Buyer's Forum

Looking Back Looking Forward

By Amy Spiezio

In the past 25 years, the pages of Eyecare Business have featured a variety of frame experts providing insights and ideas to help framebuyers ride the trends and the tides of business. Many of their recommendations remain important to framebuyers today. Following are a few highlights.

1988: CREATIVITY. Buyers at Oliver Peoples Opticians in Los Angeles keep things fresh by presenting frames creatively, “as if the shop were an art gallery,” says co-owner Larry Leight. “We don't use any accessories or pictures nearby, but instead put a short description on a wall sign—just like in a gallery. Patients are allowed to touch and try on sunwear, simply because many don't like to ask to see a particular style,” he adds. The styles are set up with three to five colors on display, sometimes on individual white pedestals.

1993: CONTROL. Framebuying can make or break a practice's bottom line. Jerry Legerton, OD, MBA, president of Associated Vision Care Specialists, a California-based optometric practice, and the EPIC Group, an optical consulting organization, cautions that inventory control is key to profits. From Legerton's evaluations, he has found that in the most efficient practices, frame and contact lens inventories run at under five percent of gross revenue. “Five percent is a good goal,” he says, “but it doesn't have to be achieved overnight. Create ongoing tactics. If you're running at nine percent now, set a goal for seven or eight percent by the end of the year, for example.”

2010: EXCITEMENT. Valerie Vittu, owner and buyer at Margot & Camille in Philadelphia, notes that buyers have the opportunity to keep day-to-day operations fresh and exciting for the entire staff—and their clients. “The truth is, most optical places don't even contact their clients about their new arrivals. It's usually the excitement of the staff that creates the sale. By buying often in smaller quantities, you have the opportunity to show something new all the time, and it keeps your staff motivated.”