DeluxEYEwear: Here to Stay, and Thriving!

By Paddy Kamen

It takes tremendous hard work to be a success in any business. Sam Nassif knows this as well as anyone. After a very successful 15-year run as international sales manager for a major German manufacturer, for whom he opened up a whopping total of 64 countries, Nassif founded his own company, DeluxEYEwear, in 2006.

Part of Nassif’s motivation for starting his own business was the serious pricing inconsistency he saw in the frame industry. “I couldn’t figure out the relationship between price and quality,” he says. “How was it that inexpensively made frames of only average quality were retailing for $600 and up? Time and again I saw that frames made in China for well under $20 were selling at astronomical prices just because they carried a designer name. People were buying them for the name only, without any consideration for their quality.”

This realization prompted Nassif to start his own company because, as he says, “I knew that I could create much better quality frames and sell them at a reasonable price point. And I could make them in Italy where quality and fashion go hand-in-glove.”

The result was DeluxEYEwear Italy, where the company’s design and manufacturing take place. “Our frames bear the prestigious ‘Made in Italy’ stamp and the Italians take this verification very seriously,” he notes. “Others try to take advantage of the Italian reputation for quality by saying things like ‘Italian design’ or ‘Italian fashion’, but these frames are the real thing. They deliver the quality, without the outrageous price tag.”

Four brands come under the DeluxEYEwear label: Pantanera, Renata Occhiali, Solid Gold, Venezia and the Alex Barusco collections. Nassif says the materials and design are second-to-none.

This September, there will be an exciting announcement about the Pantanera brand, says Nassif. “We have some amazing news about an endorsement from one of the best players in the NHL. This will raise awareness of the brand to a whole new level.”

Nassif observes two problems facing the independent eyewear retailer today. “I see the big frame makers consolidating and getting into retail. Eventually, the independent will be shut out of their closed-loop system. Second, for the big players, a small order is hardly worth bothering about.”

Yet, it’s also hard for the eye care professional to trust a young company. Nassif explains: “So many of them are fly-by-night and retailers are often left with a product they can’t support. That’s because the start-ups are under-financed and they just can’t sustain their initial efforts. Then they dump their stock, take a loss and get out of the business all together. Everyone, including the end customer, loses out when this sort of thing happens.”

After three-and-a-half years in the business, Nassif has built a reputation that keeps customers coming back. “One fellow who owns several stores and a lab in Montreal kept putting me off,” he recalls. “Then he started seeing the frames coming into his lab for lens surfacing. He called me up and said, ‘I can see that your frames are selling. Now I want to have them in my stores. Just pick out your best sellers and send them along.’ ”

That kind of experience is not unusual for Nassif. He is more than happy to sell as few as 10 frames to a new client because he knows they will be back for more. “People call me all the time and say, ‘we were just taking the frames out to display them and sold one or two pairs right out of the box.’ ”

He attributes much of his success to his employees, who, he says, embody a service-first attitude.

“We believe that our word is our bond,” he notes. “We are here to put a smile on your face and to give you the ‘look’ that you deserve – one that reflects your personality and lifestyle. Just tell us who you are and we will help you find the perfect look.”

Fashion plays a major role in all DeluxEYEwear brands, although the designs are not considered cutting edge. “Our designers strive to deliver the finest quality and their fashions are right up-to-date,” explains Nassif. “We strike a balance so that both the European and North American markets will appreciate them. While Europeans like the edgy stuff, Americans are very conservative and Canadians are somewhere in the middle. So our design philosophy is to bring fashion styling forward while using down-to-earth colours. It works in a high-fashion city like Montreal as well as in the smaller centres.”

The coming years will be exciting ones for DeluxEYEwear. Nassif’s plan is to be doing business in 64 countries within four years. In building toward that goal, he takes part in major international trade shows like Silmo in Paris, Mido in Milan and the Vision Expo East and West shows in the U.S. And with September’s hockey endorsement announcement he expects to extend his trade show involvement considerably.

Another goal is to grow the business in hopes that his children and possibly his grandchildren can some day take part in it. “When my grandfather started in this business he had no idea how it would influence his children and grandchildren,” says Nassif. “I hope to have the same wide-ranging influence on future generations of my family as a result of my success.”