Sarasotan finds Web niche in eyeglass frames

By Philip A. Lieberman
Contributing Writer

When Sarasota's Jim Morrison first announced his plans to sell eyewear on the Internet, "Everybody thought I was nuts," he says. No one is laughing at Morrison now. In less than a year's time, his eyeglass.com Web site has grown from 100 hits a day to nearly 6,000 generating 50 sereis inquiries seven days a week.

With a background in eye care, including five patenets in frame and lens development, the Harrisburg, Pa., native who moved to Sarasota in 1990 knew he could deep-discount the prices charged by chain stores and small retail opticians.

"It's not that they're ripping off people," Morrison explains. "Their markup needs to be very high to cover overhead costs like rents, personnel and inventory." He estimates, for example, that an average-size optical center stocks 1,500 different frames, and product turnover can be slow.

Morrison's eyeglass.com, on the other hand, carries little inventory and does not pay retail rent or salaries to fitters and technicians. Through Morrison's past connections inside the industry, he has established accounts with most of the brand names people know and trust. He simply orders frames for the same prices that retail opticians pay. Within four days, the frames arrive in Sarasota and are ready to ship via U.S. Mail

For the customer, that means about a one-week delay from the time an order is placed to the receipt of the frame at home. While Morrison admits that is a far cry from the same-day service offered by many retailers, many customers will gladly wait to get a 90% discount off the "specials" and coupons offered by the chain stores. For example, he points to one popular frame he sells for $25 that goes for $250 in a well-known store in Bradenton.

After receiving the frame, the customer is directed to a local optician to grind and install the proper lens. "Very few optical centers will refuse to install a lens in one of our frames," Morrison declares. "And we know Wal-Mart charges only $30 for that service."

What if a customer chooses a frame that is inappropriate for, say, a tri-focal or specialized lens for astigmatism? Eyeglass.com will gladly make an exchange, but Morrison insists that it seldom is necessary, especially if the customer submits a prescription or old frame's dimensions. The eyeglass.com Web site promotes those frames that are most universally adaptable and easy to fit. A section of the site teaches the user how to measure frames.

Although customers run the gamut for age and income, Morrison is especially targeting college students, whom he feels the major chains have largely overlooked. "They're akk on the Internet, and don't want to spend a lot," he states.

Morrison combs his suppliers for closeouts in fashionable styles. He spends $5,000 to $10,000 for bulk purchases, then promotes them on the Web site.

To keep from overwhelming the users, eyeglass.com promotes only about 50 stlyes at any given time. "The site builds quickly and simply," boasts Morrison. Most of the new customers find the site via Yahoo, which provides Morrison a customer feedback service.

Morrison has no fear that the big chain stores will muscle in as competitors on the Internet. Unlike a Barnes & Noble moving in to compete with Amazon, the large eyeglass chains will not be able to command retail prices without personalized service, he contends.

In fact, Morrison claims, a couple of large optical centers have approached him with package deals for on-site installation, so they can at least capture the lens portion of transaction. One offer came from Sterling Optical, which has 300 stores in the United States. Smaller opticians also are beginning to buy closeout frames from eyeglass.com, he says.

As eyeglass.com positions itself as a future dominent force in this unbundling, Morrison is seeking strategic partners to expand his closely held corporation. Eyeglass.com currently has three shareholders, and has spent around $100,000 since its inception last May. While he would not reveal revenues, he does say they have tripled since last June.

Morrison envisions his own brand name with a modular construction, so that customers can replace parts themselves. He is concentrating on an adjustable "one size fits all" modular frame that can be manufactured cheaply and sold in bulk quantities to specialized populations throughout the globe.

Morrison's focus group research last year revealed that the typical eyeglass wearer is dissatified with the existing system of buying glasses. "It's a $40 billion industry worldwide," he observes.