Member Spotlight: Carkner’s Family Vision Care
Giving Patients a Unique Look While Boosting Profits
Today, and especially with the help of social media, people are always looking for ways to stand out and create a unique look for themselves, and that includes their eyewear selections. Increasingly eyewear is being considered both a medical corrective device and an expression of who someone is.
This makes the ability to offer a unique in-house line of eyeglass frames a differentiator for practices such as for Carkner’s Family Vision Care in Portland, Oregon. Carkner’s began offering PECAA’s new InD Eyewear frame line to patients in March, with immediate success.
The new frame line quickly became the leading brand in Carkner’s Portland office, says Dr. Keely Hoban, OD, FAAO. “We were selling a number of them in the first few weeks,” she says. “Patients were attracted to the idea of us having an in-house line.”
Improving the Bottom Line
“Since we started offering the line, close to 15% of the frames we’ve sold have been InD Eyewear frames,” Dr. Hoban adds.
Currently, her practice prices the frames at $229 for acetate and $249 for titanium, after purchasing them at a wholesale cost of $26.50 and $36.50, respectively. This provides a great profit margin for private pay patients and ensures a strong margin with managed care patients, with a Frame Facts listing of $87.50 for acetate and $97.25 for titanium.
The success of the frames has helped boost overall profitability in the Portland office, Dr. Hoban notes, with a frame capture rate increase of 10%. Revenue per frame sale is up 22%, and patient-owned frame jobs are down 50%.
Patients Drawn to Exclusive Styles
“Whenever I mention that InD frames are our in-house line, patients gravitate towards them. The frames feel well made and of high quality,” Dr. Hoban notes.
She adds that, because InD is offered only by her office and a few other private practices in town, patients feel like they have a one-of-a-kind look which they can’t find in big box retail stores.
Working InD Eyewear Into the Mix of Other Frames
The key to getting started is determining how the InD Eyewear line will fit in with other frames, Dr. Hoban explains.
“For our office, they comprise a value section of our pricing mix. This positions them well for private pay patients or second pairs,” she explains. “At the same time, the price point is close enough to managed care benefits that they are appealing to those patients as well.”
“Stylistically, they fit in very well with our demographic, which made allocating board space very easy,” she adds. “The opticians are doing a great job of positioning the brand as ‘our’ brand that they won’t find all over town, something that is unique to our office. This story has resonated well with our patients.”
Dr. Hoban says getting started was straightforward and simple. “The sample kit that was sent to us was very helpful in understanding the quality of the product. I spent time with my opticians making sure we were all comfortable with the quality and designs. This allowed us to develop our pricing and sales strategy while awaiting the delivery.”
“We initially highlighted the line in our patient newsletter and received a strong response from that,” she notes.
Dr. Hoban says her office is looking forward to more from the InD Eyewear line. “We recently had the opportunity to provide some feedback on potential additions to the InD collection, and we’re excited with what we saw!” she adds.
Interested in Learning More About InD Eyewear by PECAA?
Schedule a meeting to learn more here. Request your free sample kit here. View the digital catalog here.
