Crafting your own eyewear brand: An introduction to Your Brand Eyewear

Diana Canto-Sims, OD, hosted a discussion with Mark Graham, founder of Your Brand Eyewear, focusing on how independent practices can benefit from private label eyewear collections. Graham brings over 50 years of experience in the eyewear industry and recognizes the significant changes brought about by the rise of online retailers and evolving consumer expectations. He noted that independent professionals have found it challenging to compete due to high minimum order quantities, long lead times, and intermediated supply chains when sourcing branded frames.

To address these issues, Graham established Your Brand Eyewear in 2018. The company's mission is to offer independent optometrists a turnkey solution for private label frames. This approach enables practices to create signature lines without the need to develop products from scratch. A core value proposition is simplifying the process: Your Brand Eyewear offers small order quantities and quick lead times, enabling practices to stock their own brands efficiently and cost-effectively.

A central theme is the cost and competitive advantages of private label frames vs established designer brands. Graham elaborated that traditional designer frames, due to complex supply chains and royalty arrangements, are significantly more expensive for retailers. By contrast, private label frames ship directly from the factory, allowing practices to markedly increase their gross profit margins—often achieving up to 85% compared with about 65% for designer frames. The ability to mark up frames 9 to 10 times is typical among current clients. Another crucial benefit is exclusivity: private label frames cannot be easily sourced online by patients, ensuring that the practice, rather than serving as a showroom for designer brands, captures the sale.

The onboarding process is straightforward and supportive. It begins with a face-to-face Zoom call to establish the practice’s demographics and goals. Following this, Your Brand Eyewear sends free samples so doctors can judge quality firsthand. The next phase involves creating a unique, fashionable brand name and logo, for which the company provides substantial guidance and design services at no cost. Mark emphasized using names with fashion or local flair, rather than clinical or practice-based ones. Once branding is finalized, orders can be placed directly from a catalog, with products delivered within 28 to 30 days.

Overall, the meeting highlights the operational, financial, and branding advantages of a private label eyewear solution, as well as Your Brand Eyewear’s commitment to supporting optometrists at every stage.