Kids know a lot about eyeglasses. The know how to break them, hide them, eat them, flush them, bury them, run them over with the lawn mower, and feed them to the dog. The challenge is to see that they wear them. And although few warranties will promise a Rover-resistant temple, the right combination of child and eyewear can result in an optically happy and enduring pair.

Finding that combination is a matter of choice--in quality, style, and price--all offered in an inventory mix that appeals to both child and parent.

The first step in creating a successful children's mix is to remember the old adage, "Kids are people, too." Like adults, they want their new glasses to look good and to feel good. "Kids have a sense of what they like and what they want to look like," says Arizona optician Maureen Ulmer, owner of See Saws I, II, and III and the two-location Eye Magination. "If children like what they're wearing, they'll keep wearing it."

But kids don't pay for their glasses, parents do. And most parents want glasses that are not only good-looking but safe, durable, and worth the price. "Although the child often has the final say," notes Anna Lam, director of merchandising for Manhattan-based Cohen's Optical, "parents frequently drive the decision."

And part of that decision is based on price. "Cost is always an issue when you're dealing with kids," says Sharon Gouge, pediatric optician at Little Lenses, the optical dispensary at the Northwest Eye Clinic in Minneapolis. Parental price concerns typically center around the threat of breakage, loss, and limited wearing time. And yet, "75 percent of parents want a good quality frame for their children," says pediatric optician Sharon Everette, owner of Children's Carousel of Eyewear in Orlando, Fla.

Optician Clay Cotten, a manager at 1st Eye Care, a 20-location outlet in Texas, agrees: "Parents want their child to be happy because that leads to the child being more likely to wear the glasses."

THE QUALITY FACTOR
The right mix, then, must include a selection of children's frames with multiple appeal. According to optical buyers, this appeal begins with quality, the first ingredient they look for in children's eyewear--and typically the first characteristic a parent looks for as well.

This quality is demonstrated in the frame's durability, fit, and function. All three of these elements are epitomized in what many buyers consider the number one design detail in a child's frame: spring hinges.

"Ninety-nine percent of our children's frames have spring hinges," says Bill Franz, co-owner with his brother Bob Franz, of Dallas Youth Optical, a three-location optical in the Dallas area. "It's the best selling feature in a child's frame." LensCrafters offers spring hinges at all price points, reports Paula Donnelly, a regional director of frame management. "Children have a tendency to be more active," she says, "and we feel a spring hinge is a very important attribute."

Sturdy hinges such as solid barrel designs and flexible ones with good springs are essential in a frame that will suffer the abuses of a young wearer. The hinges should also be safe, designed to prevent pinched fingers.

Buyers also look for durability in the construction of a frame, including the number and strength of solder points and the number of screws. Other structural elements--bridge sizes, nose pads, and temple lengths--determine proper fit, a key ingredient in providing children the comfort that will keep them wearing their glasses. This is particularly important for younger children and infants who have special fitting requirements, such as small bridge areas. Like hinges, nosepads should be safe, constructed so they can't be pulled off to reveal sharp points.

MATERIAL KIDS
Frame material also affects a buyer's decision. Metal frames generally make up the larger part of children's frame inventories, maintaining their popularity over plastic. Memory metals are a favorite among parents and kids, and a best seller for many dispensers. "Kids love the way the metal twists and turns," says Cotten, "and parents feel they won't have to keep coming in to have their child's glasses adjusted."

Titanium frames, although limited in the number of children's styles available, represent a small but important part of the metal frame selection. In addition to offering a lightweight choice, especially when paired with high prescription lenses, titanium often services children with skin allergies as well.

Buyers stress, however, that only pure titanium is acceptable. The color finish on metal frames also affects a buyer's decision. "It's important to make sure the application will hold up under the roughness and sweating of an active child," says Cotten.

STYLIN' LOOKS
Although quality may be first on a dispenser's or parent's mind, style is usually what attracts the kids. "Cosmetics are very important," says Ulmer, "especially if it's a first pair."

And like adults, each kid is different. "Some like funky colors and trendy shapes," says Gouge, "and others are very conservative." 

And buyers consider these varying attitudes when they select their inventories.

Younger children often respond to color and are more likely to choose purples, lavenders, and pinks, which are popular with girls, or navies and reds, favorites with the boys. Older children prefer more subtle colors such as browns and tortoises, which are becoming popular in zyls. And some colors appeal to all ages. "Black frames are very big this year," says Ulmer. "Kids are always asking for them."

Silver, matte and antiqued, is also a favorite. "Kids are not looking for brights," observes optician Julie Simmons, office manager at Physicians Optical, a pediatric optical shop in Columbus, Ohio. "Parents, too, want more muted, neutral shades such as gold or cranberry."

Donnelly adds that "parents are willing to go out a bit on color for younger children, but the style preference for 8-to-12 year old children is more neutral."

In fact, the style preferences of older children often reflect what's hot in the adult marketplace. The most popular shape among kids remains the oval, but geometrics, rectangles, and even rimless are also popular choices. "We look at the adult trends because we see them filter down to the kids," says Franz. And we follow what's going on in Europe, too." Trendier kid shapes, which may account for 10 percent of inventory, include triangles, octagons, and diamonds.

For dispensers, however, shape is more important than fashion. Ulmer notes that some "adult knock-offs may not go with children's needs, especially in high plus or minus prescriptions." In addition, the physiology of a child's face often requires a shape that will not dig into pudgy cheeks. As a result, buyers try to create a blend of shapes, including in their inventories "frames on hand to accommodate whatever we need," says Gouge.

LICENSING APPEAL
Most children's inventories also include licensed products. Buyers vary in their approach, some carrying as much as 100 percent of their inventory in recognizable children's brands and others limiting the selection to 25 percent. Licensed character frames, offering what Lam calls "a more playful attitude in style," appeal to younger children, who relate to characters they recognize from television and movies. Older children, however, are more attracted by a designer name, especially one whose clothing also appeals to that age group.

The value of a licensed product to parents is more one of experience than marketing. "Parents generally do not walk in looking for a brand name," says Donnelly, "but if they recognize a brand they've had a good experience with, that reinforces the value of the brand."

BACKING UP THE PURCHASE
A warranty, on the other hand, reinforces the value of the purchase, and most dispensers offer some type of warranty on children's frames. Typically, this is a one-year replacement agreement with details that vary by dispenser.

Parents not only look for such a warranty but often expect it, and as a result buyers unanimously agree that manufacturer support is a key element in their purchasing decision.

"I don't deal with any manufacturers that don't stand behind their product," says Everette, who carries a 400-frame inventory ranging from $85 to $165 retail. Back orders, erratic customer service, and unprofessional reps are not acceptable. "In this industry we have to deal with companies whose product is available and of good quality," says Simmons. "We have to be able to rely on a company."

PAYING THE PRICE
For parents, all of these elements--quality, style, and service--come at a price. Fifteen percent of the parents, according to Everette, consider the cost first. The majority, however, "are not real price conscious," she says. "But they do ask."

Just how much is a parent willing to pay for a pair of children's eyeglasses? "They're willing to pay for what they think offers a good cost/value relationship," says Donnelly. "This includes not only the product itself, but also the customer service they receive from the provider."

At LensCrafters most children's frames are below $100, she says, "a key price point for parents." The superoptical's average retail for a complete pair, including polycarbonate lenses, ranges from $129 to $179, with the higher end representing 40 percent of sales. Cohen's also tries to stay within the $100 range for its frames, says Lam. "That's where the strong customer base is, and once over that price it gets tougher to make a sale." 

Ulmer's frame prices range from $99 to $225 in her five stores, with most of the higher end products, which usually feature unique styling, located in her full service Eye Magination boutiques. "I think there is some price resistance," she says, "and sometimes you walk a thin line by putting in higher priced children's frames. But you have to separate yourself, and I try to carry lines that not everybody has." After 21 years selling children's eyewear, Ulmer knows her market. She presents children's frames the same way she presents adult frames: "I start at the top and work down."

Franz, whose 500-frame children's inventory ranges from $69 to $189, uses the same top-down technique, beginning with an explanation of the benefits of their most expensive children's frame styles: memory metals and titanium.

"Only after we've talked to parents about features do we discuss price," he says, "explaining that such frames cost the most but also give the most. After 22 years in the business I've found that the first frame you show is many times the frame people will buy."

TIME FOR SECONDS
Educating parents can also lead to multiple sales. At Physicians Optical the average sale for a complete pair of children's eyewear is between $220 and $250. Discounts of 15 to 20 percent are given to all pediatric clients, an attractive plus for families with more than one child.

A hot add-on for kids, says Simmons, is sun clips which sell for $50. "Parents are even buying them for six-month-old babies."

At 1st Eye Care, where children's eyewear packages range from $89 to $249, 30 percent of sales are at the higher end. Cotten also reports that 10 percent of children's sales are second pairs, most of which are sports related. At Children's Carousel of Eyewear, "sports goggles are a big thing," says Everette. Although they represent a small part of the inventory mix, Everette recommends the goggles for all children who play contact sports. "I let the parents know about the product, and nine out of 10 will come back after a month to purchase them."

The bottom line in kids' eyewear is choice, represented in an inventory mix that appeals to both parent and child. It's a mix that meets the ultimate challenge of keeping children's eyewear where it belongs--on the face of the child who needs it.

Kid Mix: Parent favorites

• Spring hinges
• Memory metals
• Warranty
• Price

Kid Mix: Kid favorites

• Color
• Shape
• Comfort
• Memory metals

WARRANTY EXTRAS
Although a one-year manufacturer's warranty is standard on children's frames, some dispensers offer additional protection for their young clients. "We try to go the extra mile for children," says Clay Cotten of 1st Eye Care, echoing the approach of many retailers, "because we want to build good rapport with children and parents so they'll keep coming back, even when the kids are grown." Here are some parent-pleasing options to standard warranties that are offered by different dispensers.

• A one-year protection plan with a 30-day, risk-free guarantee which offers restyling as well as refitting within 30 days of purchase.
• A $25 breakage warranty offered at the time of sale. Coverage includes unlimited breakage, including replacement of nosepads, and one-time lens replacement. Loss or theft is not covered, however.
• Unconditional one-year coverage on breakage.
• A one-time frame replacement.
• Unlimited adjustments. EB