BUYER’S FORUM

Buyers’ Choice

Learning how to read your market for what will sell while still buying what’s true to your style

decisions, decisions, decisions…that’s the heart of a frame buyer’s life. And though the fun of the job often is expressing your choices and providing your clients with a wide variety of options, there’s also lots of pressure to deliver the styles that sell while rolling out new collections that encourage people to buy what they didn’t know they want.

This month, EB speaks with Colleen G. Hannegan, frame buyer for Griffin Optometric Group, a three-brother, three-office optometric group in southern California. She shares her insights on learning about buying and what’s hot in her offices right now.

Q: HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN YOUR PERSONAL TASTE AND WHAT WILL SELL?

Personal taste and the “high” of seeing an array of gorgeous frames laid out before you can create an easy over-spend appointment. It takes an iron will at times to allow your personal taste to lead, (after all, your clients/patients have come to depend on your taste), coupled with the discipline of budget, inventory, and selection you can offer.

I recall the first year of buying for my optical store; I was so overwhelmed by the selection of designer frames before me, I spent $8,000 at one appointment where I should have spent $2,000. I was buying what I liked AND what I thought everyone else would like as well.

Knowing what will sell takes time. In the beginning, trust your style and don’t be afraid to experiment with unique colors and designs along with the tried-and-true black and tortoise.

Q: WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO YOUR COLLECTIONS?

Our offices can’t keep enough classic retro Oliver Peoples, Salt, and Tom Ford’s in stock. Chunky tortoise and solid black are still the faves across ages and lifestyles.

Etnia of Barcelona, an unknown frame line just a few years ago, is one of our top-five brands in our three offices. Bold color combinations, clean lines, and beautiful design and construction make it a stand out against the popular retros.

We offer more than 40 collections among our three offices. Not all collections are in every office. In 1982 when I started, there was Optyl, Silhouette, Neostyle, Luxottica, and Safilo. Today, the independents are leading the way in innovation, design, marketing, and board space.

Top: Innotec style 4701 from OGI; Below: Paul Smith style Branwell from Oliver Peoples

Q: WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE?

While bold and colorful has its hold on the buying public, the market for lightweight, barely-there eyewear is gaining more board space again. Silhouette, Adidas, ProDesign, and Charmant all provide the lightest of materials in their titanium and stainless steel models. I like to refer to these styles was “anti-gravity” eyewear. Younger buyers sometimes forget that the elder market cares most about comfort before style or price. You can offer them all these features in well-chosen rimless and lightweight metals.

— Amy Spiezio, Executive Editor

Want to talk about what gives your frame buying flair? Please email executive editor Amy Spiezio, Amy.Spiezio@PentaVisionMedia.com