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Sunny Side of the Street
Sunwear can bring in the extra dollars if you have the right visual merchandising. Design gurus serve up ways to pump up the volume
By Erinn Morgan

Eyelines in Chicago creates visual excitement in its shop windows tying sunglass designer brands in with point-of-purchase materials and original touches for a truly unique outlook that catches the eyes of passersby

At l.a. Eyeworks, sunglasses represent half of each location's inventory and they get a bold treatment to really shine

If you've got the goods, why not display them with panache? "The biggest thing is not to be wimpy about your sunglasses," says Gai Gherardi, co-owner of l.a. eyeworks, which has three optical shops in the Los Angeles area in addition to an extensive line of eyewear.  

"We have devoted half our store to sunwear since we opened—if you look at the store, you feel their presence and power. It's a real, strong business," she adds.

Whether it is in-store or in the window, sunwear is one eyewear category that can make a statement because of its pure visibility. Here, we offer up targeted ways to capitalize on what you've already got going for you.

MAKE P.O.P. WORK FOR YOU

"Some retailers don't seem to grasp the importance of P.O.P. and displays," says Nancy Jenson, a Chicago-based freelance visual merchandiser who designs window displays for Eyelines optical shop. "Vendors spend a fortune creating these materials and some are incredibly sleek, beautiful, and imaginative."  

She recommends tying your sunglass designer brands in with P.O.P. that helps customers connect with the name. "I never like to obscure the fact of who the designer is. They've often got to see that name hitting them over the head," she says.

ECPs need not lament if their manufacturer-supplied P.O.P. just isn't working with their dispensary's look, however. Many pieces can be customized to suit your style.

"Some promotional materials can be hokey unless they are professionally installed or framed," says Travis Reed, a professor at the International Academy of Design and Technology in Chicago. "But who's to say you can't take that image and frame it? Or go to Kinko's and have several copies of that image made and frame them. The P.O.P. should look like it belongs there like an art installation." 

He also notes that vendors typically respond positively to client requests for extra or larger copies of new promotional materials for display.

PLAY WITH SCALE

When window-dressing, show off your sunwear by adding something attention-getting This will ensure the eyewear is noticeable, despite its size. "Combine it with something large and graphic because the merchandise is so small," says Reed.

He suggests utilizing large vendor-supplied posters to hang on the wall or suspend from the ceiling.

"Also, I love vinyl for windows," he says. "Find a local vendor that does it, and for a couple hundred dollars you can do something really cool like print a giant vinyl image or make a huge blowup of something. You could also use vinyl letters to create something catchy or cliché on the glass. It could say 'How many pairs of shoes do you own? How many pairs of glasses do you own? Now on sale, the season's hottest accessory. Sunwear.'"

Daring dispensers can also work in displays with shock value to grab attention. "Do something loud or high contrast or extremely sexy," says Jenson.

Recently, Jenson designed a series of windows with eyewear and Victor Screbneski photos in which celebrities like Anna Nicole Smith and Iman were semi-nude. "The photos were not raunchy; they were beautiful, but we placed ribbons over the more risqué areas because someone complained," she says. Certainly, shock value can backfire, so gauge your audience and neighbors before you go to the edge.

RETHINK THE WALL.

Even if you are displaying sunwear solely on frame boards, there can be a method to the madness to stave off customer boredom. Categorization of trends and looks can work well.

"Do you have your mod ones together, your stainless and chrome together?" asks Reed.

At l.a. eyeworks, the sunwear wall is arranged by collection, not by color or gender. "It is organized by families like chunky plastics or thin metals. It's about the family or the story you are telling—about shapes or a designer you are celebrating," says Gherardi.

Dispensers can also separate sunwear by color stories on frame boards. "If fall is all about red, black, and white, play off of that," says Reed. These ideas can be extended to a trend fixture on or near your reception desk. "It can be a silhouette story, a color story, or a fabrication story," he adds. "Get the idea across that this is trendy everywhere else, and it is fashionable in eyewear, too."

Where on the frame board or wall should you focus displays? "Where does your eye go to?" asks Reed. "Mostly, women's average height is 5'3" to 5'5"; put your best ones or the trend story at that eye level."

Whatever display format you decide suits your dispensary most, be sure to change it up regularly. "Stuff like that can get real stale if it's not changed in an appropriate manner," says Jenson. "Whenever anything is breaking news—like a new collection or fashion season—be sure to change your displays to reflect that."

TRICKS of the Window Trade

Still stumped on where to start inside the windowpane? Check out this list of do's and don'ts excerpted from window display icon Simon Doonan's book, Confessions of a Window Dresser. Do's Take Risks. "To succeed on your own terms, you need to demonstrate originality." Subscribe to Groovy Magazines. "This is the easiest way to stay au courant and get fab window ideas." Draw Inspiration from Overdressed Icons. "Liberace, Louis XIV, Queen Elizabeth II, Barbara Cartland..." Copy Other People's Windows. "A window dresser would be crazy not to peruse the competition." Don'ts Skimp on Text in Your Windows. "People will often stop to read text and are more likely to engage with the window and its contents. It also gives the general impression that your store has something important to say." Tidy Up. "Mess and filth are inspirational. Do a messy window and you automatically have an engaged group of spectators." Shy Away from Hiring. "...it is a lot easier to apply the brakes to a runaway window dresser than it is to be constantly prodding..."

CLASSIC Views

Window dressing came naturally, if unexpectedly, to Jane Lippert Hushea. A former society editor for a newspaper in Canton, Ohio, she made the jump to merchandiser for her husband Fred's dispensary, Ohio Optical. From 1952 to 1963, Hushea pushed the traditional boundaries of window design, earning awards and national and international recognition. Recently, Hushea gifted her collection of store window images to Eyecare Business and the editors were struck at how many of the windows had traits that are relevant to this day. Shown here: A Christmas display which utilized some of the first provided P.O.P. materials, which were from American Optical. A summer display blends P.O.P. and props with creative design. And even in the 1950s Hushea had a grasp of a major optical retail concept—second pair sales—the text in the window recommends that passersby "add a pair for outdoor wear."