carried that line briefly and could not get rid of it fast enough. I switched it out for more Burberry, which if you want to cater to those who are interested in a label, I think that Burberry is much better--- and they have some good mens options as well as womens. I found TB to be pretty poor quality for such a name; which is kind of embarrassing. Plus they are heavy.


Also, I prefer Tiffany & Co. or even Dolce&Gabbana over Coach, personally. But I get it if it sells.


If you have people who are willing to spend 2 to 3 on frames--- are you in an area that would appreciate Oliver Peoples? It would be a little over 3 retail for most of their models. I think Oliver Peoples would work anywhere, but sometimes people are only willing to pay a little more if they recognize a name. I love OVP because they are excellent quality, can be very classic to retro/throwback to a signature piece. They also have some very good options for petites (Luv, Ashton, Follies for women Denison for men/unisex) and for wide fits (JonJon in 56eye, Zuko in a 54-- maybe 56). A lot of great unisex styles-- Fairmont (comes in 3 sizes), Maslon. They have some great modified round shapes with keyhole bridges that are easier to wear as round becomes more accepted. They will also put custom nose pads on any plastic frame at the factory as an add-on. OVP is great for people who DON'T want branding on their frames. Very tailored. And our rep is fantastic, even tracking down frames as needed if there is a backorder/discontinuation. Plus in 3 years, I have yet to process one warranty job due to breakage. We do OVP and Paul Smith (the more modern/brighter colors and more playful shapes line from OVP).


As for independents, we have been loving Andy Wolf--- I almost don't even want to talk about it, as I feel like it's our best kept secret!!

Great post. Good ideas.

[drk]

Thanks to all the great posts.

[LENNY]

Tiffany, DG, and lower Polo and Armani lines. you get a good bang for the buck!