There is a dispensary. As you enter the door, it appears clean and well lit. There are great-looking products and displays on counters and in cases and even on some attractive frame board fixtures on the wall. Friendly sales people ask if their assistance is required.

As you stride towards the back, you reach the section you have been looking for-lower-priced eyeglass frames. The area is dark. The displays are cracked and dirty. The eyewear itself is dusty and smudged. Turned off to the shopping experience because the frames you were interested in have been treated with disrespect, you leave the dispensary and head to your local optical chain retailer (or somewhere else) to find a better selection and presentation.

What went wrong? In a dispensary where any frame category is not given the same treatment as the rest of the assortment, it is sure to stick out like a sore thumb. In this case, value eyewear appeared to be the "stepchild" of the optical shop. The customers who are interested in this price range of product-whether that is due to personal budget or a managed care program-cannot only make you a sale in the present. They can also represent a higher-end sale in the future.

"The dispenser should not shy away from displaying these frames in a positive way," says Bill Gerber, owner of Delectable Displays, a display and fixture company in San Diego, Calif. "The customer who can only afford $100 or $150 now may be your $500 customer in a couple of years. There's a really important psychological factor involved here. You don't want to offend this customer."

Sandy Bright, owner of Bright Displays in Kirkland, Wash., agrees. "I've worked in stores where they separated value eyewear out and put them on lousy racks. The customer feels that," she says. "These customers are not customers who will always have to order through that section. It's best to treat them like anyone else. Don't pre-judge your client."

At Block & Zuckerman in West Orange, NJ, lower-priced eyewear is a small part of the total assortment, but it is given a proper spot in the 800-square-foot dispensary. "We display our lower-priced product in the main sales area of the dispensary," says Paula Rothstein, optician. "When we sit down and talk with the customer, this section is right in front of us." When sitting down with consumers, Rothstein notes that she shows everything to them: "Calvin Klein, Armani, and the lower-priced product," she says. Once presented with all the options, the customer can make his or her own decision based on price, styling, etc.

Getting Started

"The first step is to take a look at what your mix is," says Mike Gloudemans, national sales manager at F.C. Dadson, an optical display company located in Appleton, Wis. "Is your mix 50 percent value frames? If it is, then you're going make your value frames look like a million bucks."
The dispenser has to evaluate what the store's mix is, the demographics of the customer, where they are located, and the general income of the area. If value eyewear is a strong part of the assortment, then it should definitely have a strong presence in the dispensary. "The biggest thing is the demographics and knowing your customer," explains Gloudemans.

Consistency in display throughout product categories is not just critical to the success of value eyewear, but to that of the entire store. "Consistency is very, very important," says Gloudemans. "So it's best to use the same display for all types and price ranges of frames. If you change this, the dispensary doesn't look clean, consistent, and fresh."

Separate, not Segregate

Whether your value eyewear section is five or 50 percent of your total mix, it may make sense to separate it out from the rest of the product in the dispensary. Just as men's, women's, children's, and designer eyewear may have their own sections, so too can value eyewear. "It makes sense to segregate it," says Gerber. "Have an area that is devoted to this. If you do it in a consistent way with the rest of your sections, it will make sense in the scheme of the dispensary."

"I think it's best to separate them," agrees Robin Belzer of Design Concepts in Clearwater, Fla. "If you have high-end mixed with low-end, this is confusing. Most customers say 'This is what I have to spend,' and then you should go ahead and point them in that direction. Don't make it difficult for the customer."

If the display of value eyewear is inconsistent with the display in the rest of the dispensary, and separated on unattractive towers in the back, your distaste or dislike for this price category will quickly become evident to your shopper. "It's a mistake to put value product on these separate towers," says Gerber. "It makes it seem like a stepchild."

"If you want to put them [high-end and low-end product] across the room from one another, that's okay," adds Gloudemans. "Both price categories serve different purposes. They can definitely be in the same room, but it's best to put them on opposite walls. And it's smart to keep them on the same type of display as other types of frames."

Others stress that it is important to mix the value eyewear with the other price categories even if it's in its own section, but that it is okay to separate out managed care product. "I am a proponent of separating out those frames that are lower end insurance plan frames," explains Jan Ennis, owner of Ennco Display Company. "Because generally those frames are not being sought out by customers. They get them because they have to follow their plan. You don't want to present them in the same elegant manner as the frames upfront if it's a low revenue producing."

Another way to organize frames if sectioning is not possible due to space constraints is to arrange the better lines from left to right in the center of the frame board. Then the more moderate and value lines could be shown off to the side on frame board or on shelves. This way the customer has a clear view of product arranged by price. "If someone is self shopping," says Gerber, "it makes sense for them so they can see a logical price tiering."

The Extras

In addition to consistently displaying value product in separate sections or organizing it by price on frame boards or shelves, there are some other special touches and tricks of the trade that will help the success of the overall dispensary.

One idea is to use effective merchandising in addition to display. "Put props, posters, and POP with them, and make them look beautiful," says Bright. "Clean up the lenses and tighten the temples. Make it presentable. Using poor displays downgrades the whole store even if other parts are beautiful."

And don't shy away from highlighting certain value frames. "It absolutely makes sense to highlight value stuff," says Gerber. "If there are unique features about the product you want to accentuate, go ahead. You can even feel comfortable highlighting 15 to 20 percent of all value products."

Another trick to successfully dispensing value among high-end eyewear is lighting. "Some dispensaries make the lighting not as vibrant in the value area as in the high-end area," says Gerber. "Highlight the things that are the biggest money makers. Don't put it in a dark dingy corner with a black light-but just get a lower-grade halogen to make it look less sparkly."

Success Stories

There are some retailers who are heavy into value eyewear sales and are focusing on making the most out of the category with strong display techniques.

According to Gerber, Target Optical is a good example. As many of us have taken note from their extensive advertising, Target's specialty is taking lower-end merchandise and making it look really attractive. "They've raised the level," he says. "They are displaying lower-end frames pretty well. They are a retailer that can take a $12 picture frame and display it in a way that makes it look comparable to a $25 frame in a different store. They are doing the same thing with eyewear."

Additionally, Kaiser Permanente (the largest HMO in country) certainly sells an abundance of managed care merchandise, but they also sell a lot of better product. They are focusing on displaying lower-end merchandise in a higher-end way. "Since they've remerchandised in a way that highlights their high-end product and shows their low-end product equally well," says Gerber, "their business is up significantly."

Independent dispensers and others can take note from the successes of these larger optical chains and follow suit with value eyewear for their own profitability.

Thus, much of obtaining success with value eyewear boils down to respect. "It doesn't make sense to put lower-end merchandise on a lousy display," says Gerber. "If it's so low end that you don't want to display it, then you shouldn't have it."

"Put it somewhere that indicates you are treating it with respect," adds Bright. "This is still your product. I see a lot of bad displays with value frame on them that are hanging off, falling apart, and dirty. Instead, like any other product, it should be treated with a great deal of respect.

"Bad displays put off a lot of customers," concludes Bright. "You should care for very good economic reasons. No matter what individuals spend. If they're treated well, they're going to come back and refer others." EB