10 Tips On Starting A Successful Optical Store Business

How to run an optical store business? We all know that eyewear retail is one of the most profitable businesses. However, if we lack experience or necessary management skills, we can hardly earn money in optical stores.  On the contrary, you may face a possible failure and loss in such a shop business. Optical store retail business is not quite similar to clothing retail or other small banquette shops or mall sunglasses kiosk. Only you get the right strategy can you survive in such a fierce competition. From the basic shop, interior design to shopping store fixture chosen or inventory and equipment check, even daily business management, you should have not only a clear plan with a practical solution but also full of passion in every second. Here I m going to share with you the super practical10 Tips On Starting A Successful Optical Store Business.

1、 Prepare Insurance & Business Lesience

Due to the influence of "official standard" thought for a long time, there are still many economic problems in China's commercial field. Although the optical glasses & eyewear industry belongs to the industry of a complete market economy, if the approval conditions are not clarified and the funds are blindly invested in renting shops and decoration, the relevant certificates are not approved, which will cause unnecessary losses. For many business people, on the one hand, they want to evade taxes, on the other hand, they are afraid that they will be checked by the relevant departments without certificates. Therefore, it is difficult for some employers who do not apply for relevant certificates to do business wholeheartedly. Because once the policy changes, they will worry that the documents will not be approved. Therefore, before opening a shop, it is necessary to consult the relevant approval authority in the local area.

According to the information provided by the relevant person, the application of optical glasses & eyewear training is the same as that of the general self-employed, and there is no need for pre-approval. As long as I provide a copy of my ID card, single inch photo, residence use certificate and fill in the corresponding form. It usually includes the following procedures:

• 1. Industrial and commercial license;
• 2. Tax registration;
• 3. Apply for production license from the Quality Supervision Bureau;
• 4. If you sell contact lenses, you need to go to the food and Drug Administration for the business license of medical devices;
• 5. You must have optometry and prescription personnel with optometry and prescription certificates;
• 6. The program for handling these procedures is generally less than 5000 USD. Although the specific requirements may vary from place to place, the procedures are basically the same.

What needs to be especially reminded us that the production license of optical glasses & eyewear products has gradually become the focus of the audit. On January 8, 2004, the national production license office issued the implementation rules for the production license of spectacle products and the notice of inspection units. We began to implement the optical glasses & eyewear production license system throughout the country. According to the relevant regulations, all enterprises that produce and sell optical glasses & eyewear products must obtain production license, otherwise, they are not allowed to produce and sell optical glasses & eyewear products. The scope of the certification includes 12 license application units, including spectacle lens, spectacle frame, presbyopia, synoptical glasses & eyewear, eye protection optical glasses & eyewear, and optical glasses & eyewear.

For the optical glasses & eyewear shop, its production facilities, inspection equipment, professional personnel, and other 25 items 47 will be assessed one by one. Only when the standards are met can the production license be obtained through an audit. And the new optical glasses & eyewear shop must also obtain a license to open a business. At the same time, the optical glasses & eyewear shop must accept the supervision and audit after obtaining the license, and change the license every five years. On the one hand, they want to evade taxes, on the other hand, they are afraid that they will not be verified by the relevant departments. Therefore, it is difficult for some employers who do not apply for relevant certificates to do business wholeheartedly. Because once the policy changes, they will worry that the documents will not be approved. Therefore, before opening a shop, it is necessary to consult the relevant approval authority in the local area.

2、 Sufficient funds

Due to the change in the market environment, the grade requirements of optical glasses & eyewear shops are increasing day by day, and the scale is also expanding. Many small-scale optical glasses & eyewear shops are either squeezed out of the mainstream business circle, running to the suburbs of the city for development, or simply quitting the optical glasses & eyewear retail market. At the same time, the entry of foreign optical glasses & eyewear and the expansion of domestic optical glasses & eyewear giants also raise the threshold of opening optical glasses & eyewear stores in disguised form. The current situation is that even if you open a 100 square meter optical glasses & eyewear shop, the investment is more than 300000-500000 USD. Moreover, due to the increasingly fierce competition, the cycle of cost recovery is also longer and longer. Therefore, if there are no sufficient funds, it is easy to lead to operational difficulties, usually saving a lot of operating expenses that should not be saved, and even reducing the salary level of employees and reducing the quality of products. In the end, there is a vicious circle.

According to the current market situation, it is better for the investors of optical glasses & eyewear shops to own the main source of cash for investment. Whether you order a sample display stands or full store shop fitting furniture, it's a true investment. If most of them borrow money from the bank or from relatives and friends, it is not advisable to borrow money from the bank. However, there is too much water in the saying that small investment, full support, and quick cost recovery are claimed in the advertisement. Some of the investment after the actual operation is far greater than the number advertised in the original advertisement, but the profit is not much. Therefore, no matter what kind of eyeglass shop is opened, namely If we have a correct view of the market, we must also have sufficient capital to do the turnover, so as to avoid the situation that the tiger is difficult to get rid of.

3、 Industry status survey & Market Research

A detailed investigation of the current situation of the industry is a necessary step before opening a store. Some investors tend to wander around, while others work in other optical stores. When they look at the spectacle shop where they stay to make money, they have the idea of opening their own shop. In fact, in the current market competition has become white-hot, the preliminary market survey must be detailed and in-depth, at least including consumers, the overall profit situation of local retail stores, the production and sales situation of optical glasses & eyewear products themselves, and the market competition pattern.

There is no doubt that consumers are at the core of the preliminary market survey because all marketing is around consumers. Therefore, it is necessary to subdivide the consumption situation of consumers, such as the difference in consumer price, the consumption psychology of different consumer groups, and the consumption fashion styles. Through a comprehensive understanding of consumers, we can accurately position the market.

The overall profitability of retail stores is also a factor that must be considered. If in a certain place or a certain period of time suddenly into an overall recession industry, the investment risk will be very high. For example, it is not a wise choice to invest in the catering industry shortly after SARS and to invest in the production of color TV sets in the period of surplus color TV sets. Although the optical glasses & eyewear industry is on the rise as a whole, it is also facing a reshuffle. Therefore, we can't believe the one-sided words of "profiteering" in some media. We should conduct a detailed investigation through different channels. Moreover, in different regions, the profit status and business risks of optical glasses & eyewear retail stores are different. For example, there are obvious differences between the South and the north, the coastal and inland areas, and the big cities and small cities.

In addition, the production, sales, quality, logistics, inventory, and purchase channels of optical glasses & eyewear products themselves must be understood before opening a shop, especially for those who are not familiar with the inside information of the optical glasses & eyewear industry. On this basis, we can further understand the current local competition pattern, so as to find a good entry point. For example, in some places, foreign-funded optical glasses & eyewear have a great influence, some local chain stores or time-honored brands are unique, and in some places, half-price optical glasses & eyewear shops or husband and wife's optical glasses & eyewear shops are popular.

4、 Modern Trend and Products Analysis

As the market is always changing, it is unavoidable for any operator to analyze the future trend. Because only in-depth analysis can we grasp the initiative of the market. However, some people "do a day monk hit a clock", some people choose to follow the trend, some people in-depth analysis to make accurate predictions. Of course, it is not easy to analyze the future trend, but it is not without rules. If we look back at the curve of changes in many industries, we will find that many of the previous forecasts and judgments have become reality.

The optical glasses & eyewear retail industry is in the adjustment period, and the signs of big fish eating small fish are very obvious. Those optical glasses & eyewear shops without scale and characteristics will gradually be marginalized; the price war triggered by affordable eyewear shops will further shrink the original profit space of many optical glasses & eyewear shops; some optical glasses & eyewear training originally located in the top location will have to move due to the high rent; consumers are pickier and pickier, and many of the miscellaneous brand optical glasses & eyewear will be more and more difficult to sell; foreign optical glasses & eyewear are strong In addition, it is necessary to implement the system of production license admittance in the optical glasses & eyewear industry. There are many and many changes of this kind. Every change will lead to the tilt and change of the market consumption pattern. If we fail to catch those small changes in time, it will not only be difficult to grasp the business opportunities but also lead to the adverse consequences of the opposite direction of investment.

Therefore, it is necessary to follow up on the location selection, decoration, products, and services according to the changing trend of the market. At the same time, we should pay attention to the specific local conditions, especially to grasp the time period of change, because some changes in the macro-environment may not appear quickly in the local area, and if we move too fast, we will inevitably fall into a quagmire.

5、 Choose The Right Shop Location

There are different opinions about the location of the eyewear shop. However, it is an indisputable fact that the location must be based on the target customers. In recent years, some optical glasses & eyewear shops have been forced to transfer due to the high rent, and some choose to move. However, after the relocation, the rent has dropped and the passenger flow has also decreased significantly. If you choose to be in the core business district of the city, in order to attract more customers and avoid high rent, you can consider opening the shop on the second or third floor or even higher floors. In order to save a lot of business space. Thus, the rent saved will be more used for advertising and improving service quality. In recent years, this kind of trade-off has been implemented in many cities. For example, Booking optical glasses & eyewear supermarket in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province is located in Tianyi Square, the most prosperous business district in the city. There is a large flow of people nearby, but the front rent on the bottom floor is almost ten times as much as that on the fourth floor. Therefore, investors choose the location of the store on the fourth floor and cooperate with a lot of advertising to make up for the disadvantages. After the popularity increases, the advertising fee can be reduced, and the advantage of rent begins to show.

It should be noted that some investors are eager to open a shop, and after looking for a long time without a suitable facade, they will casually find a good location. Subconsciously, they always know that there are people to guarantee the flow, and the problem will not be too big. This kind of hasty implementation is not advisable, because optical glasses & eyewear are not fast-moving consumer goods, and many customers do not have strong emotional consumption habits. In some places, there is a large flow of people, mainly because there are many people shopping for clothes and shoes. For some optical glasses & eyewear shops, the advantage of this flow of people is not enough to make up for the high rent expenses. In a city, optical glasses & eyewear shop jointly opened by three people just considered the flow of people, which led to failure. The store is located near the department store with a large flow of people. Upstairs is a KFC with an area of about 500 square meters. There are well-known clothing stores beside it. There are more than 100 passers-by per minute at the gate during peak hours. However, it had to be transferred within less than a year after it opened, resulting in a total loss of nearly 200,000 USD.

Generally speaking, the location of the optical glasses & eyewear shop should be combined with market positioning. It is better to choose a place with relatively convenient travel, potential growth, and low rent. If there is no suitable location in the old urban area, it can also be considered to open in a new urban commercial district. At the same time, it needs to be patient and fully consider the proportional relationship between rent cost and passenger flow.

6、 Get More Experience

This is easy to ignore the problem because many store owners subconsciously avoid this seemingly ominous idea. However, the cases of failure in opening optical glasses & eyewear stores are sometimes even more meaningful than successful ones. In many cases, success is not easy to copy, but the reasons for failure are surprisingly similar. Learn from the experience of those store failures, some rely on super offensive win, and some rely on tough defense to win. Obviously, reducing mistakes is an effective way to achieve success with defense.

In fact, business management is often a link that is not handled well, and the success of opening a store is often based on making fewer mistakes. There are many cases of investment failure due to negligence in some aspects. According to an industry source, an employee with more than 10000 high-tech employees in an optical company has invested in the establishment of an optical shop five times since 2000, all of which ended in failure. The reasons are lack of practical experience, high rent, improper location, constant conflicts in partnership, or failure in trusteeship. In short, the reasons for each failure are different, but they all leave a painful lesson.

Therefore, to understand and analyze the failure reasons of those business failures, so as to avoid these "time bombs" which are easy to explode, is also an effective guarantee for the success of opening stores.

7、 Clear Market Positioning

Usually, in the early stage of industry development, consumers are not demanding, the competition is not fierce, and the profits are high. Many people who open optical glasses & eyewear shops may only need courage and luck to have a good harvest, so the market positioning does not seem to be so important. However, once the market gradually enters the mature stage, the threshold will be higher and higher, and the chance of speculation will be less and less. At this time, it is difficult to achieve success without accurate judgment and adequate preparation.

In order to establish a new market position, we must make preparations for a new market. Because when the market has been basically saturated, if we repeat the previous marketing model, it will not only be difficult to attract more consumers' attention but also pay a higher marketing cost. The final result will be difficult to be satisfied. Especially for ordinary investors of eye optical glasses & eyewear shops, it is not advisable to do anything without emphasis. We must find out what is practical Feasible market segments focus on attack.

Generally speaking, the market positioning of optical glasses & eyewear stores mainly includes product consumption grade, consumer group difference, store location selection, decoration layout, promotion strategy, management ideas, and so on. The market positioning of the optical glasses & eyewear shop is a comprehensive project, which must be integrated into an organic whole in order to play the best benefits. For example, if you want to make luxury optical glasses & eyewear, you must basically be in the most prosperous commercial area. Students should be close to the higher education park, and white-collar workers should be close to office buildings. At the same time, your decoration layout, promotion methods, product price, etc. should meet the consumer psychology of the target consumers in the store, and your management must also focus on these market characteristics to ensure the smooth operation process.

8、 Excellent Management Execution

In the past few years, the domestic marketing industry emphasized the economizer marketing planning, but now it began to pay more and more attention to executive power. The optical glasses & eyewear industry is also faced with the confusion of insufficient executive power. As the optical glasses & eyewear retail training is basically a small-scale private enterprise, many decisions are made by the boss, so the management and implementation of a considerable number of retail stores are very chaotic. Some optical glasses & eyewear training at the beginning of the market positioning and marketing planning do quite well, but in the later stage of the implementation either can not be carried out according to the plan, or can not consistently adhere to, and in the market competition, many details of the implementation often determine the final success or failure.

In addition, due to the strict management system of the apprentices, some of them are difficult to implement. If we dismiss some senior executives, it is difficult to recruit suitable talents, and many optical shops are in a dilemma. Some eyeglass shop owners have felt incompetent in their long-term management and are in urgent need of strong executive management talents. However, it is difficult to recruit them and internal training can not solve the urgent problem. It can be said that the poor implementation of these management problems is troubling many optical glasses & eyewear of retail enterprises.

In view of the above-mentioned problems in the implementation of the optical glasses & eyewear industry, it is better to find a strong team at the beginning of the newly opened eyeglass shop, and formulate relevant rules and regulations in line with the actual situation. From this perspective, the management personnel with practical experience is necessary for the new eyeglass shop, otherwise, even if there are a good positioning and planning, it will be subject to the implementation in the end Force this shortboard.

9、 Specified & Functional Cost Control

It is undeniable that the domestic optical glasses & eyewear industry in the early development of profits is indeed very high, so most of the optical glasses & eyewear shops are opened in the local or the golden area of the business district. However, with the increasing competition in the industry, the decline of the profit margin of optical glasses & eyewear retail stores has become an undeniable fact. On the other hand, there will always be other emerging industries or traditional fast-moving consumer industries that will virtually raise the rent price. For example, in recent years, a large number of mobile phone stores have entered the core areas of cities. Moreover, the rent is only a part of the cost. Under the pressure of various aspects, the comprehensive cost of many optical glasses & eyewear shops has already pressed the boss out of breath.

"The gross profit is very high, and the net profit is almost zero", which is the helpless words of an eyeglass shop owner when talking about the current business situation. Indeed, in the current competitive environment, the cost control of the optical glasses & eyewear shop has become one of the key factors in the success or failure of the operation. Generally speaking, the operating costs such as rent, optical glasses & eyewear purchases, and employee salary account for about 30% of the cost of the eyewear shop. The rent is rigid and difficult to control. The high rent makes many optical glasses & eyewear shops work for the landlord in fact, so they choose to open the shop properly The appearance of price management is very important, otherwise, the rent will become a "hard injury" after the investment in decoration. In the past two years, many affordable optical glasses & eyewear supermarkets choose to open shops on the second and third floors of the same top-level location, which is an effective way to avoid high rent.

In addition to the rent, the staff expenditure of the optical glasses & eyewear shop is also the key point of regulation and control. There are many optical glasses & eyewear shops with too many employees, and their work efficiency is not high. The prominent problem is that idle time is too long. Some optical glasses & eyewear shop clerks spend less than an hour a day receiving customers, which is basically a waste of time. This kind of operation situation greatly consumes the profits of the optical glasses & eyewear shop, which needs to be done to solve.

For example, the area of a certain optical glasses & eyewear shop is less than 500 square meters, and there are 40 or 50 employees, and the monthly wage expenditure of the single employee is 48000USD.

As far as the cost of goods in the optical shop is concerned, there is not much room for a sharp drop in price, so the focus of control should be on quality and inventory. As there are many styles of optical glasses & eyewear products, if the logistics are not controlled well, even if you can make money, it will become product inventory.

10、 Master the operation process in training

As the investors and operators of the optical glasses & eyewear shop, after doing the above preparation, they must also understand the internal process of the optical glasses & eyewear shop in detail, so as to have a foundation in mind.