Crafting your own eyewear brand: Determining your frame line size

A discussion between Edward Choy, partner at Sho Eyeworks, and Diana Canto-Sims, OD, centered on the challenges and opportunities involved in launching and managing a private label eyewear partnership, with a particular focus on the differences between purchasing from established brands and developing one’s own exclusive eyewear line. Canto-Sims introduced the difficulties retailers face when selling known brands—most notably, the inability to mark up prices competitively due to easy online price comparisons. Consumers can frequently find the same frames online at lower prices, making it challenging for in-store retailers to compete and maintain healthy profit margins, especially given their additional overhead costs (like staff and display upkeep). However, Canto-Sims highlighted the advantages private label products provide: since these are unique and cannot be easily found online, retailers can justify higher markups, improve quality control, and enhance their brand’s prestige.