Tag Archives: luxury

Education IS a Selling Strategy

August 22, 2012 By in Selling, Strategy Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

I have posed some questions and shared some important research and articles. Now it is time to dive in and talk about actual tips to enhance the selling experience and make sure you have the tools to sell luxury eyewear.  Every tool and tip I discuss will have one ultimate goal – to make a connection with your patient and thus give you the ability to sell higher priced, luxury eyewear.

 Tip #1:  Educate, Educate, Educate

Education is a big theme throughout my writings and speeches (and of course with my own internal team).  We all have new things to learn and we should be learning something new almost every day.  Education does not end when we leave school or graduate. It continues forever and if we are not learning or educating at retail, we will be left behind by the stores/practices that focus on this every day.

Education tips to consider when developing your strategy:

  • Work with your staff and patients ONE on ONE as much as possible.  Individual attention is the best form of education.  For what it is worth, I always did better in school in the classes where the teacher paid individual attention and I did not feel like a “number/name” in a large room.
  • Keep on training the staff: Have weekly meetings, lunches, breakfasts.  Make it fun, have some contests. Write up silly quizzes and give out even sillier prizes.  The more the staff knows about ALL the product lines, the more you will sell.  And the more everyone knows about the luxury collections, the more you will increase your average retail selling price.
  • Invite your sales representatives as often as you can:  No matter how much you teach and study, you still have 10+ collections to think about and sell.  No one knows the details on products better than the company selling them.  See point 2 above and invite your sales representative to do as much training as you want.  Trust me – they will happily come in and do it (and if not, stop carrying the collection).
  • Pay attention to the details: Training is one thing.  The details are another.  When selling any luxury product, the consumer wants to know details.  They want to know why a specific product is special, why it costs more than the “popular price” frame on the board.  The devil is in the details!
  • Make learning easy:  Develop small bullet point reminders about collections.  Key in on features and benefits that make a collection or an item special.  If you do not have time or need help, ask your sales representatives to do this for you.  But do something.  And again, make it FUN.
  • Share: Last but not least — make sure to share all of this with your patients.  Remember – they want to be educated – not sold.


Education is the building block.  With the right focus on teaching and training, you will soon find it easier and easier to sell higher priced, luxury products. And you will develop a long-lasting connection with your patients.

Buying V: Sunwear

March 1, 2012 By in Buying Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

It’s March and springtime is around the corner which has put me in a BIG sunwear mood!  People have written hundreds of articles and advice columns on the importance of sunwear and almost all of them are right on point.  Sunwear is an essential part of any buying strategy and, of course, any luxury strategy.

Here are some top reasons to make sunwear an important part of YOUR strategy:

  • DIVERSITY – Sunwear rounds out your total frame assortment and offers more choice to your patient/consumer.
  • DON’T GIVE IT AWAY – Sunwear is EASY MONEY for you.  Consumers are buying sunwear.  It is a hot fashion accessory and gets a ton of press, especially when celebrities wear the latest trend.  You already have the consumer in your office. Don’t let them leave and give that money to another retailer.
  • POINT OF VIEW/TELL YOUR STORY – Sunwear is the HOT accessory of the moment.  Sunwear can help you in your merchandising strategy and help you develop a unique point of view in your store/practice.  When creating your point of view, sunwear is the item that will best illustrate the story you want to tell.  If you want a sports theme – you can show sport sunwear. If you want a high fashion theme, sunwear will illustrate this for you.  And of course if you want to tell a luxe story, what better way than with great luxury sunwear?
  • IMPULSE PURCHASES – Most people come to their ECP for eyeglasses.  Very few specifically come for sunwear.  As a fashion accessory, sunwear is an impulse purchase.  If you have a great selection and have developed a trusted bond with the patient/consumer, you have the inside track to sell them that great sunglass before they walk out the door.
  • MULTIPLE PAIR SALES – related to everything we have said above…  It is very hard to attract new patients/consumers to your store/practice.  The best way to increase revenue is to increase per-patient revenue.  They are already there!  Sell them that multiple pair.
  • EYE HEALTH – This is probably the MOST important reason to have a sunwear strategy.  We are in the eyecare business as well as the fashion accessory business.  We all know the importance of protecting one’s eyes from the sun’s harmful rays.  We are doing ourselves and our patients/consumers a disservice if we do not stress the importance of sunwear as it relates to health and wellness.

And visit the culture corner to see the latest books I have been reading.

Back To Strategy

February 23, 2012 By in Luxury, Strategy Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

We have spent the past few weeks talking about the “HOW” of a potential luxury strategy with a focus on buying.  Today, I want to go back and reinforce “WHY” luxury is so important. Here are some recent quotes from articles in The New York Times, Women’s Wear Daily, and Vision Monday – a good cross section of publications and viewpoints.

Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

The New York Times – Wednesday February 22, “High End Retailers Report Strong Profits, but Walmart Shoppers Still Struggle.”

  • The holidays turned out to be a lot brighter on the high end judged by the results of four major retailers.  While Walmart had to lower prices so aggressively that it hurt its profit, retailers focusing on higher-income customers crowed about the solid prices those shoppers paid.
  • “I think there is generally more confidence today than there was at this time last year” – Terry Lundgren, Macy’s Chairman and CEO. He added: “Bloomingdale’s business was particularly strong.  The Bloomgdale’s customer is categorized as one who’s buying more luxury product and that business was very good, and you’ve seen that from the other luxury retailers.”
  • Price cuts meant Walmart’s margin decreased by .4%
  • Saks Fifth Avenue has historically high gross margin rate performance.  Reduced promotional activity and increased full price sales led to a .7% increase in margin.  Net income in Q4 rose 48% while sales rose 7.7%.

Women’s Wear Daily – Friday February 16: “Nordstrom Gains With Rack, E-Commerce.“

  • Nordstrom sales rose 7.2% for their current fiscal year. Net income rose 11.4%.  This year, Nordstrom expects sales to increase between 4% and 6%.
  • “Regular price selling remains at historically high levels” – Blake Nordstrom, President.

Vision Monday – Friday February 17, 2012: “2012 ‘Off to Stronger Start,’ Says Optical Business Barometer from Jobson Research.“

  • “With the January 2012 Jobson Optical Business Barometer Rating, the new year appears to be off to a strong start, and continues a strong showing that began in November of 2011,” In December, the index saw a significant improvement when the Barometer rose 0.3 from November’s index of 3.5. The January 2012 and December 2011 ratings for overall optical business are the highest since March of 2011 and higher than any month in 2010.
  • The U.S. economy isn’t the only thing that seems to be strengthening and stabilizing. Numbers for the vision care industry are on an upward trajectory as well with total U.S. revenue at retail of all vision care products and services generated during the 2011 calendar year growing to $32.8 billion, representing an increase of almost 3% from 2010 when revenue hit $31.9 billion, according to VisionWatch, a research study conducted by The Vision Council.
  • Overall units for complete eyeglasses (frames and lenses) sold increased marginally, with less than 1% gains in both frame and lens sales during the year-ending period December 2011. In dollar revenue terms, there was a healthy growth of 3% for frames and 1% in the lens market. Approximately 67.1 million pairs of frames were sold during the year-ending period December 2011, worth $8.4 billion at the retail level. During the same period, approximately 75 million pairs of Rx lenses were sold, worth $9.6 billion at the retail level.
  • Dollar sales of plano (non Rx) sunglasses increased almost 5% in the year-ending period December 2011—the highest growth rate since the recession started, to close out the year at $3.4 billion for 92.2 million pairs sold. The increase is attributed entirely to rising prices in the sunglass market as the number of units sold did not change from 2010.

What does all this mean for you?  A strategy that includes luxury product will lead to increased sales, increased margins and an overall unique point of view at retail that can help you stand out from the crowded sameness of our market and retail in general.  See the Top Reasons I had printed weeks ago.  It rings very true in light of the recent news articles:

7 key reasons luxury product should be part of your overall retail strategy

  • Luxury sales are growing at a faster pace than other price point categories.
  • Luxury attracts affluent consumers – they are more loyal, they are wealthy, they are networked and thus they tell friends about you if they like you.
  • Luxury usually means local and NOT chain stores.  Americans like to shop. They like to spend money (despite the current crisis). And they like to do it locally and not in chains.  They want something special and they want it locally.  Don’t give the business away to a chain.
  • Luxury means generally higher margins on all sales
  • Luxury means higher retail price points which means greater sales volume.
  • Luxury means higher sales per patient visit/transaction –All of this means you can increase your sales without even increasing your patient base or the amount of people coming through your door.  You can increase sales without increasing any marketing or outreach expenses.  (we will discuss this in more detail in a future post)
  • Luxury product is the best way to stand out from the competition. It’s the best way to stand out from the chain stores that all look the same.  And it’s the best way to fight the ever present internet and all the discounts you can find there.   In short, luxury product is the means to creating your own point of view at retail.

Why Luxury Eyewear?

November 29, 2011 By in Eyewear, Luxury Tags: , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Q. Why luxury eyewear?

A. It can increase your sales by 10% or more.

You have taken your surveys and received advice from friends, advisors and colleagues. You have hopefully written a mission statement and maybe started to put in writing the outline of an action plan (or maybe even started a more detailed plan). But we still have not answered one of the central questions asked and one of the central reasons I have started this blog – why is luxury product so important and why should it be included in your product mix and your overall retail strategy? Clearly this is an important topic – evidenced by James Spina’s recent and passionate 20/20 & U discussion.

So… today we will talk about WHY.

Pam Danziger, President of Unity Marketing and author of Let Them Eat Cake best defines the luxury sector for us:

Today’s luxury market represents every marketers’ and retailers’ “sweet spot.” The top 25% of U.S. households (incomes of $75,000 and higher) have incomes two-and-one-half times larger than the nation’s average and they spend about two-times more than the average on most categories of consumer goods. In effect, the luxury consumer buys more of everything and they spend more every time they shop.

Light-bulb moment #1!  These are the people you want to attract to your practice/retail establishment.

Bill Curtis, publisher of the Robb Report, further defines the concept of luxury: Luxury is not a matter of what something costs.  It’s a matter of the entire visceral and emotional experience attached to it.  It is about being inspired by products and services.

Light-bulb moment #2!  This is WHY you need luxury product. It enables you to tell a unique story and offer a unique point of view at retail.  In today’s retail world, experience rules and the consumer is in charge.  Luxury product is the means by which you can tell your story and offer that unique experience.

It is important to back this up with actual numbers and facts.  Here are two VITAL statistics proving WHY you need to offer luxury product as part of your overall strategy:

  • Richard Baker of the Luxury Marketing Council states:  the Luxury sector represents over $160 billion in retail sales and is growing in excess of 10% per year, DOUBLE the rest of the industry.
  • According to fashion research firm NPD, Luxury Eyewear sales have been growing at about 10% per year on average for the past few years… far surpassing the overall eyewear market.  And growing at a time when other price points and other accessories are seeing sales declines.

Light-bulb moment #3!  What do the above definitions and statistics tell us?  Luxury is where the affluent consumers are and affluent consumers still want luxury and still spend money – despite what we read in the paper and see on the news.  If you are not catering to affluent consumers and trying to trade up your existing customer/patient base (affluent or not), you are missing an easy opportunity for sales growth.

Here are 7 key reasons luxury product should be part of your overall retail strategy:

  • Luxury sales are growing at a faster pace than other price point categories.
  • Luxury attracts affluent consumers – they are more loyal, they are wealthy, they are networked, and thus they tell friends about you if they like you.
  • Luxury usually means local and NOT chain stores.  Americans like to shop. They like to spend money (despite the current crisis). And they like to do it locally and not in chains.  They want something special and they want it locally.  Don’t give the business away to a chain.
  • Luxury means generally higher margins on all sales.
  • Luxury means higher retail price points which means greater sales volume.
  • Luxury means higher sales per patient visit/transaction –All of this means you can increase your sales without even increasing your patient base or the number of people coming through your door.  You can increase sales without increasing any marketing or outreach expenses (we will discuss this in more detail in a future post).
  • Luxury product is the best way to stand out from the competition. It’s the best way to stand out from the chain stores that all look the same.  And it’s the best way to fight the ever-present internet and all the discounts you can find there.   In short, luxury product is the means to creating your own point of view at retail.

I hope you are finding these posts insightful and helpful.  In the coming weeks we will explore the nuts and bolts of employing a luxury strategy.  Stay tuned.

Last but not least – check out the Culture Corner for some new additions!

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