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Jim Magay |
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The next-door neighbor to my Optical shop years ago happened to be a shoe store and
as these things go we started swapping glasses for shoes.
Our kids were young and Stride Rite was all the rage, so for quite a few years that’s what they got for
sneakers.
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And then Kid’s marketing took over – Nike with its trademarked swoosh meant that the
lowly Stride Rites were no longer cool and we regretfully ended our wonderful
arrangement with the shoe guy. I still remember the family
argu…, er discussions about superficial values.
Well, translate that to Kid’s frames today – the brand is the thing. Forget that
most kid’s frames are practically identical – (exceptions - J.F.REY’s new line of
Kids and some of the very creative collections from Europe up in the Galleria at
Vision Expo) the one with the cooler logo always wins. What’s cool? That is the big
question.
With websites, blogs, and magazines of the print variety exploring the subject
worldwide, you’d think there might be a consensus. Vogue says one thing, “W” quite
another. So what’s an ECP to do?
Walk through the aisles of Vision Expo and you get a sense of how big branding is
and how crucial it is to your success, particularly with the younger, more attuned
set. But obviously no small ECP can buy everything. One thing to remember is that
there are two or three audiences you must buy for: the child, his parents, and the
child’s peers. Kids tend to be conservative and afraid of truly innovative styles.
Mom may want little Fiona to wear something cutting edge, but Fiona is thinking
ahead to showing up in school with hysterically laughing classmates – Ah yes, kids
can be cruel!
Branding and cool names definitely are age specific – My granddaughters (3 and 5)
think SpongeBob, Dora, and anything Disney Princess related is the cutting edge.
Some of my little boy customers in the same age range love Scooby Doo or anything
with a clip-on or Transitions lenses!
Move up an age bracket or two and Barbie, Koodles, Lilly Pulitzer,
Shrek, Juicy Girls, Nine West Kids, Chesterfield Kids and Carrera for Kids become more popular.
Tweens, well, Versace, Gucci, Chloe, and all the rest of the famous fashion house
brands come into play.
At that point kid’s conversations with parental units must run like, “Well, if you
want that $350 frame you’d better get a job – ‘cause I’m not paying for it!”
What do you think is cool for
tweens? I’m going to have to wait till my munchkins get older and tell me – then I’ll share that info with you.
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