Kids Love Cool

By Paddy Kamen

Kids love cool, there’s no doubt about it. So, what’s cool in eyewear? It might be a brand associated with a cartoon hero or celebrity or it might be a frame style that’s just like mom or dad’s. It might be colour – or it might not. The fact is, the kid’s market is expanding and there’s something for everyone.

Michael Bohbot studies retail trends and advises optical store owners on merchandise display. He thinks the eyewear market needs to catch on to trends in apparel and accessories.

“We need to start to catering to kids like apparel stores do. Retailers like La Senza Girl have it right. They don’t put the 12-year-old clothing with the five-year-old clothing. And they cater to kids as a distinct market.”

Kids also want their own brands. “Children certainly don’t want the brands their parent’s have. Someone at Gap made the mistake of deciding that since kids don’t shop alone they would sell to the parents too, but as soon as the parents started to wear the clothes the kids didn’t want to. A brand cannot be marketed to both teenagers and their parents.”

Retailers need to create a segment of their store geared to juniors and teens and another section for young children, believes Bohbot. “There’s a big difference between the six-to-ten set and kids over 12. The older child wants to be treated like an adult, but also recognized for its unique tastes which are distinct from adult preferences.”

With respect to young children, Bohbot suggests that ECPs keep those frames off the boards and accessible only via direct interaction. “Bring them into a very kid friendly part of the store or a private room and have the eyewear in trays or on a roll cart. You can make it fun and attractive but this market needs to be serviced by professionals and the more you emphasize this the more you will create a relationship of confidence with the parents.”

If you’re looking to dress up your children’s section with colourful POP posters, check out the Modular Design System, which consists of display panels that hold acrylic shelves and individual acrylic frame holders that are easily rearranged. The Velcro compatible display surface allows the retailer to place almost any type of POP material directly on the display surface amongst the frames and to rearrange and refresh the display easily.

So What’s Cool?

Speaking of young children, Timon Lunetterie brings Julbo’s children’s sunglasses to Canada, including The Looping, a model designed specifically for babies. This is a fully symmetrical frame that can be worn either right-side up or upside down. This sunglass has no hinges so they are flexible and comfortable, and no matter how hard baby tries, she cannot break these sunglasses.

The Looping boasts Category Four lenses, which block 95 per cent of visible light. This new sunglass is available in six fun and sporty colours.

“Young children spend a great deal more time looking up and as a result, their eyes are far more susceptible to damage from the rays of the sun. Julbo glasses are specifically designed to fit the unique shape of children's heads at different ages and thus providing maximum protection and comfort,” says Timon Lunetterie general manager Bruno Gentais.

In addition to the Looping, seven other age-specific styles have been created in the Julbo line for children up to 15 years old.

Also from Timon Lunetterie is Minima Junior. “These work very well for older children who don’t want to stand out because they wear eyeglasses,” says Gentais. Minima Junior come with a two-year warranty and are available in a special frame/lens package with Essilor.

Importlux recently introduced Jonathan Cate Eyewear for five to ten year olds. “These are part of the Ricochet collection and come in thin, flexible titanium that can be twisted,” explains president Ramez Tarazi. “They have great colour combinations that kids love, like a shiny orange with copper, or light blue and yellow.”

Tarazi believes that exposing children to nice eyewear when they are young develops a taste for quality that will continue through their lives. “One doesn’t want eyeglasses to be just a boring tool to enhance vision. Jonathan Cate is a bit different, trendy and fashionable but not too extreme.”

Grant Junior is an Importlux brand with a solid reputation in kid’s fashion eyewear. “We offer a wide range of models and introduce new styles on a regular basis,” says Tarazi. All Grant frames are made in Italy, using Premium™, a flexible material that takes rough handling. It is also hypoallergenic.

Arthur eyewear is designed and produced by Grant for age seven to 11. “These are more classic and subdued than Grant Junior,” says Tarazi.

The Centennial Roots collection for kids features a wonderfully creative temple with multi-coloured TR90 plastic segments that appear to fit together like puzzle pieces. “Inside the plastic ‘blocks’ is a stainless steel core wire making the temple flexible and adjustable,” says Linda Mulford-Hum, director of frames.

Western Optical focuses on technology as well as fashion for kids. Their Superflex 180-degree spring hinge, first introduced in 2004, has been extremely well received by retailers and parents, says Beverly Suliteanu, director of marketing. “Spring hinges are a must for children’s eyewear. The spring allows more give, which is important because children tend to be far rougher when they put their glasses on and take them off.”

All new Superflex kid’s models will have the one piece 180-degree spring, plus nylon coated screws to ensure that they do not loosen easily. Materials include monel, flat metal and plastic in shapes and colours that mirror the adult eyewear market.

Venus Eyewear’s Mike Christiansen is excited about the recent release of their new kid’s line, QT-Pie™. “I’ve taken very trendy adult shapes and made them for the kids, who want to look like mom and dad. I have reinforced a lot of the solder points for extra strength and the pressed aluminum is thicker, so it will take rugged handling.”

The QT-Pie collection is designed to fit children up to age 12. Frames are made of pressed aluminum or stainless steel, with unique laminates to be released in late summer. “We have some beautiful and exclusive colours in both the metals and laminates,” says Christiansen. “In metals I have matte black eyewire with a white temple, and forest green with silver temples. My laminates are all named after deserts. These interesting colour combos stand out on the board but are still soft enough to wear.”

With each sale, Venus Eyewear is donating $5 to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.

Optiq Frames Ltd. is speaking to girls age ten and up with the second wave of Supergirl frames, featuring a strong plastics collection plus metal and plastic combination pieces. “We’re pleased to announced that a North American branding campaign for Supergirl products will support this wonderful eyewear,” says Don Coulson.

Bratz is also represented by Optiq Frames. “It’s our strongest line for girls, from very young up through size 45/46,” explains Coulson. “Bratz has bold styles and colour combinations like violet and green, red and silver, purple and blue. Young girls really like bright colours.”

Coulson says jewelry embellishments are popular with girls of all ages. “Two Bratz frames (2209 and 2210) have rhinestones in both complementary and contrasting colours.”

Optiq Framesrecently released the new Superman collection for boys. “This is strong eyewear in conservative colours that appeals to boys up to age 12 because of the power Superman has. We have great merchandising support, with posters and a presentation package in the shape of the logo that can be hung on the wall.”

Lanctôt and Essilor have teamed up to provide the Youth Duo package of Mexx Junior frames and Airwear Crizal lenses. Lanctôt president, Stéphane Leroy, offers a good quality frame and an excellent lens that represents good value to the ECP. “It’s also very easy to order, with the finished product shipped directly from the lab in just a few days, along with a small toy as a gift and a cleaning cloth.”

Leroy explains that the program is easy on inventory because the ECP only needs one pair of frames as a sample. “There’s no need to keep anything in stock and no minimum order. It’s an easy kids program and the best I have ever run in the optical business.”

Best sellers in the program include the nylon 5831 in ink blue/ice blue, and 5625 in blue jean. The collection has 20 frames in three colours and two sizes, and comes with a two-year warranty.

Sports eyewear and ophthalmic specialist, adidas, recently launched its latest youth collection – 2D Inspired – which is aimed at today’s technology and style-savvy youth. Distributed by Canadian Optical Supply Co. (COS), 2D Inspired uses the same sculptural design, strategic function and patented Performance SteelTM technology as the original Inspired eyewear. Aimed at youth aged six and up, 2D Inspired is comprised of four dynamic shapes and ten colours.

adidas ClimaCool™ ventilation, along with incisions on the temples, leads to less build up in sweat prone zones. Design and function are smoothly merged in these models to create a uniquely sporty look and comfortable fit. Mirroring the contrasting colours of the temple ends, the highly recognizable adidas performance logo is located near both temple hinges.

Because of Performance Steel technology, the Inspired models are lightweight, offering all-day comfort while reducing pressure points. Adjustable soft nose pads further ensure a comfortable fit.

20/20 Marketing, always a leader in children’s sunwear, now presents Protekt, an ophthalmic quality, upscale children’s sunglass that, according to spokesperson Chris Begg, offers features that one finds on sunwear that sells for considerably more.

This is a lightweight frame in TR-90 with memory plastic temples. The polycarbonate lenses allow a minimum of 80 per cent of light to enter while protecting the eyes 100 per cent from UV rays to 400 nanometers.

There are three sizes: infant-to-three, three-to-six, and six-to-nine. In the infant category all models have a lower bridge crested by a rubber insert so they sit well on the face, plus a rubber nose insert for comfort. In the second group, some come with the same low bridge. And for the older kids the styling is more adult oriented and trendier.

Protekt children’s sunglasses are available in both crystal-tinted and bright colours.

“There are lots of sunglasses on the market,” explains Begg. “But quality versus price point is the big issue. Protekt retails for under $20, which seems to be a key price-point for kids. They are only sold through optical retailers and tend to be an impulse purchase so we recommend having a good supply on hand.”

VIVA presents the Magic TwistTM children's collection known for its resilience, precision tooling, fine craftsmanship and fashionable styling. Each frame is made from memory metal, allowing for a child’s active lifestyle. Magic Twist frames return to their original shapes after bending and twisting occur. There are great colour injected temples that featuring tone on tone detailing and the long temple tips are double injected with striking color combinations for a sporty look.

Reactive™ Eyewear is a line designed specifically for adolescents and teens by Optika Eyewear. Sales manager Richard Allan says these pieces, some of which are sport-oriented, have a big look with angled fronts and wraps. There are 15 models, each in two colours. “One of the features is detailed temple work,” says Allan. “It is very striking art work for teenagers who want something different and appealing.”

The collection offers basic colours for the young set and as the collection grows with the child’s age it moves into silver, blues and wine, with some striking two-tone combinations. “Younger children want to blend in but as kids get older they want to make a statement,” explains Allan. “Reactive is a very interesting collection, designed here in Canada for boys and girls. We’re leading the trend with frames that are fashionable, comfortable and give the wearer a distinctive look.”

Bo Optik’s Michael Bohbot has had great success with Jalapenos, Jungle and TMX, all geared to the junior segment. “We are a solution provider to that segment,” he explains.

Each brand is radically different from the others. TMX is sporty, the Jungles are all flat metals and the Jalapenos are full of colour. “This epitomizes the expansion of the market because if there was just one trend, only one of those brands would be doing well. But in fact, all three are selling strongly. The market can stand many competitors because it is expanding,” says Bohbot.

“There is one truism in business and that is ‘if you don’t have it you can’t sell it,” observes Bohbot. “You need to appeal to a full market and not limit choice.”