What’s in Store

From flavored mochi and vintage Chanel bags to artisanal chocolates and dental services, an increasing array of non-optical products and services are being offered in store by eyecare professionals and optical shops

By Erinn Morgan

Fine Arts Optical in San Francisco stocks a selection of horn jewelry and high-end vintage hats. Silver Threads in Aspen and Malibu bills itself as a “super luxury, mini boutique, department store” that sells upscale eyewear alongside an array of fine jewelry and exotic timepieces. And, Clear Optometry in San Mateo serves flavored mochi, antioxidant-rich teas, live culture frozen yogurt, and espresso at its “refresh bar,” which is open to the public but complimentary to patients.

The number of optical retailers offering unique non-optical goods in-store is clearly growing. But why?

For some, it is a targeted business focus that adds profits. For others, it’s a way to drive additional traffic into the dispensary. Some optical retail gurus simply consider it a creative endeavor.

“Products are selected for many reasons: sometimes because they are the work of a local vendor or producer that we admire in our community; sometimes because they connect directly to our community of wearers; and sometimes simply because they delight us and expand our concept of ‘Uncensored Visions,’” says Brent Zerger, director of communications and retail operations at l.a.Eyeworks, which has two retail stores in the Los Angeles area. “We aim to create little sparks of discovery, revelation, and surprise.”

Fabulous Fanny’s Antique and Vintage Eyewear in New York mixes retro optical and fashion in one location

BRINGING IN BUSINESS

Why do non-optical products make sense at retail in some locations? For some, it’s a way to strengthen their shop’s branding. “The choices are always very intentional and we consider them part of our brand vocabulary,” says Zerger.

For others, it’s a matter of filling a niche. At Bond 07 by Selima, the non-optical range includes rare vintage eyewear, clothing, accessories, and contemporary jewelry from designers that are sourced and curated by owner Selima Salaun.

“As New York’s SoHo retail landscape evolves with big-box, fast-fashion chains, the gap between high and low continues to stretch, and we’d like to hope that our selection offers those out for something different a one-stop solution,” says Naveed Hussain, public relations director at Selima Optique, which has seven locations in New York, Santa Monica, and Paris. “Selima has always admired the craftsmanship, quality, and uniqueness of finer vintage, so it was inevitable for one of her stores to relay that.”

At Fine Arts Optical, which is housed in a 4,000-square-foot retail location, the impetus to sell additional items is two-fold. First, the focus on vintage hats enables owner Ray Ascher, who also operates Phoenix Optical and Optical Works in the San Francisco area, to complement his passion for vintage eyewear. “We have a stock of about 8,000 vintage men’s and women’s hats, including hats that are 20 to 50 years old from famous Hollywood hat makers,” he says, noting that Fine Arts Optical’s average hat retail price is $300.

Second, Ascher says he also realizes a lot of additional business from Fine Arts’ horn jewelry sales. “We are a manufacturer of real horn frames, so we also sell and manufacture horn bracelets, necklaces, and rings that we make ourselves by using the scrap horn that we don’t use in our eyewear manufacturing process,” he says.

Selima Optique and Bond 07 share a space as well as a book shop and a cafe, too

“Typically, women who buy a horn frame buy horn jewelry with it,” he adds. Horn rings range from $75 to $150 and bracelets range from $150 to $300.

A BUSINESS BREAKDOWN

Are these non-optical products a significant portion of the store’s overall business? For the most part, optical retailers report that they remain a distant secondary business to the store’s eyewear sales.

“It’s about 20 percent of our total sales at Fine Arts Optical,” says Ascher. “We always look at what’s complementary to eyewear and we’ve tried so many different things throughout the years. We used to sell pens and watches—but I find the hats and jewelry the most perfect complement. They create really beautiful displays with the eyeglasses.”

At Fabulous Fanny’s in New York City, owner Stanton Blackwood has segued his decades of selling vintage eyewear at the famous 26th Street Flea Market into a well-known retail store selling both vintage and modern eyewear plus vintage clothing and accessories. His 1,200-square-foot shop separates out eyewear from goods such as vintage clothing, hats, and umbrellas. He suggests that both businesses complement each other well.

“Some customers end up buying both eyewear and something else,” he notes, saying that non-optical sales account for approximately 20 percent of overall business.

“We do much more with the eyewear business, but it’s really nice for us to have both—the person or spouse not interested in eyewear can go into other side of the shop and have fun with the hats and clothing,” says Blackwood, who has also recently launched a wholesale line of retro-inspired eyewear called Spectaculars. While Fabulous Fanny’s does not offer prescription lens services in-store, it does have a roster of opticians across the city, and the country, whom they recommend by giving their business cards to customers.

Interestingly, many optical retailers who dabble in non-optical goods find they have actually become a go-to place for their non-optical niche. “Our primary business is selling great glasses and making beautiful lenses, but our customers know us as a ‘go-to’ place to find a unique gift item or an unexpected object,” says l.a.Eyeworks’ Zerger.

Thoughtful product selections from l.a.Eyeworks

At Salaun’s Bond 07 by Selima, the selection of unique, non-optical, vintage accessories has developed a customer base of devotees.

“While it’s true that the vintage pieces do offer an unexpected element to our product range that is in a sense fun, we do have a fan base that is as devoted to our vintage finds as they are to our eyewear,” observes Selima’s Hussain. “However, because we are, at the end of the day, a luxury eyewear firm, there’s no debating that glasses do indeed sell better and make up more than half of overall sales.”

A Shop-in-Shop Brand Focus

Some ECPs are calling out their best-selling collections with branded, shop-in-shop sections in the dispensary. A look at how it’s done—and when this business strategy makes sense. At Crown Vision Center, an optical chain with 27 stores in the St. Louis area, Guess eyewear was proving to be a growing portion of overall business. To recognize this business opportunity, Crown worked with Viva to bring in branded Guess shop-in-shop fixtures in some of its stores. “Viva supplied us with a shop-in-shop fixture in a number of our locations,” says Jennifer Oliver, frame buyer at Crown Vision Center. “These are large, locking fixtures—with a big Duratrans brand image—that hold 40 to 45 pieces of Guess ophthalmic eyewear.” The success of this strategy has inspired Crown to bring this shop-in-shop fixture into four more of its stores this year. “It’s such a great presentation in the store that it draws people to Guess and we sell more of that brand in those locations,” says Oliver. In Vancouver, the high-end Spectus Eyewear shop features two standalone branded shop-in-shop areas. “Lindberg designed and supplied an amazing section of my new shop from the ground up,” says owner William Todd Crichton. “The other brand is Oliver Peoples, and they supplied a standalone section of shelves and drawers plus a cupboard unit that blends with the rest of my shop, yet is separate in location.” But shop-in-shop concepts aren’t for everyone. At Edward Beiner, which has 11 locations in Florida, there are currently no permanent third-party build outs or shop-in-shops for any of the brands carried. “We strongly feel that our stores’ overall look and identity, which includes merchandising, makes a very large statement about who we are as a brand,” says owner Ed Beiner. “Over the years, styles change and brands come and go—it’s our goal to make sure that the experience we provide in our 11 boutiques is consistent over time.” Instead, Beiner has created “temporary” marketing and product placement opportunities that are offered to vendors. “These programs are a good way to highlight certain brands and products without committing long term,” he says. “They have proven to be extremely successful and financially efficient for both parties—and their flexibility has allowed us to partner and highlight multiple brands throughout the year, which would not be the case with a shop-in-shop or build out.”

Exclusive galleries at Spectus

DISPLAYING NON-OPTICAL

Creative merchandising is the key to intermingling eyewear with non-optical products at retail.

Fine Arts Optical employs large museum cases to creatively display eyewear and hats. “We try to make great, colorful combinations out of the hats and glasses,” he says, noting that the store also has a large slat wall that displays a few hundred hats. The horn jewelry collection is housed in its own display case.

Bond 07 by Selima’s goods are displayed apart from eyewear. “Selima’s eyewear is housed throughout the store, while vintage and contemporary jewelry, vintage eyewear, and clothing are categorized separately in the front of the space,” says Hussain. “At the back end of the shop you’ll find the just-opened cafe Happy Bones, which serves the neighborhood with espresso as well as rare art tomes and magazines.”

At l.a.Eyeworks, non-eyewear products are displayed throughout the stores, Zerger says, with the emphasis on front counter displays: “Both stores have dedicated display areas we are constantly rotating.” EB