Eye Catcher eye wear
How to market your frame selection with window-worthy, head-turning showstoppers
By Erinn Morgan
Givenchy style SGV453 by De Rigo Vision features a removable mink insert and hard cover nose shape
They’re big, bold, and colorful and they can be wild or completely over-the-top. One thing is for sure: eye-catching eyewear styles stop customers and passersby in their tracks—and send them into your dispensary.
“I buy crazy, wild, over-the-top frames that I never expect to sell just for the sole purpose of putting them in the front window,” says Barbi Tuckerman, owner of B. Tuckerman Unique Eyewear in Columbus, OH.
They may not be huge sellers, but unusual and unique window pieces can definitely pay for themselves in the long run by bringing in additional business. In fact, some eyecare professionals even have a budget for such marketing endeavors.
“These special pieces are a marketing investment in so many ways,” says Liz Erley, OD, owner of Wink Optical in Boulder, CO. “I bet we spend between $5,000 and $10,000 a year on these kinds of pieces. We like to put them in our front window because we get a lot of walk-by traffic, especially after we’re closed for the evening.”
THE POINT
The main benefit of utilizing show-stopping eyewear in windows and in-store displays is that it draws attention from new and old customers. “It always puts you a step above your competition,” says Erley. “We use unusual frames in our window display to let customers or potential customers know that we are different than everyone else in town. Customers tend to stop in more frequently when they know you have things that are different.”
Beyond turning heads, eye-catching eyewear can also show customers your business specialty. At Eye Elegance in Houston, optician Daniel Protz displays a pair of rimless frames that feature lenses in the shape of the state of Texas.
“It turns a few heads,” says Protz, who notes that the frame is displayed on an eyeglass retainer hanging on a mannequin bust in the store window. “It also sets the point that when we say we can customize rimless lenses, that means we can do whatever the customer’s mind can dream up.”
Best Image Optical Fantasy Mask Collection style Cupid; OG Vintage Butterfly is a custom remake of Oliver Goldsmith 1960s frames from the Vintage Archive; Kenmark Vera Wang Salon Collection style Sappho
| Marketing Salable Window Pieces |
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The concept of wild, show-stopping eyewear may not work for—or be appealing to—everyone. At Europtics in Encinitas, CA, owner Doug D’amico shies away from the practice of using show-stopping eyewear in window and in-store displays. “I’ve collected a lot of old, vintage stuff and a lot of autographed celebrity stuff, but it just started to look old in the shop after we remodeled a few years ago,” says D’Amico. “It just aged us. So, we took a lot of that stuff off the shelves and out of window displays.” D’Amico does pull these special pieces out for events and holidays. “Every now and then we’ll throw a prop in for Halloween, such as some fun glasses made for Elton John for Halloween,” he says. “We also just don’t buy the crazy window stuff. It would sit in the window for years. Occasionally, we’d have luck with some of the limited-production stuff.” Instead, D’Amico’s strategy is buying noticeably colorful but still highly salable eyewear for his windows. “That’s what we buy for the store anyway—cool, colorful, laminated eyewear and that stuff sells,” he says. “It’s wearable, salable, and it’s not just a window piece that nobody is ever going to buy. We just don’t want that puppy to be in there forever, we want it to move.” |
EYE CATCHERS 101
How can ECPs get started displaying really special, gorgeous, or wild eyewear pieces in windows or in-store displays to attract customers?
1 Define the commitment to do it.
“My store is in a medium to average traffic area and we literally had nothing in the window before,” says Alex Tan, OD, owner of Oak Park, Illinois-based Compass Eye Care, who notes that he recently purchased this location. “So, we got a really nice display case where we could house pieces that are more wild and crazy. Do I expect to sell any of those? No, they’re just there to catch attention and we haven’t sold one of those yet. But people who walk down the street peer in and many come in right after that to look around.”
Still, at B. Tuckerman Unique Eyewear, a number of the show-stopping frames brought in for marketing panache actually end up being purchased by customers. In some instances, however, these special frames also lure thieves.
“It definitely draws people in— plus, you never know who will buy what,” says Tuckerman. “I’ve sold quite a few of these over the years and had quite a few stolen. It’s still worth it, though.”
Sama’s Magic Hour Precious Jewelry Collection style Magic Hour Lumiere; Texas-Shaped rimless specs from Eye Elegance optical shop in Houston; Boz Eyewear style Boz Scandale
At Wink Optical, Erley says about two percent of her customer base actually purchases the more unusual pieces. “But each time a customer comes in, we try to take her a little more out of her comfort zone than the last time she purchased eyewear from us,” she says. “Everyone comes back saying, ‘I wasn’t sure I should do something so different, but now I love them and get lots of compliments,’ which is great advertisement for us.”
2 Define the budget to do it.
Budgets can vary widely for special marketing pieces. While Boulder-based Wink Optical spends between $5,000 and $10,000 annually, at B. Tuckerman the budget for these special eyewear pieces ranges up to $1,500 (wholesale) per year.
“Our window pieces retail for about $600 or fewer,” Tuckerman says. “They are a marketing investment. I also buy them because I love them. I can’t help myself.”
Van Rue, a former optical store manager and vice president of account services and business development at Single Vision Express, suggests making such pieces and collections about five to 10 percent of the store’s total board space.
3 Anticipate an increase over time.
Special marketing frames and highly unique lines may have instant curb appeal, but ECPs can look for a bump in their bottom line from this strategy over time. “Your numbers will go up the longer you hold a new, show-stopping line,” says Rue. “Second-year sales will be better than first as the word gets out. Third year, even better still. Don’t expect them to sell well right away, but it will come over time.”
4 Decide what to buy.
One excellent place to find window-worthy eyewear pieces is in the nooks and crannies of trade shows. “I have one line called Pierre from France that I found at Vision Expo,” says Tuckerman. “I bought two frames that are in the shapes of a Porche and a bicycle. People come in and they want their pictures taken in them—it’s fabulous.”
Some ECPs also focus on bringing in segments of eyewear lines that are more standout and unique. “I love the mod-looking frame collections,” says Tuckerman. “I just got in an ivory hexagon frame that looks like it belongs with a pair of white go-go boots.”
5 Display effectively.
Where is the most effective place to display over-the-top frames? While most ECPs suggest that storefront, streetside windows deliver the most bang for the buck, many also utilize show-stopping frames in in-store displays.
“I mix things throughout the store,” says Tuckerman. “And, I also have four-foot-tall cases in my front windows that used to be in Henri Bendel. The unique eyewear sits on tier stands inside the case.”
To keep things fresh, Tuckerman rotates her window display every month around a theme. “For June, for example, I’ll do all sunglasses,” she says. “I’ll pick the most beautiful and crazy sunwear I have and it goes in the window.” EB
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