Q. Explain your background.

A. I started in the retail kiosk business 10 years ago with one kiosk.  My partner Phil and I quickly moved to 4 kiosks and then began wholesaling in 2004.  Phil now handles our kiosks and I take care of the wholesale.  We also do around 50 fairs and festivals per year beginning late April and ending early October.  I enjoy personally selling at festivals because I am able to monitor what styles sell the best as well as get good customer feedback on our sunglasses.  I then am able to pass this knowledge onto our wholesale customers.

Q. How long has Mass Vision been in business?

A. Mass Vision was established in October of 2004

Q. What is the busiest time of the year for sunglass sales?

A.  I always tell my employees the official start of our busy season is Feb. 1^st With April, May and June   being the top 3 busy months.  I would like to ad that down south (especially Florida) there busy season begins in November due to the snow birds from other states.

Q. What are the trends you see in the industry?

A. Every couple years new trends emerge.  These trends are usually lead by Hollywood.  Here are a few:

Aviators - These classic sunglasses originated by Ray Ban are not going anywhere and offer tons of styles and colors for men and women.

Wayfarers - Also originated by Ray Ban offer tons of colors and designs.

Shutter Shades - These sunglasses were made popular a few years ago from hip hop artists.  I thought they would fade away after a year.  I can thank Shutter Shades for an extra 15% of sales at my fairs and festivals.  These are a prime example of how market testing has helped my wholesale customers.  Without my recommendation people see these Shutter Shades on my web site and usually laugh and pass them by.  If I can convince them to try Shutter Shades at their retail outlet they are sure to come back for a reorder.

Designer Inspired - Customers want sunglasses that look as close to the actual brand names as possible.

Q. What are the competitive advantages of working with Mass Vision?

A. First off we understand our retailers because we are a retailer.  We test many of our new styles in our own retail environment.   We will never send our customers bad selling sunglasses just to get rid of them.  The more our customers sell the more we sell.  Another advantage we have is that we sell “mixed dozens”.  Our mixed dozen sunglasses offer our customers a nice variety in one box.  The standard way of purchasing wholesale sunglasses is 12 pairs per box with each pair being the same style.  Our mixed dozens will be 12 different styles of sunglasses as well as a nice assortment of colors.  Our mixed dozens are great for customers who have limited space, are on a limited budget or may just want to see some samples of what we have to offer.   Currently we have 5 different mixed dozens including a nice assortment for men.

Q. Do you have any new products or licenses coming out for 2012?

A. We have just launched our second Mass Vision web site and are anticipating a great response from our customers.  It is similar to our current site but offers a different look and feel.  As far as sunglasses, we will continue to bring in new styles every week.

Q. Where do you see Mass Vision in 5 years?

A. In the next 5 years are goal will be to expand our customer base in the US as well as overseas.  We will continue to supply hot selling sunglasses and make our presence known through social media and other advertising tools.  Ultimately, our sunglasses will speak for themselves!