Hub Optix in PortlandPORTLAND, Ore.--Robert Zinda, president of Hub Optix, is very clear when it comes to tracking the source of his success for his nearly two-year old eyewear shop--relationships.
“If you focus on the relationships then the sales will happen,” said Zinda. “My customers are all over the planet, they travel, but they always come back to us because of the relationship we have with them and the experience they have when they shop in Hub Optix. That makes for a better business.”
In 2006, Hub Optix won the Juror’s Choice Award from the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) for the store’s design. A design that can be described as a sensuous, intimate, symbiosis of retail space and high-concept design that’s more reminiscent of a spa than a 1,600 square foot optical shop.
Hub Optix is also unique in that it carries a very edited number of brands. “We carry fewer collections, but a deeper selection in those collections than other stores,” said Zinda. “We carry Chrome Hearts, Oliver Peoples, Paul Smith, Face A Face, Blinde, Robert Marc, IC! Berlin, Gucci, Oakley and Von Zipper and we buy sunwear in each of those lines. A brand needs to prove itself in the marketplace to get into my store and that brings us back to the relationships. I get courted by a lot of companies who want to get into Hub but I don’t care about the size of a company. I care about how it is being distributed and marketed. I want the guy who backs the line to feel the same way about his collection as I do about my stores.”
“We don’t do any POP materials, each collection, sun and ophthalmic, is merchandised together in its own real estate. It tells its own story that way and from that and my sales people and their knowledge of the lines the customer gets it. The stores are not self-service; it is full-service all the way. My people relish the chance to build the relationship,” said Zinda. “It’s also important to be involved in your community. We don’t do any extensive advertising. Referrals are our life’s blood. We have the occasional trunk show but we are very active in local charity work. It is important to support the things you love and believe in,” Zinda said.
--Deirdre Carrroll
