NEW YORK — Buyers of designer shades will have more places to get their fashion fix now that Solstice Sunglass Boutiques is expanding.
The retail chain that stocks frames by Chanel, Gucci, Dior, Marc Jacobs and Juicy Couture, as well as an additional 20 to 30 high-end brands, will more than double its locations to 120 doors by the end of next year and anticipates a total of 155 at year-end 2008. It is also considering opening an e-commerce site and growing beyond the continental U.S. with stores in South America and Europe during the next two years, said Ed Jankowski, chief operating officer of Solstice Marketing Concepts, the privately owned parent company of Solstice Sunglass Boutiques.
“What’s happened in the sunglass specialty store arena is that we have capitalized on an untapped market that was never there before,” Jankowski said. “When we look at our stores that have been opened over the last year, we are seeing on average double-digit sales increases and growth of over 30 percent. That’s how we know this is a successful venture. We believe the need for an upscale fashion sunglass store can apply to many malls in America.”
Jankowski said that consumers’ recent appetite for accessories, coupled with their heightened recognition of designer brands, has helped drive sales in the company’s existing 53 locations, including the West Coast flagship that opened in November in Westfield Century City mall in Los Angeles and the newest space, which bowed in March in Pacific Place in Seattle. There are also two outlet stores.
“With all the fashion publications and fashion presence on TV and at awards shows, the awareness of designer brands has spread across the country,” Jankowski said, adding that the average sale in Solstice stores is $210, up from $144 two years ago. The assortment ranges in price from $80 to $500, with some special styles such as Giorgio Armani leather glasses going for $700 and some Cartier styles selling for as much as $1,500.
“The sunglass category captures a customer who will never be able to purchase, say, a Gucci handbag, but feels comfortable spending $200 for Gucci glasses,’’ he said. “We see that with many customers, they are very clear what brand they are looking for when they come in the store. And they want the latest styles.”
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Solstice opened its first boutique in 1999 in Orlando, Fla., under the operation of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. In 2002, LVMH sold the business, then comprising six stores, to a group of private investors, the largest of which was Safilo Group, the eyewear manufacturer based in Italy. The investment group formed Solstice Marketing Concepts.
Safilo didn’t disclose Solstice full-year 2005 figures. But extrapolating data from its IPO prospectus, 2005 results show that Solstice’s rrevenue grew 56.2 percent to 29.7 million euros, or $36 million at current exchange.
About 60 percent of the inventory for Solstice Sunglass Boutiques comes from Safilo brands, which includes Juicy Couture, Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Kate Spade and Stella McCartney, among others. The other 40 percent comes from other sunglass manufacturers, such as Cartier, Oliver Peoples, Maui Jim and Chanel. Key geographic targets for new stores in the next year include New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, Nevada and California.
“Our real estate strategy is to cluster stores and expand into new areas,” Jankowski said. “When we’re looking at malls or outdoor shopping areas, we’re looking for other fashion tenants, like Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks, Coach, Ann Taylor and Banana Republic, as well as places like Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn. On average we spend about $350,000 on each store we open. The malls recognize this and like it, and the customers like it.”
Solstice retails its assortment, 70 percent of which is geared toward women and the rest targeted to men, in an open-sell format.
“A customer can touch the sunglasses, try them on and not feel the pressure of having somebody that has to help them get the styles out from under lock and key,” Jankowski said, noting that there is staff available should assistance with fit or selection be needed.
Other key details of the stores, which average 800 to 1,200 square feet, are a tonal color palette of white Corian marble walls and fixtures juxtaposed with mahogany cabinetry and counters. Floors are a combination of tile and hardwood.
“We get a lot of people who walk in the store because it’s inviting and bright and open and it’s a fun place to try on sunglasses,” Jankowski said. “We have done surveys, and 50 percent or more of those people who have purchased sunglasses from Solstice said they were not coming in the mall that day to buy sunglasses.”
Solstice provides added incentives to its shoppers by changing its windows and what it calls its “feature wall” nationwide every three weeks to highlight a different brand. The windows combine an assortment of sunglass styles from that brand, along with its most current worldwide ad campaign. In January, the windows featured the exclusive launch of Juicy Couture sunglasses, which resulted in the line skyrocketing to the top-selling position for Solstice.
“It was one of the best launches for us,” Jankowski said. “It quickly became about 10 percent of our business, and has maintained that.”
Other top sellers include Gucci, Chanel, Dior, Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani.