Photographed by: Annie Gallagher Black Box Studio.

NEW YORK—It is nearly impossible to go a day without hearing about some staggering effect caused by the recession we currently find ourselves mired in. Unemployment rates are up, businesses are closing their doors and consumer spending is at an all-time low.

VM’s own How’s Business survey reflected the experiences of some of its readers: 33 percent of survey respondents indicated their plano sun sales were down 5 percent or more over last year’s numbers. In addition, 27 percent said their Rx sun sales were down 5 percent or more over last year.

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Though it is easy to get wrapped up in the alarming figures and dire predictions, focusing on the positive and taking steps to make it through these tough times is clearly more productive.

And that is exactly the philosophy adopted by the suppliers and retailers VM spoke to for our 2009 Sunwear Outlook story. As we rang in the New Year, we learned that many suppliers are embracing efficiency at the start of 2009 by streamlining their assortments to take best advantage of tighter open to buy dollars. Retailers are re-emphasizing their core messages, be it stressing their value positioning, offering house brands as a means of increasing their dollar margin, or focusing on their Rx sun lens options. (More Sun Rx options are available than ever, with an increased emphasis on ease of ordering for these new technologies.)

Whatever approach they are taking, one message resonated repeatedly among those we talked to: like many in the country, the optical industry is approaching 2009 with cautious optimism.

For Auld Lang Syne
There is no denying the close of 2008 brought some challenges to the sunwear business on both the vendor and retailer sides, and in both the optical and non-optical retail channels.

“The last half of 2008 was difficult and sales were slow,” said Robert Henshillwood, Cachet sales director, L’Amy America. “Accounts were delaying their purchases, buying more selectively and gravitating toward more tried and true brands.”

“The second half of 2008 was a challenge,” agreed Lloyd Gitler, vice president of retail for Marchon. “The consumer tightened their wallets and ‘open to buys’ were reduced to keep in line with reduced sales budgets and shrinking market share.”

“Our business has been strong due to our value position in the marketplace and I am cautiously optimistic that will continue. We do a very good job of selling prescription sunwear and are seeing Rx sun gaining in importance,” said George Gebhardt, chief merchandising officer for Eye Care Centers of America (ECCA), with 424 locations throughout the country. “Retail is detail and our business is blocking and tackling and constantly watching all the details of the business.”

On the retail side, Aaron Schubach, vice president of 15 Salt Lake City-based Standard Optical locations stated, “Our overall sun/plano business has been negatively hit by the economic conditions of 2008. Sales were flat through November and look to be flat for Q4 though weather conditions led to a significant increase in our plano sun and ski/snowboard goggle business in early December due to Utah being a ski destination.”

“We have felt a minor impact in our retailers’ inventory and open to buy dollars are being more scrutinized than ever,” added Bill Munch, national sales manager, retail sun, for Viva International Group. “We had to manage our retailers’ stock levels closely to maximize efficient inventories and optimal turn. Luckily, the economic downturn of 2008 is not affecting our core customer at the same level as the total market and sales for Viva’s retail division are trending up double digits over last year.”

“I did see customers making some changes in how and what they buy,” acknowledged Lee Birnbaum, southeast regional sales manager for ClearVision Optical. “Specifically, there was a deterioration of non-essential brands of sunwear without an inherent value proposition and we have noticed during tougher times more support for value which should prove to be very good for the ClearVision stable of products.”

Rachel Sivi, co-owner of Real Optics with 21 locations throughout the Des Moines, Iowa area observed, “We have not seen a significant change to purchasing decisions. Our stores have never had a strong showing in the plano sunwear market and that didn’t change in 2008, but we continue to see slight increases in the Rx sunwear side of the equation. In the past year, we decided to go with MSRP pricing to compete with the sun specialty and department stores because the average consumer wanted to spend very little on their sunglasses and we wanted to make the price as appealing as we could.”

Kenmark’s vice president of creative development, David Duralde, summed up the close of 2008 this way, “The economic conditions provided more of a challenge to us to offer product more aligned with the needs and wants of the consumer who has changed their purchasing dynamic. It has become imperative to anticipate what will drive them to buy sunwear in 2009.”

After the Ball Drops
Many companies have taken the lessons they learned during the turbulent end of 2008 as incentive to re-think their opportunities heading into ’09 and focus on those brands, messages and practices they believe will prove successful for them in the New Year.

“People like to wear sunglasses, they make them feel good and look stylish. Even in the current economic climate that is our opportunity to take advantage of in the optical business,” stated ClearVision’s Birnbaum. “Our strategy is to offer a broad range of products at different price points in order to supply our customers with what they need. We are releasing over 35 new sun styles and our pricing will take into consideration the marketplace generally.”

Cachet’s Henshillwood agreed. “Customers still need sunglasses and fashion brands drive that business. As a company, going forward we are optimistic and planning for an increase by broadening our distribution mostly on the West and East Coasts. To do this we’ll focus on promotion, working with our customers to explore what products might fit their needs and help them with special programs. And though we will hold our prices in 2009 we will focus on the products within each line that carry a lower retail price.”

“There is always an opportunity for both newness and value and our portfolio is strong and offers both,” explained Marchon’s Gitler. “All of our brands offer features and benefits and design—value and brand always resonates. We have simply ensured that we have all the right price bands covered in order to meet the needs of the customer while maintaining the integrity of the brands. By offering spectacular product, thoughtful deliveries, flow of newness and value for dollar we believe we will be successful.”

Noted ECCA’s Gebhardt, “We look at individual sales for every single store and make merchandising assortment decisions accordingly. We just keep pounding away at our value message offering a large assortment of fashionable, high-quality, value product and recommending the best lenses for our sunwear buyers.”

A spokesperson for Luxottica Retail said that, for their stores, Rx is gaining particular importance in the 3O environment. “Most vision correction patients need Rx sunwear and eyecare professionals are making recommendations for prescription sunwear. At Luxottica, we are focusing on these needs to ensure that we address them properly. Many of Luxottica’s sunglass styles are Rx-able and with the advent of new lens technologies Rx-ability is now a possibility beyond the average base curvature.”

“Rx Sun has always had importance and wrap technology lenses have opened [up] some new opportunities for us as well,” added Real Optics’ Sivi. “If the economy continues to slow down we will have to address our buying habits so we can still offer higher fashions but perhaps without the designer’s names to keep cost down.”

Other retailers have also explored house brands as a way of building a better dollar margin.

“The only sunwear we sell in our store are Viva brands and frames we source directly from factories in China,” explained Gebhardt. (ECCA and Viva are subsidiaries of the Highmark Vision Group.) “We call them exclusive brands and market them as house collections. It allows us to constantly re-shuffle the styles, update the assortments and sell through and close out the product that is slowing down while introducing product that is more trend oriented. It keeps us new and fresh. We know that in retail if you don’t differentiate you die.”

Standard Optical’s house brands include Schubach Originals and Schubach Classic Collection which will make up 25 percent of their product mix in 2009. “Our ventures in China have helped us manage our cost of goods sold by bringing in quality product, without a consumer brand name, but with the same quality at a fraction of the price. It not only allows for a lower retail [price] but has a better dollar margin,” said Schubach.

Of course, marketing and merchandising strategies have also gained new importance.

“As a 98-year old business, we have survived two world wars, several recessions and the Great Depression,” continued Schubach. “We are prepared for a tough 2009 but our strategy is to increase media spend in all segments, especially 1-to-1 marketing and recall efforts and I believe the economy will see improvement by Q3 2009.”

“In addition to keeping the assortment tight, fresh and showing a cohesive story of best sellers, you need to grab the consumer visually by telling a clear, concise and impactful story,” added Viva’s Munch. “Maximize consumer PR by working closely with the publications consumers read to fit your product into their trend, technology and other stories. Utilize in store images wherever possible to draw the consumer in.”

“With four different store identities, marketing can be tricky,” said Sivi, who’s Real Optics stores operate under Vogue, Younkers, EyeMart and One Hour Optical names. “Some of the smaller, more rural locations may struggle more with the economy, so we will address direct marketing appropriately for them, but as long as nothing dramatic changes in our sales, I plan to advertise as fun and creatively as I can,” she concluded. ■