
Retail Shop wuld be empty without
them. Customers would have limited
options if they prefer to absent. The
optical industry in the region will collapse
if they go on strike. Indeed, their
existence in the whole supply chain of
optical goods in the Middle East is one
vital and crucial role. Without them,
the whole industry will collapse. And,
who are they? They are simply the retailers’
distributors – the companies
that make it possible for shops to sell
diverse selections of optical goods; the
companies who have to ensure that
the end customers will get the highest
quality products as possible; and, the
companies that ascertain the cycle and
growth of optical business on this part of the globe.
In this issue, EyeZone takes the rare opportunity
of getting to know more about
Optitalia Safilo Group, Eye Fashion and
Transitions Optical – some of the region’s
key distributors – and asks them about
their work behind the spotlighted retail
scene. These distribution companies follow
different models, and are driven by different goals. But they show similar passion and
commitment in delivering quality products and quality
relationships.
The bridge to brands
Optical fashion market will not be as sparkly, trendy
and chic if not for the Optitalia Safilo Group. The
Safilo Group is worldwide leader in the premium
eyewear sector and maintains a leadership position
in the prescription, sunglasses, fashion and sports
eyewear sectors. Present in the international market
through exclusive distributors and 39 subsidiaries in
the primary markets (USA, Europe and Far East). The
main proprietary branded collections distributed are
Safilo, Carrera, Smith, Oxydo and Blue Bay while the
licensed branded collections include Alexander Mc-
Queen, A/X Armani Exchange, Balenciaga, Bottega
Veneta, BOSS by Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, Juicy Couture,
Marc Jacobs, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Max Mara,
Max & Co., Pierre Cardin, Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent.
Known for its ability to supply the required demand
for latest models of fashionable eyewear, the company
has grown its business over the years of its
presence in the GCC. According to the remarks of
Mr. Carlo Lorigiola, General Manager of Safilo, the
company’s growth is happening because of two reasons:
the market was and still is developing and the
company in itself continues to improve. The retail
developments in the region, especially the onset of
the big shopping malls in Dubai, spice up the market.
Despite the global economic bubble, new shops are
opening in the region from time to time thus experiencing
the demand boost.
Also, people here in the region have been very conscious
about brands and fashion. In such a short span,
Dubai is becoming a fashionable shopping destination.
The quality of shops and buys in the emirates
are at par with the products one may find in the USA
or Europe. The change has been driving the distribution
to fantastic changes.
On the other hand, discussing about the company’s
main distribution process, the products they sell to
the retail shops are apparently not stocked in Dubai,
based on Mr. Lorigiola’s comments. In every week
that the company receives the requirements from its
clients then it would request for the inventory of the
products that are stored in Italy. Similar distribution
system is applied to Safilo’s offices in Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. Through this process, Safilo
is being able to provide its clients the ability to
maintain a minimum inventory and maximizing the
rotation of such inventory of products. The company
understands the changing needs of a fashionable
market thus it allows its clients to keep up with that
pace by managing its stocks on a low level.
Safilo also allows its clients (opticians, retail shop
owners) to learn more about the existing brands
that the company distributes. The company advises
its clients as to the statistics of the products, brands
and models. But, the final decision if the piece is to
be sold or not is left upon the opticians or retail shop
owners. It has to be noted, though, that the end buyers
who ultimately use the product enlighten the
distributors, retail owners and opticians about the
popular brands that sell. To Safilo’s delight, the global
awareness about the brands is translated into sales in
this region.
It further has to be noted that Safilo works best in its
ability to take care of its brands and its capacity to
formulate long term relationships with its clients. In
spite of the many options to distribute to the numerous
shops from huge malls, shopping centers and
even small shops around the corners, Safilo caters to
its clients as regular affiliates and ensures that its distribution
of quality and highly fashionable products
are met.
Yet despite the system and growth of the company,
Safilo suffers from several challenges in dealing with
the optical industry. One problem it faces is the existence
of counterfeit goods. Up to this time, people
buy fake items because they do not understand the
value behind the brand and the products. However,
Safilo gets hit when people think that they are buying
the original instead of the fake ones just because
shops put on the duplicates on their shelves.
This problem actually happens on the outskirts and
very small shopping centers. When this occurs, Safilo
discusses with the mall management its problem
of maintaining its reputation and asks for the shop
owners to refrain from selling counterfeit items.
Another problem that Safilo commonly encounters
is the differences in retail pricing. The company has
tried so many times to unify the opticians and retail
owners by coming up with standard pricing but still
the problem prevails. There were times in the past
when the company had to enforce corrective actions
against the retailers who would put unreasonable
discounts. Since the company does not want to appear
unfair and prejudice, there were times that Safilo
lost business because of its adamant interest of
retaining standard pricing in the market. They would
prefer to be respected and hold high on their good
reputation instead of just earning sales. As Mr. Lorigiola
summed up that in the end it even worked for
them. Safilo does not only gain new businesses but
also gains tremendous respect from the industry.
Young but promising
In September 2008, Eye Fashion was established in
partnership with Luc Margaritora de Barnier CEO for
Near East, Middle East and Far East of Grosfilley, the
distributors of Azzaro, Charriol, X one and other renowned
brands. Though quite relatively new in the
business, Eye Fashion has already gained recognition
being a reputable distributor of world famous brands
of frames and sunglasses.
According to Mr. Rafi of Eye Fashion, the company’s
main responsibility is to provide the highest quality
of service to the end users. That is why Eye Fashion
takes good caution in its relationships not only with
the opticians and retail shop owners but also the impact
of its products and most especially its services
to the customers.
Service is the key factor of the growth of Eye Fashion.
The product lines it distributes carry the rare opportunity
of having service warranty of one year to three
years. The warranty Eye Fashion provides includes
giving temples, temple tips, special screws and nose
pads that are free of cost to the end user. These are
given instantly to the customers – Eye Fashion promises
that it services without any delays. As compared
to its close competitors, customers have to wait two
to three months of servicing similar product lines.
Such excellence in quality customer service puts Eye
Fashion into a remarkable place in the market.
Eye Fashion’s outstanding service system has been
the topic of the customers especially during the
trade shows. Mr. Rafi declared that in every important
trade show and exhibition event that they participated
in, walk-in customers’ word of mouth would
be about praises on the company’s customer service
system. These incidents therefore helped in boosting
the number of Eye Fashion clients and increasing its
point of sales every month.
Although Eye Fashion is incurring good amount of
sales from its products and outstanding service quality,
still it encounters challenges in managing its operations.
One common difficulty that the company
hopes to handle very well is the accounting of its receivables.
What the company tries to face is the timely
collection of the receivable payments that actually
slowed down because of the economic downturn.
As of now, the company looks at entering with one
product line as it short term goal. Also, the company
would like to translate all its efforts from distributing
diverse optical product lines to providing unmatched
services thus earning notable customer satisfaction.
Eye Fashion is indeed a distribution company of optical
goods that put greater importance to the endconsumers’
needs.
It may be new and young to an industry that has been
developing in the region for years but Eye Fashion
pledges its capacity to turn a strong business sense
that will delight the optical market. It also assures
that customers need to wait and watch in a while because
it is coming out with really big surprises in the
recent months to come.
Seeing through strong, global lenses
Transitions Optical, headquartered in Florida (USA),
is formed as an independent joint venture company
between PPG Industries and Essilor International to
manufacture and market plastic photochromic eyeglass
lenses. From its inception in 1990, the company
and its branded Transitions lenses have grown tremendously.
Now present in 38 countries, and lenses
sold in more than 75 countries, the company is unstoppable
in producing the lenses in its manufacturing
sites in Asia, Europe, South America and the US.
In Europe, Middle East and Africa alone, the company
has recorded 11% growth rate from 2003 to 2008..
A recognized global leader in its field, Transitions Optical
is the number one recommended photochromic
lenses in the world. Its mission is to establish Transitions
lenses as a leading eyewear choice for healthy
sight providing convenient protection, visual quality
and visual comfort. The company embarks on its
operations by maintaining great relationships with
its lens manufacturers, its trade efforts in selling the
lenses, and its consumer demand campaigns. Transitions
Optical certainly capitalize on the product, its
brand and distribution strengths while developing
leading technologies that align with material and design
development..
The accomplishment of Transitions Optical is definitely
attributable on its pertinent and clear distribution
chain. Manufacturers go over its function of ensuring
quality products to be sold to market. These would
go to wholesale labs and then would be passed on
to the opticians, retail shop owners, mass merchandisers,
and even to private practitioners. According
to Walid Elali, Business Director of Transitions Optical
in the Middle East, the strong relationship and
long-term working affiliation that the company and
its renowned brand have with its retail customers are
the reason for its successful operations. In the region,
Transitions lenses are usually found at Magrabi Optical,
Al Jaber Optical, Barakat Optical, Dubai Optical,
Al Jamil Optical, Yateem Optician, Kefan, Hassan’s Optical,
Optikos Shami and Grand Optics, to name a few
of its loyal retail customers.
Reinforcing sales of the Transitions lenses is one
of the main challenges of being in the distribution
business. Because retail shops have huge selections
of products to sell, there are times when the sales
of Transitions lenses would need a push. Despite of
maintaining close relationships with the opticians
and retail shop owners, Transitions Optical also provide
trainings and workshops that would allow these
retailers to enhance their professional skills, re-learn
the product and be motivated in selling..
Being a market leader in the world, Transitions Optical
serves immense inspiration to other companies
which key function is distribution. Aside from manufacturing
quality lenses, the company has proven its
capacity to deliver and manage its operations – an
aspiring quality to existing and potential players in
the industry. |