How a multilocation optical business uses its finishing labs to propel its success

don’t let the name fool you—Lenses Only sells plenty of frames. In fact, thousands are on hand at its three Connecticut locations. But it’s what’s inside the frame (and, more accurately, how it gets there) that puts Lenses Only in a unique category.

The business, started by best friends Tom Gonthier and Steven Abbate just 2 ½ years ago, has already grown from one to three retail shops plus dispensaries inside two ophthalmology practices. Their goal is to get to 10 stores within five years.

The secret to their success? Their lens business, pure and simple.

Gonthier left a long career in optical retail and lab work to team up with Abbate, who spent 30 years as an HR executive and has experience growing businesses. Gonthier says he challenged himself to come up with a concept of how to start an optical business based on...well, lenses only.

One top-quality in-house finishing lab later, and Lenses Only was born. At the beginning, the focus was on serving customers who couldn’t or didn’t want to be without their frames while getting replacement lenses, and using the finishing lab for on-the-spot turnaround service.

“I wanted to be able to take the measurements needed, order lenses from a surfacing lab, and let the patient go home in their existing eyewear,” Gonthier says. “Then I can call them up a few days later and say, ‘Hey, your lenses are here. Come on in and we’ll take care of you while you have a cup of coffee.’”

The result?

“People absolutely loved it,” he said.

With a couple of highly experienced lab managers making sure the finishing operations run smoothly—and, for those customers who need them, a large frame selection offering moderately priced to luxury brand lines—the business partners have created a three-pronged approach to their success:

1. CULTURE OF SERVICE

Gonthier and Abbate have cultivated a very specific employee culture in which customer service rules the day. Employees are empowered to make whatever decisions they feel they need to satisfy the customer in front of them. “Whatever it takes to make the customer happy, that’s what we do,” Abbate says.

A great addition to the reputable customer service? A low employee turnover rate, they say.

2. CUSTOM PRODUCT

One of the top benefits of a high-quality edging system is the ability to turn simple shape editing software into a niche “custom” design business. Lenses Only reaps the benefit of its customers’ desire for custom-shaped, tinted, and “blinged-out” lenses.

“Word is out on the street that Lenses Only is the place to come to,” Gonthier says.

3. DISCOUNTED PRICING

Buying semi-finished lenses from a surfacing lab to be finished in-house allows Lenses Only to pass some of the savings on to the customer, and to offer high-quality lenses at a lower cost than the competition.

Because Lenses Only’s three shops are located in a mix of urban and rural areas, Gonthier and Abbate are proving their concept will work anywhere. More stores are planned, including one in an affluent suburb of Connecticut’s capital city.

—Susan Tarrant