GETTING IN THE GAME
Getting IN THE Game
A panel of sports eyewear retailers talks about how they grew their business through Rx programs
BY SUSAN TARRANT
Wakeboarder Bob Soven in Discord by SPY Optics
fORTY-THREE PERCENT OF EYECARE PROFESSIONALS SURVEYED BY EYECARE BUSINESS LAST YEAR SAID THEIR FASTEST GROWING CATEGORY IS RX SUNWEAR. A profitable subcategory of that is prescription sports sunwear, particularly those with lens programs authorized by sports eyewear brands. It brings prescription lenses to the high-performance sun lenses and sport eyewear brands that your sport-enthusiast customers want.
It’s a slightly different game than just popping in an Rx polarized lens in a fashion sun frame, though; so we asked a panel of retailers and ECPs who have built successful niches (and in some cases entire businesses) with Rx sports eyewear about what it takes to succeed in this sport-specific channel.
A NEW AGE
Digital and free-form processing has had a huge impact on the quality of ophthalmic lenses, especially the more complex prescriptions and progressives. In sports sunwear, where high wraps tend to be the norm, the technology has revolutionized not only the quality of the lens, but expanded the possible prescription ranges. And the companies leading the way in this, it seems, are the sports brands that offer proprietary Rx programs, panelists note.
1. Costa style Hamlin, 2. Reptile Sun style Brady, 3. Oakley OTD edge lenses
ROB TAVAKOLI: “The wrap will induce some prism and distortion and changes the numbers a little bit. With digital processing and the proprietary Rx programs, the [lab’s] computer kind of figures out what issues are going to arise and changes the prescription so that when you are looking through your lenses at any point, you’re looking through your actual prescription, not wrap-induced distortion.
“Many of the companies that are offering direct-Rx programs are only offering that kind of technology. In some cases it may not be that important, but I think if you’re doing extreme wrap-around lenses, digital is the way to go.”
ROBERTA JOHNSON: “[Digital processing] has changed the playing field. People may at first walk through the door and say, ‘I have a high a correction, so I’ll have to have a flat frame.’ And once you bring them up to speed, and go through the various Rx compensations that are done for, say, golfing postures, or the tilt of the head on a bike, it changes the game. And the money doesn’t matter as much at that point, because it’s a solution that they didn’t have before.”
Our Panel
JAMIE TROSTER is the owner/licensed optician at Eyes on First Ave in Atlantic Highlands, NJ. It is located near the beach and a popular marina, so about half of its inventory is sunwear. She has capitalized on her location to develop a loyal following of fishermen, motorcycling enthusiasts, and cyclists, among others.
ROBERTA JOHNSON is owner of sportsvisionbend in Bend, OR, a sports-centric optical shop she started 25 years ago. Though it has a huge online presence, sportsvisionbend sells about 60 percent of its sports eyewear through its brick-and-mortar storefront location.
ROB TAVAKOLI, ABOC, is sales and marketing manager at Sport Rx in San Diego. Founded in 1996, it has built its business reputation as an online retailer of high-quality sports eyewear, but it also has a physical location that serves as showroom and walk-in optical shop.
JIM KNUDSEN is owner of Modern Eyes in Bismarck, ND, a full-service optical offering both ophthalmic eyewear and sunwear. Because of his older, active, outdoor-loving customer base, he has developed a very successful sports sunwear specialty.
WHY RX PROGRAMS?
Dispensers who are authorized dealers of authentic Rx programs note that the newer technology has created a new customer base and increased their ability to serve customers’ needs.
JIM KNUDSEN: “[Rx programs] can make quite a difference if you’re selling eyewear in which the lens quality is the appeal of the product. The patients may be reading about how a certain company’s lens is great for handling light transmission, or is great for fishing or golfing or something. They try on a pair here and go outside and say, ‘Oh, I really love this amber lens and how it makes the colors pop.’
“If the dispenser isn’t using the proprietary Rx program, the lens that patient is going to get isn’t going to be the same. [If] it’s a company that has a proprietary Rx program, we’re going to fill it with a proprietary polarized lens. It’s great to be able to say to that person, ‘The prescription lens you’re going to get is going to be exactly like that the lens you tried on.’ That’s a fantastic selling point.”
JOHNSON: “The direct-Rx programs use authorized labs for a real [X-brand] lens. Those labs are state-of-the-art labs designed to produce the proprietary lens that the customer has in his hand, but designed for him and his vision. It raises the level of product, of performance, of finally being able to get what everybody else has available to them, in his correction.”
KNUDSEN: “These companies that sell their proprietary lenses are putting them into a very controlled group of frames, so it is all calculated and made to work. For you, if you work within [the companies’] fitting parameters, the result is always great. Dispensers don’t have to worry about the lenses working with the prescription. It’s not a crap shoot like it is with some sports or wrap frames.”
Image courtesy of Rudy Project
BUSINESS-BUILDING STEPS
Becoming successful in sports sunwear can be a lucrative move for optical shops, one that will benefit the bottom line for sure. But retailers will need to do their research, educate their staff, and employ specialized marketing.
Here’s what our panel members said worked for them.
JAMIE TROSTER: “I saw a niche that needed to be filled. The area that we’re in has very active people—bicyclists, fisherman, motorcyclists—so when I opened the store I wanted to have the brands that would serve the needs of these particular people. We researched what brands those people wanted. And then we researched each brand’s customer demographics to make sure we had those people here.”
JOHNSON: “You have to carry more than six frames from any dealer or you’re not in the game. And you need to carry all the lens tints in the frames so your assortment needs to be wider.
“It will take an optical to a whole different level, but the lens process involves a lot of study. There’s a lot more to it than just tinting a lens and slapping it into at least a 6-base curve. You’re talking about tints that are vital to the performance of the tennis player, or the skier, or the golfer. You have to understand the sport. You have to understand the customers’ needs. And you have to understand what the [eyewear] company is offering, and marry that whole situation together. So this is not an easy undertaking. You should go into it very carefully and with a lot of help from the vendor.”
TAVAKOLI: “The people dealing with our customers are knowledgeable about sports eyewear. And not just about the wrap compensation, but also about all the tints available and what color polarized lens is going to be good or bad for your specific sport. If you try to pretend like you know what they need and you don’t, they’re going to know.”
TROSTER: “I advertise in fishing magazines, motorcycle magazines, that kind of thing. I also work with my vendors when they sponsor fishing tournaments and sports shows in the area. Reaching out to the people involved in those activities and letting them know I have the product here has grown my business. It’s word of mouth.’”
Image courtesy of Maui Jim
THE BOTTOM LINE
Sports specialty eyewear is unlikely to fall under any vision care plan, so the profit margins in the category are attractive. And with digital progressive sports sunwear hitting the $800 range ($300 to $400 on average for single vision)—not to mention multiple lens options for the models with an interchangeable lens—it can be a profitable channel. Our panel agreed that Rx programs added to their bottom line.
JOHNSON: “My customers take their sports seriously, and they take their eyewear needs seriously. If they have a bad race, and their eyewear fogged up… it’s all about the equipment. It goes beyond just a correction. This is performance equipment. And they are spending scads on bikes and skis and equipment. Thousands of dollars. They don’t care that their glasses are $500.”
TROSTER: “Sunwear in general is 50% of my business, which is not the norm for most opticals, and a lot of that has to do with my location. But it’s also been from having the type of product that fits the niche of the area. It’s about meeting the needs of my area. We’re in an affluent community. People want what they want. They are not driven in by their insurance. They’re driven in by the high-quality product that they know we have. And that builds my bottom line.”
JOHNSON: “[Becoming proficient in selling authentic Rx programs] makes me and my opticians the experts in the community. If you offer a solution to a specific problem for a customer, you have that customer for life. And that is your bottom line. That is everyday, living and breathing retail.”
PAL Friendly
Progressive wearers can make up a huge percentage of sports enthusiasts who need sports eyewear. Given the state of today’s processing technology and its ability to optimize an Rx in just about any lens curve, there is no reason to shy away from fitting your athlete in an authentic sports PAL.
Every athlete will need to check a watch, a cell phone, a map, a scorecard, or a gauge at some point in his or her activity.
“My cycling computer costs $300 and has eight different features on it, including my speed and my heart rate,” says Rob Tavakoli of SportsRx. “Without a progressive, it’s hard for me to see that.”
Rx RUNDOWN
Here’s a look at some of the Rx programs offered by frame companies for ECPs and
their active patients.
Bollé
• BASICS: B-Thin Active Design Rx program is open to ECPs. Bollé’s website acts as a sales partner, enabling ECPs to assess the suitability of prescription sunglasses in real time with clients.
• RX RANGE: +6.00 to -8.00
• LENS COLORS: Available in most of the brand’s lens tints
• SPECIFIC SPORT SPECIALTIES: Cycling, golf, and marine sports
• INFO: bolle.com/rx
Costa
• BASICS: Costa Rx is available in three premium lens technologies for single vision, progressive, and bifocal prescriptions: 580P Trivex, 580G glass, and 400P CR-39.
• RX RANGE: 580P, +3.00 to -5.00; 580G, +3.00 to -3.00; and 400P, +3.00 to -4.00
• LENS COLORS: Gray, Copper, Amber, Sunrise, Blue Mirror (on a Gray base), Green Mirror (on a Copper base), and Silver Mirror (on a Copper base)
• SPECIFIC SPORT SPECIALTIES: Water-based sports, including fishing, boating, stand-up paddleboarding (SUP), and kayaking
• INFO: 855-267-8279, costadelmar.com
Kaenon
• BASICS: Kaenon Rx Select Service offers the high-performance, patented Kaenon SR-91 lens, which is in everything it makes, including prescription, offering athletes the protection, performance, and vision required to compete at their optimum level. The company’s patented polarized SR-91 lens, Rx customer service, and precision processing allow accuracy to 1/100 of a diopter.
• RX RANGE: +2.50 to -4.00
• LENS COLORS: Gray, Brown, Copper, and Yellow
• SPECIFIC SPORT SPECIALTIES: Kaenon is worn by a wide range of athletes in various sports, including sailing, fishing, golf, baseball, water sports, and endurance sports
• INFO: 866-KAENON-1, 949-574-7918
Maui Jim
• BASICS: Maui Jim’s prescription lens program is called MauiPassport. The company manufactures digitally compensated (free-form) prescription sunglass lenses for single or progressive vision, all of which use its patented PolarizedPlus2 lens technology that cuts UV rays and glare while enhancing color. With MauiPassport digital technology, the company is able to account for the unique aspects of a patient’s prescription and adjust the digital manufacturing to the precise measurements of each frame, resulting in clear, edge-to-edge, distortion-free vision.
• RX RANGE: +3.00 to -5.50 in single vision and progressive lenses. The total power is achieved by algebraically adding the sphere and cylinder powers together in minus cylinder form. The Maui Jim lab processes all orders based on the highest combined curvature within each prescription. The prescription axis is not a factor when determining total power. Maximum cylinder power is -3.00D. Maximum allowable thickness is 8mm.
• LENS COLORS: Neutral Gray, HCL Bronze, Maui HT, and Maui Rose
• SPORT SPECIALTIES: MauiPassport lenses can be made from Maui Evolution or polycarbonate lens materials that are light, durable, and scratch- and impact-resistant for the most active sports.
• INFO: 888-666-5905, mauijim.com
Oakley
• BASICS: All Authorized Oakley Rx Dealers can utilize Oakley’s proprietary lab, based out of its corporate headquarters in Foothill Ranch, CA. Oakley’s specialty lab focuses on high-wrap, digital technology that is uniquely suited for the Oakley frames. Oakley True Digital (OTD) Edge reduces thickness by up to 40 percent in high prescriptions, provides a full field of view, and minimizes distortion.
• RX RANGE: Oakley True Digital specializes in power ranges of +2.00 to -4.00. The new OTD Edge provides a wider prescription range for its most popular wrap frames: up to +4.00 to -6.00. Both are available in single vision and progressive.
• LENS COLORS: Oakley offers a full range of unique lens tints from contrast enhanced to neutral-based lenses.
• SPORT SPECIALTIES: Full range of year-round sports
• INFO: oakley.com
Reptile Sun
• BASICS: Reptile Sun’s DHD 160° is an advanced technological prescription Digital High Definition polarized sunglass. SlimPlus is a digital lens design that is part of DHD 160° that allows high-plus prescriptions to be fitted in a base-8 wrap in large frame sizes. This design incorporates a digital technique with Reptiles’ DHD160° technology, minimizing the Rx thickness and distortion by producing the Rx on a precise surface area of the blank, which expands the ability to produce prescriptions.
• RX RANGE: +6.00 to -8.00
• LENS COLORS: Brown, Gray, Black Ice, and Gold
• SPORT SPECIALTIES: Everyday wear and all sports activities
• INFO: 800-625-1880, reptilesun.com
Rudy Project
• BASICS: Rudy Project accounts can sign up for Club Rudy. With an initial order of 16 pieces they receive a display and the option of 30/60/90 dating or 1.5% discount off the initial order. Promotional items include free gift with purchase and P.O.P., plus personal online training.
• RX RANGE: Rudy Project has three options for Rx lenses—Rx Direct in which parameters range from -4.50 to +2.50, Rx Direct Clip with ranges up to -4.50 to +3.00, and Rx Optical Inserts that range between -7.00 to +3.00.
• LENS COLORS: Rudy Project has a wide range of colors from basic tints in polycarbonate and its ImpactRX Photochromic colors, and ImpactRX Photochromic Polarized with which wearers can see an LCD screen.
• SPORT SPECIALTIES: Rudy Project specializes in all sports, including volleyball, running, tennis, and shooting. Its frames were at the Sochi Olympics, worn by cross-country skiers and snowboarders. Rudy Project currently sponsors Yasiel Puig of the LA Dodgers and Peter Sagan, a Slovakian road Would Tour cyclist.
• INFO: 888-860-7597, (fax) 800-272-5118
Smith Optics
• BASICS: Smith Optics ChromaPop sunglasses block specific color wave intersections as they pass through the lens, eliminating color confusion and increasing clarity and optimizing color. Prescription sunglasses can be ordered at visionweb.com or requested patient orders can be emailed to rx.order@smithoptics.com.
• RX RANGE: 6-base frames, sphere +3.00 to -6.00, cylinder +2.00 to -2.00; 8-base frames, sphere +3.00 to -4.00, cylinder +2.00 to -2.00
• LENS COLORS: Polar Gray Green, Polar Brown, Polar Platinum, Polarchromic Ignitor, Polar Blue Mirror, and Polar Bronze Mirror
• SPORT SPECIALTIES: Fishing, hiking, mountain biking, climbing, and all general outdoor activities
• INFO: To become an established account, contact 800-635-4401, Ext. 3, rx.order@smithoptics.com, smithoptics.com
SPY
• BASICS: A color- and contrast-enhancing lens technology, the Spy Happy Lens lets in the sun’s long-wave blue light that studies suggest creates an uplift in mood and alertness, while still blocking the sun’s harmful UV rays and short-wave blue light. The Happy Lens is available with glare-reducing Trident polarization. Delivery of Happy Lens Rx is provided in seven to 10 days.
• RX RANGE: Base 8, +3.00 to -6.00, cylinder +/-2.00; Base 6, +2.00 to -6.00, cylinder +/-4.00
• LENS COLOR: Happy Bronze Polar
• INFO: Jake Jendusa: 760-444-9741, jake.jendusa@spyoptic.com
Wiley X
• BASICS: DIGIFORCE digital Rx lenses are designed specifically for the Wiley X 8-base frames, with a wide corridor and smaller area of distortion. Also, its Rx Rim system (now available in four frame styles) significantly expands the prescription range. The entire line meets ANSI safety standards. ECPs need an active account to participate.
• RX RANGE: +5.00 to -7.00 (with Rx Rim system)
• LENS COLORS: Gray, Brown, Smoke Green, Light Rust, Transitions Gray and Brown, Polarized Gray, Brown and Green. Mirrors: Blue, Silver, Green, Bronze Flash, and Silver Flash
• SPORT SPECIALTIES: All active wearers—runners, road biking, mountain biking, fishing, shooting, hiking, boating, and golfing
• INFO: Michael Bumerts, Rx director: 800-776-7842, Ext. 509; mbumerts@wileyx.com
ZEAL Optics
• BASICS: Active Rx: Nearly all of Zeal’s sunglasses are prescription ready and available for online ordering through VisionWeb and Maui Jim’s B2B site.
• RX RANGE: Varies, up to +3.00 to -5.50
• LENS COLORS: Copper and Dark Grey
• SPORT SPECIALTIES: Wide array, including running, cycling, hiking, SUP, trail running, skiing, endurance, fishing, and hunting
• INFO: Mike Lewis: mlewis@zealoptics.com, 303-396-0311
— Amy Spiezio
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