FIRST PERSON

5 Questions for…

Ogi Eyewear CEO Joseph Tallier

Ogi Eyewear has appointed Joseph Tallier chief executive officer. Part of the Ogi Eyewear team for six years, Tallier started his career there as vice president of global sales and became an equity partner in 2012 prior to being promoted to CEO. He has 28 years of demonstrated success in the wholesale optical industry, starting as a sales representative and progressively being promoted to leadership positions in several wholesale optical companies in the U.S. Here he speaks with Eyecare Business about his plans and hopes for the future of Ogi and optical.

eb: How does Ogi plan to move forward in 2015 and beyond in terms of differentiating yourselves in the market? 

jt: Ogi Eyewear as a company has continuously made improvements to its strategy. Our mantra is to consistently redesign, redirect, and improve quality with every new release. Our core mission is continuously improving to add value to our clients and with this strategy we will stay relevant in the future.

eb: What do you see as the biggest challenge facing Ogi and the frame manufacturing universe?

jt: Manufacturing is the biggest challenge for all wholesale companies. We see this as an opportunity. We have been ahead of the curve by buying and stocking all of our own raw materials, so we control our destiny. With owning our own raw materials, including hinges and screws, we are able to cut down our lead time by not having to wait for suppliers to order these materials for us. We have also created more strategic alliances with our factories to ensure that we are a priority.

eb: What are your goals as CEO; where do you see Ogi heading?

jt: First and foremost is that Ogi becomes the number-one American boutique wholesale eyewear company worldwide. Our corporate headquarters is in Minneapolis, MN, where the state motto is L’Etoile du Nord, which translates to “the star of the north”. This northern climate fosters creativity and efficiency, which produces results that are uncommon in the optical industry. For instance, our company has, for the last 285 consecutive days (as of EB press time), successfully shipped every single order received before 4 p.m. out the same day. We have an extensive product portfolio, yet are able to maintain less than 1% backorders. At Ogi we believe our success is a team effort and that all the working parts complement one another. We take pride in offering the best style, quality, and value in the industry.

eb: What are some upcoming opportunities for ECPs?

jt: ECPs are adapting to the new market by finding ways to make managed care work for them. They are adapting to the paradigm shift of migration to boutique companies and away from the sea of licensed brands. We look at what they are doing rather than what they are not doing because as a whole, the eyecare professionals are truly driving the market.

eb: How can frame companies and ECPs work together?

jt: We find that our eyecare professionals are getting more and more sophisticated in their approach toward purchasing decisions. Ogi has one of the best sales forces in the industry with a real professional pedigree, which makes it easy for us to share our analytics with ECPs. Most of our customer base is eager to see our best-sellers list on a regular basis along with product training manuals. The real future in distribution is sharing information, and that is something we are very dialed into at Ogi.