SPORTS EYEWEAR

CRUSHING IT

5 tips for tapping into sports eyewear’s profit-enhancing potential

BY FRANCES NUELLE

Photography by David Douglas
Styling by Amy Spiezio

PURE PERFORMANCE: (from left to right) Polarized with 100% UV protection, Costa Sunglasses style Rafael is a heavy-duty nylon frame that reels in fishing-friendly performance in a wrap with the line’s signature three-square-hole ventilated frame front and retainer-ready temple tips. Red Bull Racing Grip-003 from Mad Vision is a lightweight model with plastic aviator styling and an updated double bar and textured brow—the temples and nose piece share a splash of bright blue and deliver gripping, stay-in-place performance. Visual performance meets sports performance in the Smith Optics Guide’s Choice from Safilo featuring the company’s exclusive eco-friendly Evolve frame material, an integrated/detachable sunglass leash, non-slip megol nose pads and temple tips, plus silver flash ChromaPop polarized lenses. Wiley X style Echo POL, with emerald mirror lens and glass black frame, brings tough, cool tech to the scene with polarized, shatterproof selenite polycarbonate lenses with a T-Shell coating, while a removable facial cavity seal protects the eye from irritants and peripheral light. Vuarnet style VL 0113 features the company’s proprietary Blue Polarlynx lenses with a blue flash mirror—the matte black nylon and rubber wrap style also provides optimal coverage.

The optical industry has been touting the rise of sports eyewear and sunwear for years—and with good reason.

Fully 61% of all people ages six and above in the U.S. participated in fitness activities last year, according to the Physical Activity Council, a sports industry consortium. Almost 50% played racquet sports, 35% participated in individual sports (such as golf or fishing), and 14% enjoyed water sports.

In recent years, sports eyewear has exploded in both public awareness (thank you, professional athletes) and product specialization. Manufacturer-direct digital lens processing and proprietary lens technologies, new lightweight frame materials, and performance-enhancing features such as interchangeable lenses, vents, and super-grip materials have all contributed to the growth of this game-changing category.

As with any niche product, selling sports eyewear and sunwear requires an educated staff, a commitment to product, and some patience. The payoff? Dedicated patients who rely on your expertise, a profitable channel for your dispensary, and a way to distinguish yourself from your competition.

SUCCESS, HERE

Experts in dispensing sports eyewear—those with high-volume, sports-specialty practices—say success requires an extra level of customer service and a lot of interactive time with each patient. While selling plano performance sports sunwear can be a much simpler endeavor, delving into prescription sports eyewear is more involved.

“Years ago, I worked with a couple of doctors on the East Coast who wanted to increase their sports business,” says Bret Hunter, owner/optician of Denver-based Sports Optical. “After eight months, one of them said, ‘This sports stuff is a pain in the neck.’ Why? It’s harder than it looks—there can be much more entailed than just selling a pair of glasses.”

The trick is to gather enough information from patients about their needs and preferences (think: ask lots of questions) to inform which product, which lens, and which features will perform best for each individual patient. And it’s not always the obvious choice.

“Manufacturers will tell you, ‘This lens is right for this lighting condition,’” says Thomis Buell, owner/optician of Tom’s Sportique in Boulder, CO. “To a point, that is true, but everyone is different; people perceive conditions differently. We have to be experimental in how we approach the wearer, what we recommend.”

SPORTS Rx FACTS

If your patient requires prescription sports eyewear, their Rx might preclude certain products or styles. So, the next step is narrowing down the product selection to what will work within those parameters.

“You definitely don’t want someone to get too excited about a product until you know it will work for their prescription,” says Shannen Knight, owner/optician at A Sight for Sport Eyes in West Linn, OR.

PURE INNOVATION: (Clockwise from top) Rudy Project’s Synform is a unique folding sunglass ready to fit in a jersey or perform on the face. SPY Optic’s Screw has the Scoop ventilation system and interchangeable poly Happy Lenses. adidas style Evil Eye Halfrim ProXS from Silhouette features light-stabilizing technology with ventilation along the top of the lens. Revo’s Crux C RE 1021 from ClearVision sports slim temples with retainer-friendly openings. Nike’s Vapor Wing Elite from Marchon was designed after R&D with Olympic athletes.

Direct-Rx proprietary lens programs offered by several sports eyewear manufacturers (see our Sports Rx Program Guide, page 66) take the guesswork out of the equation by providing prescription ranges that will work with their high-performance products and optimize clear vision from the lens center to mid and far periphery.

Retailers say that one major growth segment within the sports category is progressive lenses. But to be dispensed properly and assure adaptability, they can require out-of-the-box information gathering by optical staff. It’s not uncommon, for example, for a good sports optical retailer to ask a patient to bring his mountain bike to the store to properly measure the fitting height and angle from which the rider will read a road map or his watch. Golfers might bring in a golf club for the same reason.

“We look at [sports dispensing] as really just a problem to be solved,” says Buell. A patient walks in with a need, and “you have to know your products well enough to find a creative solution to the problem.”

Bikes and golf clubs in your store? Is this degree of information-gathering overkill? While plano sports sunwear is an easier, simpler sell, prescription sports eyewear dispensing simply takes more time and training.

DO YOU HAVE PASSION?

“The number-one thing required is passion,” says Hunter. “We fit the pool player, the Ping-Pong player, and the Olympian—three different customers, and they each feel equally passionate about their sport.” The dispensing staff, he says, has to be passionate as well—in making sure the patient gets the right product and fit, with a superior vision experience.

The variables to customer satisfaction are many, and include visual acuity, comfort, a secure fit, adequate ventilation, durability—and price. With retail prices topping out on the high end at $750-$800 (for progressive, proprietary lenses with a sports-performance frame), it’s no wonder patients demand satisfaction. But sports enthusiasts are often willing to spend more than they would on a regular pair of glasses.

“My advice is to keep it simple,” says Hunter. “Know the good products from the bad, don’t overstock, and figure out which one or two brands work best for you.”

Who knows? You might even find yourself pushing the boundaries of normal dispensing.

“The weirdest thing we ever made for a customer was a pair of prescription swim goggles,” says Knight. “But she wasn’t a swimmer. She wanted them to wear while she chopped onions.”