By David Goldberg
By the year 2030, all of Canada’s more than nine million Baby Boomers will be classified as seniors.
It’s a massive market of eyeglasses wearers who demand quality, want to be fashionable and have the money to get what they want.
Perhaps yesterday’s seniors were content with wearing the same frames year after year, but now it’s time to focus on the future.
“Most of our frames are deep enough (in the B measurement) to be progressive-friendly for that target market,” says Beverly Suliteanu, vice-president of product development at WestGroupe.
“Our frames are lightweight, fit well and are comfortable to wear all day, which is important to this age demographic. They are very comfortable with who they are and have honed their personal style. Our collections let them do that with a variety of colourful styles that are on trend to fit different style personalities.”
WestGroupe brand FYSH frames for women come in an assortment of colours and feature minimalist designs and lightweight construction. Style F-3637 is a round, combination frame transformed into a catty shape with pierced end pieces. This style is offered in black rose, brown gold, teal grey and purple black.
And custom design elements and a rich colour palette are some of the elements that highlight the KLiiK denmark collection for fall 2019. Style K-651 is a semi-rimless frame with a snakeskin pattern digitally printed on the browline and temples. This style comes in bold combinations of brown python, grey python, purple python and green python.
For men, the EVATIK collection incorporates metal and wood for rugged and sophisticated looks, such as the E-9194 and E-9197 models that complement casual or upscale attire, whether you’re at home, the office or the cottage.
Safilo’s Eric Blanchette says more and more customers over 55 will balk at boring frames that offer functionality and nothing else. They want to inject youth into their look and stand out in a crowd.
Safilo brands Elasta and Emozioni are proving very popular with Boomers and seniors because of the option to punch it up with a splash of colour. The Elasta 7227s come in black, blue or brown. While the Emozioni 4053s come in dark Havana and brown horn aside from the traditional black.
“Some of the most popular colours for females are Havana (tortoise), black, red and dark purple, while their male counterparts are wanting to branch out into darker colours, such as navy blue, black and gunmetal,” says Blanchette, adding that today’s Boomers are no bargain hunters.
“Baby Boomers are retiring with more disposable income than their parents. Most are willing to splurge and spend more on their glasses and buy multiple pairs for different needs.”
These days you really can’t underestimate the needs of your senior clientele, according to Cassandra Slepian of Alternative/Plan “B” Eyewear.
