Case Studies: Selling Sunwear on the Web
Three dispensers talk about the strategies behind setting up their own retail sunwear sites
By Erinn Morgan

If you want something done right, do it yourself." This adage comes in handy when looking into building a Website for selling sunwear. Forget fancy Flash programs, twirling 3-D images, and online customer support-this endeavor has to be cost-effective and user-friendly. "The only sites that will be successful are those that planned a business with minimal overhead," says Paul Collins, O.D., proprietor of Parkavenuesunglasses.com, a plano sunglass store online. "Over 50 percent of the Websites you see today will be out of business in a couple years because they couldn't meet their overhead and make money.

"Many of those optical dispensers who have braved the land of the Internet have done it in a price-conscious way. Some have used friends or family to get their sites running and relied on internal staff for maintenance and order processing.

"We have cross-trained our in-house staff to handle order processing," says Jim Dennen, dispensary manager of the two Total Eyecare stores located in Vernon and Lake Hopatcong, N.J., and a Website, totalicare.com. Here, we present case studies of optical dispensers who have chosen to sell sunwear online.

Park Avenue Sunglasses got into the game of Internet retailing by creating a site that can be easily navigated by "non-computer" people. The site was built and is maintained on site.

Case One: New York Vision

This midtown Manhattan optometric practice's dispensing focus has been on high-end products of a trend-driven nature. Almost four years ago owner Paul Collins, O.D., saw his competitive climate heating up, and launched into an Internet business.

"We saw Websites, mail order, and discounters getting more business in this industry," he says. "We decided to stand up and fight by launching our own site to sell plano sunglasses."

Collins says Parkavenuesunglasses.com-launched in 1998-took about three months to set up and was done by a staff member who had the skills to handle it. Once the structure was in place, 12 "non-computer people" reviewed the site. "It was modified to answer their questions and problems," he says.

Because it was handled internally, the cost to set the site up was minimal. "It was a few hundred dollars," says Collins. "And most of that was to sign on with certain Web servers, obtain security certificates, and register for state licenses. That's why we're one of the few places that actually makes money. Some incur such a dramatic startup cost and continuing overhead that is virtually impossible to make up."

Order processing is also handled in-house by the dispensary staff, and the stock of 800 products in 30 brands and growing inventory is kept at their offices. All this adds up to a solid outcome for the site.

"The Website has increased our overall business by 20 percent," says Collins, who notes that sales are domestic (80 percent) and international (20 percent). "Every month we have an increase in sales."

Still, Collins says he has no plans for selling anything other than plano sunwear. "I want to keep it simple," he says. "Once you try to put Rx in, there are so many variables and potential problems."

	Total Eyecare has expanded its sales through the Internet-the New Jersey-based firm, which specializes in Nikon sunglasses, makes 56 percent of its Web sales from points west of the Mississippi.

Case Two: Total Eyecare

With two dispensing locations in Vernon and Lake Hopatcong, N.J., Total Eyecare was the largest distributor of Nikon sunglasses in the country.

Then, Nikon's sunwear division went out of business and this optical shop decided to purchase all the remaining stock from the company. Making this move, they decided to launch a Website, totalicare.com, on which to sell the Nikon sunglasses, a few sunwear brands, night vision equipment, and spotting scopes.

"It was so easy to create this site," says Jim Dennen, dispensary manager. "I hired a designer who had experience in setting up Websites, and he pulled it together for $3,000."

Maintenance and updates are handled in-house and the site is promoted through search engines, he says.

Certainly, the recipe is one for success. "It has increased our overall business here by 8 percent monthly to our gross," he notes. "And we have had months as high as $12,000 in sales from the site alone."

"People can't think they can go out and purchase 10,000 pairs of sunglasses, fire up a Website, and launch a successful Web business," he says. "There are too many people doing the same thing out there that are much bigger and have more inventory. On the Web you have to have a niche-that is the way to build business. Otherwise, forget it."

Case Three: Eyetech Sports Vision

Located in Lakewood, Colo., just outside of Denver, Eyetech is nestled in an outdoor sports mecca: the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Enthusiasts are Eyetech's patrons. Owner Bret Hunter is right in step with his clientele: he enjoys sports and he practices what he preaches in his optical shop. This made Eyetech a perfect candidate for a Web business.

"When I first opened up my optical shop [six years ago], one of my friends told me I needed to get on the Web with the sports eyewear business. One year, he bought me a site setup for Christmas."

Another friend of Hunter's, a Website design specialist, handled the creation of EyetechOptical.com for a low price. "Today, many Web designers would charge as much as $20,000 to set up a site like this," he says. The Web designer is also the person who continues to perform the maintenance to the Eyetech site. "The hosting service costs $125 a month, which includes one hour of updating," he says. "If I change a line completely on the site, it costs about $500."

Currently, Eyetech offers five sunglass lines on the site, which accounts for about 20 percent of its business. "We specialize in sports eyewear-that's what we do," he says, noting that unless dispensers have differentiation with their site, it will not be successful. "I don't think the Web is good for everybody. If you don't have a niche, you'll blend in."

His best advice? "You want to stock what you put up on the Web because people want to have it tomorrow," he says. "We have everything in stock and we try to ship it out the same day."

Eyetech Sports Vision got its start as a retail outlet in Colorado. The sports-related products have a strong appeal to the online audience, says owner Bret Hunter, and the site now represents 20 percent of the firm's annual sales.