The Power of BRANDS
Some can't live without them. Others have seen beyond them. There is no question that there are plenty out there. We ask the optical marketplace: Are brands still strong?
By Erinn Morgan

Brands pack a punch at the cash register. In fact, according to the Vision Council of America (VCA), branded frames accounted for 50.9 percent of the total frame market in 2003. Non-branded product made up the rest of the pie.

In 2002, however, brands held a 54.7 percent market share, compared to non-brands at 45.3. Does this indicate less interest in brands in 2003, or a simple market fluctuation? Is name saturation creating a consumer less interested in a brand name on their frame?

"Licensed brands remain an important part of the economy, but we also see more attention being paid to private label branding because the margins are better," says Bill Thomas, executive vice president and CEO of Vision Council of America (VCA). "You can't say people aren't buying name brand product, because the competition is there. With consolidation in the industry, people will look critically at what brands they buy."

EYEING BRANDS

The trend in optical is just as strong. "Brands are important," says Dale David, optical manager at Jervey Eye Group, a four-office group in the Greenville, S.C., area.

There are varying levels of brands, and retailers say one grade is just as important as the next. "We try and cover a wide variety of branded price levels. We start with Medicare at $64 and run up to $2,000 for Swarovski frames," David says.

While some brands come and go with the whims of the fashion machine, department store brands bring in the customers consistently. "We like tying into the major brand names because of the cross-branding they have with other product categories," says Noall Knighton, president of Knighton Optical, a chain of 15 stores in Utah where 75 percent of the mix is branded product.

"With these brands you get great photos and P.O.P. To have the next big, trendy name is not that big of a deal to our customers. We've seen the real strength where the brands are solid and there is crossover."

There is even development of brands at the lower end of the pricepoint spectrum. "The budget category has good quality brands, and they usually come with a warranty," says Carolyn Fierson, PhD, ABOC, at All For Kids Eyes Optical in Arcadia, Calif. "It didn't used to be good quality, but there is more branded product available at that level now."

Others reap rewards with higher-end designer names. "Brands can help dispensers push their mix more into the high end. We focused on our bestsellers and then we put in the luxury end," says Jervey Eye Group's David. "Prior to that, our high-end was around $300. Now, our most popular selling frames are Silhouette drill mounts at $325. Having good brands has helped the market feel that a $300 frame is no longer an expensive frame."

Some high-end lines have become brands on their own. "Within the high-end sector, what happens is that Oliver Peoples, Blinde, and Robert Marc have become brands," says City Optix's Goldberg. "We are not just getting brands through licensing. Some of the little companies have become branded. Even in the high-end sector where we don't sell things for the names on the side of the frame, they want these names. It is really kind of nice that as an industry we are making our own brands."

Finally, there are the offices that bring in brand names at all levels. "High, moderate, low--we have branded product at all prices," says Sandi Taverna, a certified optician at 20/20 Opticians, which has offices in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

On the other end of the brand debate are house brands and private label product, a category that is gaining importance.

"We import some product directly and don't name it," says Knighton. "We do it for pricepoint and only order four to five styles a couple of times a year to have the competitive off-brand stuff."

In addition to house products, dispensers are also having success with manufacturer's house brands. Says Knighton, "We sell Auto-Flex. Even though it's not a brand, people come in and ask for it by name. The company did a good job of creating a name that is successful."

Others choose not to go there. "We don't do private label because there are so many brands out there competing for the customer's attention," says David. "The companies are spending so much money on these brands that it would be kind of like competing against Goliath."

With all the brands of the fashion, sport, and celebrity sort, plus the company and non-brands, one would think product selection could be a dizzying task. This begs the question: Is the market oversaturated? The answer: Maybe. Are brands becoming less important? Likely not.

"I think as far as the marketplace, it is oversaturated," says Knighton. "But I don't know if you're going to sell anything without a brand. So you need it."