FIRST PERSON

5 Questions for…

Silhouette U.S. president Jan Cory

this month, Jan Cory, president of Silhouette U.S., spoke with Eyecare Business about her new role at the Austria-based company. Cory came to Silhouette with years of experience in optical; most recently she was the senior vice president of domestic sales for U.S. and Canada at Viva International Group. Previously, she held two senior management roles at Luxottica. Here, Cory shares her insights.

eb: Silhouette just celebrated its 50th anniversary. What do you think has given the company such longevity?

jc: The Schmied family had a very clear vision: they wanted to create really beautiful eyewear offering the best wearing experience, and they always stuck to their mission. It was something that was well received, and now that they have moved away from the business, they have chosen leaders who will continue that vision of having beautiful eyewear that is the benchmark of premium eyewear. And I think the new leadership of the company has a lot of passion; when you’re with the team in our Austrian headquarters you really feel it. It’s not just about making a frame, it’s a passion for creation, for design, for beauty.

eb: What do you see as your major goals as the head of U.S. operations?

jc: To assure that here in the U.S. we have a growing, sustainable place to work, and we are contributing to the wellbeing of our employees and our community. We are a sales and distribution organization here in the U.S. We don’t design the products here, but we do sell and distribute products here, and we have a fine sales force; I think they’re fantastic. As the president, I really feel an obligation to assure that we continue this growing, thriving business.

eb: Silhouette has streamlined its offerings for adidas. How does this impact the company?

jc: We recently re-signed our license with adidas for another five years and we decided to concentrate on the performance side of the business, which I think is much more aligned with the our customer base. It is a performance-driven collection that this year specifically is going after the outdoor and bike market, and we needed our eyewear to align with that consumer in sun and Rx sun.

eb: What do you see as the company’s biggest challenge in the U.S.?

jc: The challenge of doing business in the U.S. has to do with the geography and maintaining a consistent go-to-market approach. The U.S. is like many countries put together and the people who live in them are very different. The challenge is making sure we’re consistent in our product portfolio, distribution, service, point-of-sale, training, and interaction with ECPs.

eb: What advice would you give to independent ECPs today?

jc: ECPs have to create an environment where there’s a lot of new, interesting options, and where the consumers feel that the selection has been customized for them. That’s what consumers expect. ECPs have to look at their optical settings and make sure that they’re up-to-date, clean, fresh, and bright—and also well priced. Turnover is the name of the game, and the days of the three- and four-times mark-up are more than likely over, especially when it comes to luxury product. ECPs need to think carefully about accurate price points so the consumer does not turn away. There’s pressure on price and there are a lot of cool lenses—ECPs have to put together smartly priced packages to stay competitive.