RETAILING

The statistics are astounding. About 16 new Web pages are launched every second. Conservative estimates of retail sales on the Internet expect volume to be more than $11 billion this year and grow to more than $40 billion by 2002 (Source: Jupiter Communications). However, other more aggressive estimates project e-commerce on the Web to skyrocket to more than $30 billion by next year.

In general, the number of retailers selling on the Internet has greatly increased. According to an Ernst & Young Internet Shopping Study, the amount of retailers conducting e-commerce tripled from 1997 to 1998. These retailers say that e-tail sales currently account for about 10 percent of their overall retail sales.

When it comes to the Internet, the optical industry is taking a much slower and more cautious pace. Many optical chains, independents, manufacturers, and distributors have launched Web sites within the past few years. And a surprising number of them report they are currently reconstructing their sites. Some are doing it for easier navigation for consumers, some for better design and brand image, and some to begin selling their products on the Internet.

There are a number of establishments currently selling optical products to consumers via the Internet, most of them small. There are independent opticians and optometrists, there are the large chains starting to dabble in it, and there are the smaller product distributors selling via their sites or through links with optical "malls" and even auctions. And while the optical industry is still taking baby steps on the Internet, signs point to much larger things to come--very soon. "Everybody [retailers] ducked their head when LensCrafters came out with one-hour service," says Frank Rescigna, CEO of Marcolin USA (www.marcolin.com). "They said, 'This is a medical device, a medical service.' And many of them now do it. The Internet is the same story for optical retailers. For the retailers, it's a business. They are retailers, and they have to market this way--or get lost along the way."

INDEPENDENTS ON THE 'NET

The Internet offers a lot of options for today's independent optical retailer. For those who have invested in a Web site consistent with their brand and store image, the value comes in marketing their products and services to consumers.

"We are doing it to get our name out there," says Carol Canada, general manager of Europtics (www.europtics.com), which has three locations in Denver. "It is there so our customers can see what lines we are carrying. A lot of our customers come from out of state, so this gives them a preview before they come in."

At Eyetique in Pittsburgh, owner Norman Childs launched the store's Web site (www.eyetique.com) six years ago, at the onset of the cyber race. "We set it up not to be an online salesperson, but to show the world who we are," he says. "One of the best things about the Internet is that nobody knows how big or how small you are. You could be working out of a closet and look like the Sharper Image."

And some dispensers have accomplished this. While Europtics and Eyetique report minimal sales so far directly done on the Internet, other independents have created booming businesses for themselves. At Optiks (www.optiks.com), an optometric practice and dispensary in Bloomington, Ind., e-commerce has become a common and profitable word around the office.

"We launched the site two and a half years ago," says Pam Weddle, office manager and frame buyer for the high-end dispensary. "It started slow, and it's just been growing and changing. We do a lot of out-of-town sales."

Most of the cyber sales are frame-only. However, Weddle says they will process single-vision Rx's if the customer gets his measurements and Rx from a local doctor.

While sales on the Web are strong for Optiks, Weddle says the site is still a strong marketing tool. "People ask lots and lots of questions--about AR and lens choices especially. The whole thing is about education. It's just a matter of spending time with the customers."

Four months ago, Total Eyecare in Lake Hopatcong, N.J. was the largest distributor for Nikon sunglasses. When Nikon did away with the eyewear division, the optometric practice's dispensary purchased the remaining inventory from the company. Today, Total Eyecare is doing $15,000 a week in Nikon sales through their Web site (www.totalicare.com), according to dispensary manager Jim Dennen. "We have sales from all over the world via the Internet," he says. "A lot of people buy through us because they can also call here and talk to an optician for technical information."

To get the word out about their Web locations, most retailers say they have the site address listed on all the staff's business cards and in all ads. In the case of Europtics, the site was also listed on the well-traveled Microsoft site, sidewalk.com.

Canada notes that for a smaller retailer, it is important to have a more personalized approach to designing the site. "We launched about a year ago with a big site design group," she says. "It was cold and cookie-cutter. They didn't understand what we wanted to do. So we brought it in-house."

Some optical retailers also link their sites with those of the brands that they carry. For example, Europtics links its site to Lafont, where their customers can go in and view the entire line of Lafont product, not just those on the Europtics site. This enables retailers to offer an expanded product line without actually carrying the inventory.

Non-optical links can work well, too. For example, the Eyetique site uses its connections with local businesses to gain increased access. "We link with different businesses in the area, and they link their sites with ours," says Childs.

Even some independents who aren't selling via the Web now are considering it for the future. "Of course we'd like to do more business on the Internet," says Childs. "But we really want to stick to our guns on not discounting product there."

Others, however, have made their Internet business all about discounting product--a controversial practice that many in the industry regard with disdain. Eyesite.com is a site launched by an ophthalmologist in Honolulu which sells "designer eyewear and sunwear at a discount." The site's tagline reads, "We meet or beat other's prices, guaranteed."

CHAINS ON THE 'NET

Many of the larger chains are Internet-savvy and have had sites up for several years. Again, the majority of these sites are informational venues, and sales of product on the Internet has been a taboo subject.

"We feel very strongly that selling ophthalmic glasses over the Internet is not feasible," says Jill Widmer, director of brand marketing at LensCrafters (www.lenscrafters.com). "We believe it is critical to have our experts in the stores making sure that the glasses fit well and look good. Right now we are rebuilding the site. As technology has improved, the current site is not as user friendly." For the company, this means adding more product and prices for products. "People are hungry for this information so they can do pre-shopping before they come into the store."

At Knighton Optical, with 36 stores in the Utah area, marketing is also the focus of its Web site (www.knightonoptical.com), but sales on the Internet are not being ruled out.

"We thought maybe that we would sell sunglasses, but it is really complicated," says Wendee Butters, marketing director. "But we do think that selling on the Internet is a possibility in the future."

For now, the Knighton Optical site has information explaining benefits to its managed care patients, store locations and hours, product warrantees, coupons, and vendor contests.

Sterling Optical's site features a "virtual makeover".

One chain that seems to be fast approaching the Internet sales goal is Sterling Vision. At presstime, the company had just announced its enhanced web site at www.sterlingoptical.com, with a "Virtual Mirror" that lets users upload their image onto the site and "try on" frames and contact lenses. The company offers free digital services at many of its locations for customers who cannot digitize their image themselves. Sterling Vision's Web site also states, "Buy today's hottest eyewear at a store near you or online (coming soon)."

Another retailer that has just begun selling through its Web site is Sunglass Hut (www.sunglasshut.com). "The site was originally built not to sell online--it was misconceived only as a branding site," says Jim Hauslein, chairman of Sunglass Hut. "So we need to go back in and make it more consumer-friendly. Once we have an online store that meets our expectations and that stands for our brand quality, we will be aggressive in marketing it."

Hauslein notes that Shades.com, the successful sunglass sales Web site recently purchased by the company, will not be linked to the Sunglass Hut site and will be "free to pursue a broader optical strategy--selling optical frames may be a possibility, albeit remote," he says.

MANUFACTURERS ON THE 'NET

Most manufacturers are loathe to sell on the Internet. And understandably so, as their customers (the optical dispensers) would not be pleased to have additional competition from their supplier. But most also say that the Net is simply not the place to sell prescription eyewear, for a variety of reasons.

"I think it's the wrong place to buy eyewear directly," says Bernie Weiss, CEO of Signature Eyewear (www.signatureeye-wear.com). "At the end of the day we are still professionals, and we don't want to be playing with people's eyesight."

"We won't sell via the Internet," adds Claudio Gottardi of S�filo USA (www.safilo.com). "We don't want to compete with our customers, and we like the end customer to be satisfied with the product. To be satisfied with it, it must be tried on," he says.

Most manufacturers are focused on marketing their products and promoting their brand name through the World Wide Web.

"The idea of our Web site is to show who we are, what we stand for, and what our philosophy is as a high-end frame line," says Valerie Vail, manager of Brendel USA (www.brendellunettes.com).

"Ours is an educational and informational Web site only," adds Joan Sheppelman, electronic marketing specialist at Sola (www.sola.com and www.percepta.com). "We are updating it constantly."

Another purpose of suppliers' sites is to link the 'Net-surfing consumer to a local practitioner who carries their product.

"Our site is really about locating doctors," says a spokesperson for Varilux. "Varilux has had a long-standing referral list of its best customers, and they must maintain a certain level of sales to be on that list. These doctors are listed on the Web site, and we are even developing Web sites for some of them."

"Our main purpose was to get the consumer to the site and to show them the product and then refer them to a local account," explains Donna Rollins, vice president of creative services at Marchon (www.marchon.com). An added bonus of the Web site, adds Rollins, is that she can tell the effectiveness of a television commercial by the increase in site "hits" after the ad has run.

The Signature Eyewear site also links into the Web sites of its licensors (including Eddie Bauer and Laura Ashley), which have very active sites. Additionally, the site lists the Signature Loyal Partners local retailers for the consumer.

The only companies that are actually selling on their Web sites are the smaller, less-established ones (and many contact lens replacement companies). "It might work if you are not strong," says Weiss. "If you are strong, you've got a lot to lose."

INTERESTING OPTIONS

Type in "eyewear sales" in the America Online search engine and you will come up with 1,183,364 matches. The optical industry may be merely dabbling in the Internet for now, but there are many companies out there testing the waters. And, some of them are coming up with some interesting entrepreneurial ideas.

For example, Jim Sheedy, the director of professional development at Sola and a clinical professor at UC Berkeley, has recently launched Web sites targeted at linking sufferers of computer vision syndrome (CVS) with those practitioners who treat the problem. DrErgo.com is aimed at this person and enables the user to conduct a self-test on the site, plus it provides basic information about the problem. CVSdoctors.com is a guide for doctors who treat CVS. Sheedy has also set up dr.sheedy.com, a virtual "traffic cop" who will link the doctors and patients plus link users into the computer eye clinic at UC Berkeley.

Another interesting endeavor is the e-doctor network (www.e-dr.com), which is a virtual buying group for practitioners. Doctors have to fill out a form showing that they are a practitioner before they can enter the Web site, which allows them to purchase contact lenses, frames, lenses, cases, sunglasses, as well as place an order online through optical labs.

	A scanner provided by EyeWeb lets customers digitally scan their face and use the image to shop online.

And for those practitioners who wish to do online sales, but are not quite ready to deal with the hassles of launching a dedicated Web site, there is now EyeWeb (www.eyeweb.com). Launched by Pierre Fay, the former president of Silhouette Optical, it offers a scanner that is placed in the dispensary where customers can have their face and head digitally scanned. The scan is then downloaded to the EyeWeb site where, with a password, consumers can try on frames and sunwear within the realm of the products that their dispenser carries.

The cyber generation is also spawning companies and programs that aid practioners in establishing their own Web sites. One of those is C&E Vision (www.cevision.com), a buying group and distributor who has partnered with OptiRing to offer optical professionals their own customized sites, along with the opportunity for cyberselling.

It seems that the possibilities are endless for doing some type of business on the Internet. The debate will certainly become how exactly to maintain the integrity of this medical/professional business which still has its profit base in product sales. The discounting, the competition, and the question of having frames fitted by a licensed optician are all issues that have yet to be resolved. Will sales on the Internet set the optical industry off-balance? Only time will tell. EB