subject: Designer shades are big business [print this page] Are you in the market for a new pair of designer sunglasses this summer?It's the season for it, and you can spend hundreds of dollars on your next pair of shades. Some Prada and Burberry Sunglasses pairs will run you nearly $500, and that's if you don't need prescription lenses. Even more moderate design labels like Ray-Ban or REVO can cost a couple hundred bucks.
Designer shades are big business, even in this economy. I keep hearing about the new age of frugality, but I'm not seeing much of it at the mall. Sunglass Hut's same-store sales in the U.S. rose 10.8% in the first quarter, pretty much erasing the slump in early 2009.But are these expensive brands worth it? How much better are they, really, than the $25 pairs you can get in your local pharmacy?
The eye doctor telling you that you need a new pair of glasses, the sales people helping you choose them, and the people who design and make the glasses all work for the same company. Make of it what you will. But if your financial advisor was actually employed by the mutual fund company that he recommended for your portfolio, you'd at least want to know.The markups are as big as they seem. Whenever I have bought a new pair of regular eyeglasses, I have always reflected on how little I seem to get for my money. I can sort of understand why lenses are so expensive, as the material has to be made and ground precisely.
But $100 or $200 for frames? These are bits of metal or molded plastic. Once I bought tiny slivers of hollow titanium that weighed considerably less than the bills I was handing over.The cost of a new pair of ED Hardy sunglasses will of course reflect materials and labor. But the price will also reflect brand values and marketing -- and how much consumers will pay.
Designer shades are big business
By: angle
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
