​Don’t blink. The retailing scenario is in an intense phase of change as consumers re-evaluate buying habits, the conception of pricing in relationship to value, venues of purchase, and the very styles and brands they trust and lust.

Online shopping has certainly impacted this whole scenario but it is actually more than that.

Here are a few examples from outside our opti-sphere:

The biggest selling men’s jeans brand in America today (totally fueled by its position on Amazon) is basically an “off” brand called Victorious. Long before Levis, Wrangler and Lee got the message about “stretch,” the brains behind the Victorious brand were blending a touch of spandex into the belly area of their jeans. And at about half the price of others, Victorious tested the water of that potential male consumer with an exacting fit well suited for Web shoppers. And they dove deep with color offering every variety of blue, equally impressive shades of black and on to some daring colorations all with a price point that lent itself to aggressive buying once a guy got that first fit in a standard blue. Even I went so overboard there’s now a stock of red jeans, yellow jeans and shockingly white jeans in my closet waiting for my daring to get up and go.

And more simply, there’s Timex, a gigantic watch brand seemingly running on fumes until realizing the affordable timepieces they specialized in needed a full-on fashion-meets-function overhaul in order to catch recent upstarts and even mega-priced near-luxury brands. The added element of simple and wildly assorted online offerings on the revamped Timex website put the brand into a current state of massive contention with consumers looking for a brand that could keep on tickin’ with style at a terrifically affordable price.

Both examples here dovetail perfectly into our feature on Value-Able Eyewear… Eyewear in the current wholesale pricing hot spot of about $35 to $59 where you are in the arena of well-priced glasses in a quality consideration that can live up to the tough expectations of your current and potential customers and patients. So here is your weapon of choice when it comes to online challenges and that spot where medical coverage and insurance plans can still play through if that’s a part of your dispenser business.

Victorious Jeans? Timex watches? As you’ll soon see from the carefully selected specs in this issue, your choices are far more varied, and if I do say so myself, so enticing.

I wonder which pair would go with those red jeans I’m STILL kinda afraid to wear without my guitar strapped on and ready to rock.

• James J. Spina
Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]