May 8, 2025 • 45 mins
Companies have to be adaptable to keep up with the ever changing world, but this doesn't mean their values have to change.
Scott Cline is joined by Scott Shapiro, Executive Director with Europa, to discuss how Europa is handling the recent changes in the Economic landscape. Scott Shapiro shares how Europa has and will continue to stay true to their foundational values. They also discuss how the iconic line of American Optical and their fashionable State frame collection continue to thrive by being American made in their Chicagoland factory.
For more information about Europa or to submit questions or topics, please reach out to us at info@acquiosalliance.com!
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Thrive with Confidence.
This podcast provides insightinto the Aquios Alliance, a
buying group that connectsprivate practices with trusted
vendors and expert support.
We will feature discussion withour vendor partners and
optometrist members while weexplore topics that will empower
your independence.
SPEAKER_01 (00:21):
Welcome everybody to another edition of Thrive with
Confidence.
Today I am joined by a man thatI have great respect for and
that has done so much for ourindustry and has been in it
quite literally all of his life.
So today I'm joined by ScottShapiro, Executive Director with
Europa.
(00:42):
Welcome, Scott.
Hi, Scott.
Thanks for having me.
This is so exciting.
I've been looking forward tothis episode since we talked
about recording it.
I've had the honor to know younow for about three years since
I started with the company, metyou shortly after that.
And I'll tell you, one of thethings that impressed the heck
(01:02):
out of me when I first met you,because I honestly, I knew you
were with Europa, but didn'tknow your title or your place
with it.
And your down-to-earth demeanor,your personality, your ease to
connect and talk to was, was,was outstanding.
And then I walk away and findout that, you know, you, your
(01:22):
importance with, with thecompany of Europa.
And I thought to myself that itblew me away.
It was, it was just veryimpressive as, as to see, you
know, there, there are peoplethat get to a level in a company
and I think they lose that,that, that realness of, of, of
who they are and what they areto, to the industry.
And so I, I love that.
(01:43):
I love that about you.
And I, And I see that in youevery single time we get the
chance to talk.
SPEAKER_02 (01:47):
That is a very, very kind compliment, Scott.
And I appreciate that very much.
I think maybe part of the...
I was born into this positionand born into this company.
So it is kind of a unique way ofcoming to it.
So maybe...
Sometimes, I guess I really amjust a normal guy.
(02:11):
And so that's how I am.
But thank you very much forsaying that.
SPEAKER_01 (02:17):
Oh, you're welcome.
And I appreciate you taking thetime to talk to us today.
Like I said, I've gotten thechance to get to know you over
the years.
And I want people that arelistening to get to know you.
So tell us a little bit moreabout your history.
So being born into the company,just tell us everything about
you and your connection.
connection with Europa and andhow it came to be sure
SPEAKER_02 (02:40):
so um you know Europa was a company that was
founded by my parents back in1977 out of a garage in Chicago
like all great things.
And my parents were, my dad wasa salesperson.
My mom, my dad went out with sixframes in a briefcase and
(03:03):
started knocking on doors ofindependent optometrists in the
Chicagoland area.
My mom stayed back at the garageand had a little bit of
inventory.
They were distributors at thetime, so they weren't working
directly with manufacturers likewe do today.
And so, And, you know, they justbuilt the business.
My uncle, Chris, was their firstemployee.
(03:23):
And, you know, they justalways...
They were also just kind ofregular people that I think had
values that they stuck to, eventhough they didn't write them
down like we do today.
They wanted to...
They were an independentbusiness.
They believed in their business.
(03:43):
They believed in buildingrelationships.
And...
They believed in independentoptometry and opticianry too.
And so there was like thisnatural kinship.
that was like that little kernelthat everything started with.
And then I think as momentumcontinued to build and my dad,
everything was always about oursales team because again, my dad
(04:04):
was a salesperson.
So when he was able to writeenough business himself and
bring out another salespersonand another salesperson, and
that's how we grew, that's howthe business has grown.
I was a child.
I take no credit for that.
But then when I joinedofficially in 2010, That was my
opportunity to really take thatblueprint that had been just
(04:30):
organically created and thenactually put it down to paper
and be like, okay, this is inthe fabric of what has actually
made us successful.
What is it that makes thiscompany special?
And then we just tried to doubleand triple down on that.
(04:51):
And that's still what we dotoday.
SPEAKER_01 (04:53):
Which is nothing short of impressive to be around
as long as you guys have and tohave endured the changes.
I mean, everybody knows ourindustry.
I mean, there's been 17 thingsthat have changed since we
started recording this episode.
Scott,
SPEAKER_02 (05:11):
I don't know when this is going to actually air or
go out, but today we'rerecording this at April 10th at
312 Central Time.
This is a moment of change.
I mean, by the time people arelistening and watching this
podcast, we'll be in a totallydifferent world than we are
today.
And we're in a different onetoday than we were two days ago.
So before you congratulate usfor surviving, just give us a
(05:35):
couple more days.
SPEAKER_01 (05:36):
Let's make sure we can air this.
Is that what you're trying tosay?
Yeah, right.
We have to make some edits.
But even so, the fact that youhave held on to so strongly that
that that core mission, vision,values of what your parents
started with.
And we're not going to changefrom that.
(05:59):
We're not going to veer fromthat.
We're going to grow with it, butwe're not going to veer away
from it.
And I think too often,companies, as they grow, it's
too easy for them to forget.
Where did we come from?
What were we about?
Because we have to conform, ifyou will, to the ways of the
world today.
SPEAKER_02 (06:17):
Yeah, so that is an ongoing challenge for us and
probably every company that'ssimilar to ours.
So we have always been a familybusiness, always an independent
company, but there are some realchallenges that come with being
small.
There are also some realadvantages that come with being
small, right?
(06:38):
So when we were small, and we'renot big now, we're medium-sized,
but when we were small, we hadthe intimacy And this sort of
like rebellious nature thatreally worked in our favor.
So, you know, every single salesrep has my cell phone number.
A sales meeting could be, youknow, 40 people and we all can
(07:01):
go to dinner.
And anytime they have a problem,they can call me and I have the
answer or Jerry, our president.
And there's this intimacy.
And then there's this like Davidand Goliath sort of mentality
that we have.
As you grow, it's really hard tokeep those two things and other
factors, too, that are reallyimportant that help drive your
business when you're small.
(07:21):
And so, you know, I mentionedvalues.
You talked about values.
Just about five years ago, wetried to...
like filter down all of thoseone word values that we felt
really defined who we were.
And we wrote those down and wepicked 10 of them.
My wife said, my wife is our VPof marketing.
(07:43):
She said, 10 is way too many.
You have to have two to three.
I said, no, we're having 10.
We've already done a lot of workon this.
It's 10.
And so- I'm sure most peoplelistening would also say you
can't have top 10 values, butwe're doing it.
SPEAKER_01 (07:56):
I was going to say you can't argue with your wife,
but, I mean, that's fine.
SPEAKER_02 (08:01):
That's value number one, so I already missed that
one.
So we wrote those 10 valuesdown, and we talk about them at
national sales meetings, and wetalk about them whenever we can
because that's like ourconstitution.
That's the thing that doesn'tchange, although the
Constitution changes too.
Those are the things.
(08:22):
We have to accept that we wantto grow.
We're going to grow.
Things are going to change.
We can't really control that.
The world around us is changing.
on a daily basis right now, butour competition's getting
stronger, our customers, theirneeds are changing.
(08:44):
We have to change.
Can't keep things the way thatthey always were.
That's not an option.
But we can stick to these 10elements and make sure that they
are a priority for us as we'remaking all of our decisions.
And that's sort of like theagreement that we have made with
our team.
So be ready for change.
(09:05):
Please try to take change withthe best attitude possible and
focus on the opportunity and thepositives.
And then in exchange for that,we will stick to these values.
And of course, we ask our team,when they're talking to their
customers when they're doingtheir jobs.
They also hopefully are thinkingof those values in the way they
(09:26):
do business on a daily basis aswell.
SPEAKER_01 (09:29):
Thank you.
Yeah.
And
SPEAKER_02 (09:57):
uh, you know, again, struggle all the time, but, uh,
but it's also been a lot of funand, um, and I'm, I'm excited
about where we're going to go inthe future.
SPEAKER_01 (10:06):
Yeah.
Speak, speaking of, of, ofsomething that has stood the
test of time and, and withstoodchange in, in, in many, many
years, American optical, this,this is something that is wow.
What, what a special brand.
And it's, it's been an Americanicon for a very long time.
Um, it's, it's, It has some verystrong ties to history and who
(10:28):
we are.
Tell us a little bit more aboutthat and where can people see
American Optical in history?
SPEAKER_02 (10:36):
Yeah, so, well, I'll tell you sort of the whole story
as to how it became a part ofour family.
But, you know, American Opticalitself is a company that started
all the way back in 1833.
So it's America's oldest opticalcompany.
brand, optical company.
And it is responsible for someof the most important
(10:58):
innovations, not just in opticalhistory, but in American and
world history.
It's so fascinating because ifyou ever get a chance, so
American Optical washeadquartered in Southbridge,
Massachusetts for over 150years.
And today, the Optical HeritageMuseum which I sit on the board
(11:18):
of, that is located inSouthbridge.
And the reason that it's inSouthbridge is because that was
the home of American Optical.
And if you ever get a chance togo visit, it's open to the
public.
You can make a reservation withmy friend Dick Whitney, who
basically runs it there.
And the history of, there's alot of history there, obviously,
(11:40):
that doesn't, it's not justabout American Optical.
But as you follow through thetimeline of American Optical's
history, it's so fascinatingbecause you are also following
the timeline of Americanhistory.
And so it has been so ingrainedin, even though a lot of people
may not know it, it has beeningrained certainly in our
(12:00):
industry history, uh, for solong.
Um, it is, and from a fashionperspective, you know, the
sunglasses have been worn by BobDylan, Bruce Springsteen, uh,
Malcolm X and his famous, famouseyeglasses, uh, uh, were, uh, AO
eyeglasses, uh, JFK famouslywore the Saratoga and the
(12:23):
original pilot sunglass, whichactually I have, this is the
original pilot.
Um, So this sunglass was thefirst sunglass ever on the moon.
I
SPEAKER_01 (12:33):
have those, and they're wildly comfortable.
I love those.
I love those sunglasses.
SPEAKER_02 (12:39):
Yeah, thank you.
So worn by the entire Apollo 11crew.
team crew.
And when Neil Armstrong tookthat first step on the moon, he
had those sunglasses attached tohis uniform.
So, so much, again, so muchiconography.
I won't spend the whole timegoing over it.
(12:59):
But, you know, we had built ourfactory here in Chicagoland in
2014.
And when you build, when youwant to make eyewear in the
United States or anywhere, youkind of have to first start by
deciding what materials you wantto use, because To make a pair
of plastic glasses like the onesI'm wearing versus a pair of
(13:19):
metal frames, that process hasalmost no overlap.
So you can't do both withoutkind of building two different
factories.
So we chose to produce acetatewhen we built our factory and
our state collection, which isour luxury eyewear collection
that's made in our factory.
That was all we were making atthe time.
And, you know, three, four yearsinto that process, we were only
(13:44):
using acetate.
So inevitably, the collectionwas starting to get a little bit
generic because there's all thesame materials.
So we knew we were going to haveto incorporate metal
manufacturing into our processat one time.
And it just so happened thatsomeone from American Optical
(14:04):
contacted us and they wereinterested.
Now, at that time, it was a verysmall company.
That huge company that was atone time the biggest optical
company in the world had kind oflike decreased in size over and
over and over again.
And all that was left was theeyewear division.
(14:24):
And it was a small factory inSouthbridge, had maybe eight
people in the factory, and theywere only producing two styles.
But they were producing metalstyles.
One of them was the OP, and theother was one they called the
General.
And They contacted us becausethey wanted to make the Saratoga
again, which is an acetatestyle, but they couldn't because
(14:45):
they only made metals, and weonly made acetates, so they
wanted to know if they couldprivate label, if they could
produce the Saratoga in ourfactory.
We went through a number ofdifferent meetings and
discussions, and ultimately wedecided collectively that what
would be best is for us just tobuy the AOI work company and
then bring it in-house in 2019,which is what we did.
(15:07):
So today in our facility, and bythe way, we have a factory here.
We try to tell anytime I get ona stage or get to be on a
podcast, like the most importantmessage is always, please come
to Chicago and visit ourfactory.
We want as many people aspossible to come and see what
goes into making a pair ofglasses.
(15:28):
And you'll learn very quicklyall of the handwork that goes
into it, why it's so rare for apair of glasses to be made in
the United States and why itcosts what it does.
anywhere really, because makinga pair of glasses is a pretty
complex and labor-intensiveprocess.
(15:50):
But if you come here, you'llalso see we have a mini museum
on loan from Southbridge,Massachusetts, from the Optical
Heritage Museum, and ours isjust totally dedicated to AO.
So when we brought that on, asyou can imagine, We'd already
been in manufacturing for a longtime.
(16:11):
So this idea of craftsmanshipwas already something that our
team took a lot of pride in.
But now the ability to work withthis incredible brand with all
of this rich history was, Ithink, really inspiring to
especially our marketing team,but also our manufacturers, the
craftsmen in the factory, andall of us.
(16:32):
And to this day, We've now ownedthe company for five years.
We released an opticalcollection just two years ago.
It's really a point of pride andsomething that our whole team is
really excited about sharingwith the world.
SPEAKER_01 (16:47):
As you should be.
And I'm going to echo a messagethat you said about the visit to
the factory.
And I've been lucky enough tohave the opportunity to do this
and spend some time with yourteam.
And it was...
It was amazing.
I mean, I've been in theindustry now for 14 years and to
see the, not even the work, butthe love.
(17:08):
And I know that sounds cheesy,but the love that goes into
creating and making each framewas mind blowing to me.
I mean, to see there's a younglady that works in your factory
and she was sitting there at atable and she was hand screwing
into each pair of glasses.
(17:29):
And I'm like, wait a minute,this is a human being.
This isn't just some hugemachine that's just pumping
things.
I mean, this is a human beingthat is putting her heart and
soul into each and every framethat is produced there.
It was such a cool experience.
SPEAKER_02 (17:47):
Thank you.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I tell people all the time,you know, when a patient comes
in, if you're an optician oroptometrist, a patient comes
into your office, they have noidea what goes into making a
frame.
And they probably heard from 60Minutes or some other source
about how eyeglasses are tooexpensive and there's some
monopoly in the industry andthat's why this is a big racket
(18:09):
and you pay too much forglasses.
They have no idea what goes intothat.
And most opticians don't knoweither because they've never had
a chance to see in firsthandwhat you just described.
But if, you know, I say if therewas some machine that spit these
things out 100 at a time andthey were easy to make, we
wouldn't go all the way to Chinaor Asia to have that done.
(18:31):
We would just have that machinehere and spit them out here.
It would save everybody a lot oftime and effort, especially now.
But it doesn't.
We say for every step, there'sabout 50 steps that go into
making a pair of acetate frames.
For every step, There's also acounter step that has to be done
by hand.
So you can automate it as muchas you want, which we do.
(18:53):
Of course, we have we have oneof the most state of the art
factories in the world.
And most of that process that wecan automate, we do because you
have to.
But even still, half of the workhas to be done by hand.
And and that's what you know,and that and it's that handwork
that differentiates, you know, acheap.
pair of glasses from a highquality pair of glasses.
(19:14):
It's that extra touch, thatextra passion that you talked
about, really spending the timeand the effort, especially in
polishing, to make a pair ofglasses beautiful.
SPEAKER_01 (19:26):
And don't get me started with that interview that
you brought up and theinformation, the misinformation
that gets put out into theworld.
I get fired up and those who areclose to me have had to listen
many times about those rants andgetting upset about the fact
that that's not our industry.
That is not what we are and whatwe offer.
(19:48):
And it's not all just the samething.
garbage that's being pumped outthere.
And I'm glad that you broughtthat up too, because it leads me
into another point I wanted totalk about, especially when you
look at American Optical and youlook at what it has given us.
You mentioned the sunglasses andthe styles that were worn by JFK
(20:10):
and Malcolm X and Bob Dylan.
And there's something thatpeople who are outside of our
industry, unfortunately, if youwere to ask them about those
styles and they're going toequate them to another company
that's out there and anotherwell-known brand because there's
(20:32):
some similarities, but it's notthem.
And I think education of, well,first our staff, so our
opticians and our doctors,everybody should know education
is important, but then toeducate the patient on the
difference between a brandbecause people will say, I got
to have brand Y becauseeverybody knows brand Y.
(20:53):
Well, my response to that isbrand Y is only what it is
because people have talked aboutit.
They say that we have anopportunity to make American,
not state, all of these brandselevated to that level.
Why aren't we?
So my question to you is what'sthe best way for practices to
(21:14):
share that education?
SPEAKER_02 (21:15):
Let me first start by saying that, you know, The
vast majority of thatresponsibility has to fall on
us, right?
On the company, on the brand.
No doubt about it.
You know, especially today, Iknow that so many of our
customers are dealing withstaffing issues.
It's harder to keep people.
So you can train them.
We can train them.
You know, hopefully.
(21:37):
They are being trained at theiroffices.
But if they're not going to bethere for more than a year or
two years, which we just know, Imean, let's face it, that's the
world we live in.
And I'm not sure we're evergoing back.
It just puts more onus oncompanies like ours in order to
make sure that that message isclear, easily and concisely
(21:58):
told.
And then ideally...
When the patient walks in thedoor, they've already heard or
have some kind of attachment orconnection to that brand.
Now, all that being said, thedispenser still has a huge
opportunity to be a part of thatprocess.
And I think it's a matter of–it's really a matter of desire,
(22:21):
right?
Like one of the things that Ithink– you mentioned that a lot
of the– history of AmericanOptical might be confused with
other companies or anothercompany.
To me, one of the things that'sso exciting about this brand is
that sort of misunderstanding,that ability, that opportunity
(22:44):
to educate the average personabout something they think they
might know about.
But here, I have someinformation that you don't have.
And for me, You know, the bestopticians, the best dispensers
and even optometrists, too, thatI know are ones who love not
just to tell stories and to workwith their patients.
(23:05):
Of course, that's true, but loveeducating them, love a story,
love to tell a story that maybetheir patient or their customer
doesn't know.
And so but that's not true foreverybody.
Right.
Like, I mean, everybody.
There are opticians, obviously,and dispensers throughout the
country that it's just a job forthem.
They want to go to whatever'seasiest, and that's okay, too.
(23:28):
But for us, you know, we're nota big enough company that we
have to sell every singlecustomer in the country.
We want to work with thoseoffices where there are
opticians and, again, dispensersthat have that level of
enthusiasm where if you tellthem something, you educate them
something, about something, theywant to share that with their
(23:51):
patients.
And I talk to people all thetime, Scott, I'm sure you're
familiar with the sort of personI'm talking about too, where
they want that challenge.
And by the way, that sort ofattitude keeps patients coming
back to them, right?
Like most optometrists that Iwork with that I know they have
(24:13):
a very loyal group of patientsthat come to them.
But there are also opticians anddispensers that have loyal
patients that want to work withthem.
And what draws, I think, sooften draws them is because they
have valuable storytelling,valuable information to share
with those patients, not justlike, you know this, here it is,
(24:37):
right?
That doesn't create trust.
That doesn't create like thatstickiness, right?
So those are the types ofenvironments that we're trying
to work with because the realityis there is no way that our
advertising budget is going tobe able to compete with the
advertising budget of ourbiggest competitors.
We know that.
So our business has always beenabout developing relationships
(25:00):
with our customers, withoptometrists and opticians, and
then hopefully inspiring themone way or another, either
through our brands or justthrough who we are, inspiring
them to to then share thatfeeling with their patients and
their customers.
And so that's what we do, right?
And I think, thankfully, we'vebeen able to find enough offices
(25:25):
and customers that want to be apart of that in order to make
our company successful.
And we think there's going to bea lot more.
So that's what we work towards.
SPEAKER_01 (25:33):
There's no doubt that there's going to be a lot
more because I don't knowanybody that wouldn't want to be
ignited by the passion that youguys have for the industry and
what we're doing.
And I think there aren't enoughpeople out there that are
looking at this, number one,that are looking at this as a
career, not a job, but that arelooking at this as an
(25:54):
opportunity to build somethingspecial when it comes to that
relationship with a patient.
And I talk to opticians anddispensers and frame stylists
all the time and I challengethem.
I say, I want you to build thelevel of relationship with your
patients that they're comingback for you.
I want, and doctors kind ofscallop me when I say this, but
(26:16):
I want people coming back.
I want to say, oh, you knowwhat?
Seeing the doctor and getting myexam, that's a byproduct of me
coming here.
I have to get that in order toget to Scott and be able to find
out what's the latest andgreatest and what's the new
story that he has for me.
Because those brands have,something, but they don't have a
(26:38):
story.
And, and, and I think thatthat's truly what sets us apart
from everybody else out there.
SPEAKER_02 (26:44):
Yeah.
I couldn't, I couldn't agreemore.
And, uh, you know, that, I mean,that, that is, uh, that's sort
of, uh, for, for our company,you know, we, we have been
obsessed with independent brandsfrom the very beginning and,
and, uh, and that's what we'regoing to continue to do.
We, we love that level ofstorytelling and, And we love
that being a part of thatdiscovery, right?
(27:07):
So again, you think you knowsomething, but let me tell you
something that maybe is asurprise to you and you're going
to walk out of here with someknowledge you didn't have
before.
SPEAKER_01 (27:16):
There's nothing that makes me happier than when I'm
wearing one of your guys' framesand somebody says, you know, I
love the frame you're wearing.
And to me, it's not just a thankyou.
It's a thank you.
Let me tell you about this.
And to be able to share and tobe able to say, you know, I got
to step foot in the place thatmakes these.
I got to meet and shake handswith people who created this
(27:39):
frame.
that's a whole nother levelbecause what I'm wearing is,
yes, it's a medical device thatI can't see without, but it's so
much more than that.
And when I get to share thatwith other people, now they're
like, oh, wait a minute.
I don't get to say that about myonline frame or my frame that I
got from this big box.
SPEAKER_02 (28:01):
I think, again, when we say independent brands, of
course, We're talking mostlyabout brands that are not
licensed from other industries.
And, you know, again, you talkedabout how, you know, offices
feel like they have to havecertain brands in their office.
I'm the last person who's goingto say that's not true, right?
(28:22):
I completely understand whyhaving brands that people are
automatically familiar with ispowerful and valuable.
And I support that completely.
But I think that...
And by the way, every one ofthose brands, at least the good
ones, they have a rich historybehind them as well.
But I think more often than not,by the time that brand makes it
(28:45):
into an optometry office, thosestories are not being told,
right?
It's basically being used as acrutch a lot of the time, maybe
not all the time.
But it's like, you know, again,it's like it's an easy, hey, you
know this brand.
You're comfortable with it.
It has credibility to you.
I don't have to do anythingabout it.
And again, I get that.
It's cool.
(29:06):
But I think it's very difficultto get that sort of richness and
that storytelling in what isbasically a borrowed brand by
the time it makes it to thatoptometry office, where our
brands are optically native.
We like to use that phrase,optically native.
They're born here in ourindustries for our customers,
for their patients.
(29:27):
And I think that's a lot morefun, but that's what I do.
That's my part of the business.
SPEAKER_01 (29:32):
That's fantastic.
So, okay, Europa, it's thelargest independent manufacturer
of eyewear in America.
That is such a cool thing to beable to say.
That doesn't make it, by the
SPEAKER_02 (29:45):
way, Scott, that doesn't mean that it's big.
SPEAKER_01 (29:48):
It
SPEAKER_02 (29:48):
just means it's the biggest.
Right.
It's like, you know, being thetallest short person.
SPEAKER_01 (29:53):
Right.
Yeah.
Hey, Kendall, we know one ofthose people, don't we?
So when we look at this, there'sa big T word that's on
everybody's minds right now.
And who knows where it's goingto be when this airs.
But given the fact of where youguys sit here in America, this
(30:15):
is where things are being made.
I'd love to get your insights onthis topic and how you feel like
it's affecting our industry.
SPEAKER_02 (30:24):
Yeah.
So, I mean, again, as we standright now on April 10th, there's
145% tariff being levied toproducts that are made in China.
There's currently no tariff or a10% tariff on everything else.
But just a few days ago, therewas like a 40% or 50% tariff on
just about any country that youcould actually import eyewear
(30:46):
from outside of Europe.
So, So we don't have enough timeto cover all of this, but I'll
just say, I mean, you know,those those types of tariffs, if
we're going to talk about 50percent tariffs coming from any
other country and then 150percent coming from China, you
(31:07):
know, there's just no way aroundit.
That is going to do seriousdamage to our industry.
It's going to raise pricessignificantly.
And everybody is going to feelthe effects of that, including
and especially the patient.
So, you know, I'm not taking apolitical position on it, but
it's not good for our industry.
(31:28):
That's 100% sure.
And I'm saying that as a U.S.
manufacturer, right, as somebodywho has already done what...
federal government is askingcompanies to do.
We made this investment and havemade it over the course of the
last 10 years.
So we are the type of companythat theoretically would be in
the position to benefit fromthis.
(31:50):
And even I'm telling you thatit's not good for our industry.
And it's probably not good forour company either.
All that being said, we haveinvested significantly in an
American manufacturing facility.
And so we do feel like we arewell positioned to not just
(32:10):
weather this storm, but reallyto take advantage of it as well.
And so one of the things, we hadour national sales meeting
started the day after Trump wasin the Rose Garden with that
chart, right, with all thecountries.
So couldn't not talk about thatwith our team.
(32:32):
And we made the declaration thatday.
We decided we sort of huddledright before the meeting, said,
hey, can we do this?
Did some back of the napkinmath.
And we made the declaration thatAmerican optical will not be
raising its prices at all in2025.
Wow.
You know, the reality is thatand I've been following some of
(32:54):
the chatter online.
You know, of course, this is inour industry.
This is a really importanttopic, as it is in just about
any other.
So I follow opticians onFacebook and some of the other
groups.
And, you know, people are quickto point out that.
No eyewear is really made fromtop to bottom here in the United
(33:14):
States.
You saw our factory.
You know that certaincomponents, certain materials
still have to be imported.
Not really any way around that.
And so we get tariffed on those.
And as a matter of fact, at onepoint, when the tariffs first
came out four years ago, eyewearwas a part of only the third
(33:38):
generation to be tariffed.
So there was a significantperiod of time where there was
no tariff on eyewear, but therewas a tariff on our raw
materials.
So for some of our brands, likeScott Harris is imported, for
those brands, we were paying notariff.
But for our American-madebrands, where we were doing
(33:58):
everything the federalgovernment was asking us to, we
were paying a tariff on the rawmaterials while the importers
were paying nothing.
So that's the sort of likebizarre side effects of some of
these attempts.
But today, we do have to paytariffs on those raw materials.
(34:20):
But the cost of making things inthe United States does not come
from the raw materials.
The raw materials end up being avery small fraction of the
overall cost of the eyewear.
Because it all goes into U.S.
labor, which is a very high-costlabor force, obviously.
So we're willing and able toabsorb that extra cost, those
tariffs that we're going to payon that raw material, because,
(34:42):
you know, what are we all about,right?
It's about partnering withindependent eye care
professionals.
We know, because we've alreadyheard it, All of our customers
are asking their vendors, areyou going to raise prices?
Are you going to raise prices?
What are you going to do aboutthe prices?
If we're going to do our smallpart to say, hey, we're in a
(35:03):
very good position here.
We're going to absorb thosecosts.
And you don't have to worryabout a price increase for us,
at least for our Americanoptical collection.
And so that's a really coolmessage for us to be able to
share, you know, while there's alot of uncertainty and some
chaos going on.
SPEAKER_01 (35:20):
And I think that that's an important message for
people to hear because there isa lot of unknowns that are going
on.
And with the unknown does sparkfear.
And unfortunately, fear cancreate other negative reactions.
And I think it's important foreverybody to know and to hear.
Even though we don't know what'sgoing on and what's going to
(35:43):
happen, our industry is...
extremely stable.
Everybody has to see.
And I think the important thingto know is that our practices
have options and they havechoices.
Things like your amazing companythat are not only doing what it
(36:03):
takes to keep people independentand afloat, but to protect them,
especially during times likethis.
So I think that that's animportant message that I want to
make sure everybody knows thatyou can, it might take a little
research, it might take someasking some questions, but it's
okay.
We will be all right.
(36:23):
And there are options out therefor you.
A hundred
SPEAKER_02 (36:25):
percent.
That's absolutely right.
And, you know, and you're right.
We have been a very resilientbusiness, both Europa and our
industry as a whole.
And I have no doubt that, youknow, obviously we'll make it
through this.
You know, I will say there aresome small companies that if
they're looking at, because whathappens is when you, you know,
(36:50):
you may, we have orders in, AndI'm sure most of our competitors
are like this too.
We have orders in that go allthe way to like the end of the
year.
So those orders are placed fromall over the world.
If when they come in to the US,if we have to pay 50% or more on
(37:10):
top of what we've already paid,again, not concerned about our
company, but if for a smallcompany, How are they going to
pay$400,000,$500,000, a milliondollars out of their cash flow
in order to get that stuff intothe United States?
I am concerned that some ofthose small companies are going
(37:30):
to face some real issues just interms of their cash flow.
And of course, they need tobring that product in.
Otherwise, they have nobusiness.
So that's a real concern that Ihave.
You know what?
I work very closely with theVision Council, so I wear sort
of two different hats.
I have one that is all aboutEuropa and making sure that
(37:52):
we're in a position to succeed,but I have another where I do
have genuine concerns foreveryone in our industry and all
the members of the VisionCouncil.
So that's something we're goingto have to watch very closely.
SPEAKER_01 (38:07):
So speaking of the Vision Council, I know that you
have an opportunity in ways thatpeople can get involved.
Tell us a little bit more aboutthat.
SPEAKER_02 (38:18):
Well, so for two years, I was the chairman of the
board, the Vision Council, and Ijust rolled off.
Jamie Rosen from Rosen Opticalis now the chair.
And then for two years afteryou're the chair, you're the
immediate past chair, and youbecome the chairman of the the
chairperson of the nominatingcommittee.
(38:39):
So that nominating committee isresponsible for bringing other
people on to either the board ofdirectors or to other
committees.
So yeah, this is my opportunityto say, I have been, I mean, I
really can't overstate this.
My experience with the visioncouncil, I've served on that
board now for about eight years.
My experience with the visioncouncil has been so very
(39:00):
rewarding.
I've devoted a lot of my timeand effort towards that Because
I think it's really importantand it's indicative of how I
feel about this industry as awhole.
But it has given me so much morethan I have given it.
And so if anybody who'slistening to this today has some
interest in sort of followingthat path and getting involved
(39:21):
with Vision Council, VisionCouncil is co-owner of Vision
Expo.
So we're very involved inplanning that and making sure
that that's an event that'smeaningful to our industry and
to our members.
But we're also involved inworking on Capitol Hill to make
sure that certain policies andlaws, like tariffs, are
(39:47):
considering the best interestsof companies in our industry and
our patients.
And so there's a lot of greatwork that the Vision Council
does, and I sort of right now amresponsible for bringing new
people on.
So if anybody has any interestin being a part of that
organization, my email is openand available.
SPEAKER_01 (40:05):
Very nice.
Very nice.
Well, Scott, nobody gets to getout of here without me asking my
favorite question, because, youknow, as you know, I'm extremely
passionate about privatepractice and empowering people's
independence.
I want to know what do you enjoymost about working with private
practices and the doctors thatown them?
SPEAKER_02 (40:27):
Oh, man.
So my favorite, my favoriteWell, I love working with our
team, with our sales teamparticularly, but when I look at
my job as a whole, that kind ofhas to be number one.
But one B is, when I can,attending events like yours that
(40:48):
happen once a year.
where I get a chance to meetindependent ODs.
And I'm especially thankful whenthey bring their staff because I
think education of staff is soimportant and giving them that
experience, especially ifthere's travel involved, makes
it more expensive.
But man, I know what it does tosort of the loyalty and
(41:08):
professional experience of thatstaff when they get to attend an
event like yours.
Same thing with Expo.
So being able to meet withpeople like that face-to-face,
on the occasion that I get toget up on stage and maybe give a
presentation.
I love to do that.
And, you know, I think there'ssomething special about
(41:31):
particularly doctor alliancegroups like yours, because we
have, we share so many of thesame values.
Like our company, absolutelycornerstone to the success of
our company is the success ofindependent optometry.
And we've known that for a verylong time.
You know, we are not, again, ouradvertising budget is not
robust.
(41:52):
And so, but we have to pick andchoose which organizations we're
going to support and where we'regoing to spend those dollars.
And to us, partnering with agroup like Acquios is a real
no-brainer because what you'retrying to do to help those
independent offices succeed andremain independent is so very
(42:13):
important to the lifeblood ofour business.
And we think it's what's bestfor our industry and for
patients ultimately.
So, you know, attending eventslike those, and again, being
able to sort of tell our storyand explain to those members,
those ODs, why we're here, whywe decided to partner with
Acquios.
(42:34):
That is one of the things, youknow, this didn't really exist
20 years ago.
These types of opportunities andgroups like yours.
So we were really early intrying to partner with groups
like yours very early on.
And it's been a really wonderfulpart of my career personally to
(42:54):
be able to interact and sort ofrepresent our company to groups
like yours.
SPEAKER_01 (43:01):
Well, you, you, you guys know how much we love, you
know, having the opportunity towork with you and you've been
such a huge support of ours and,and, you know, having you guys
join us for empowerment 25 was,was such an amazing thing.
It was, it was our first timethere and to have you be a part
of it was, was special to us.
And we look forward to seeingyou guys at empowerment 26 and
(43:22):
we might need to look to get youup on, on, on stage next year.
Listen,
SPEAKER_02 (43:25):
just let me know.
I'm, I don't really have toomuch to do.
So just give me like a few daysbeforehand.
Yeah, you show up.
Yeah, and I'll show up.
I love a good excuse.
Where is it going to be nextyear?
SPEAKER_01 (43:37):
It'll be right here in Kansas City again.
So everybody had such a greattime here and enjoyed some
delicious barbecue and some goodfamily fun.
That's what I'm talking about.
So you take
SPEAKER_02 (43:47):
me to that place that you told me I would never
have heard of.
Yeah, you go.
Brobex.
Brobex.
Yeah, there you go.
Dude, it's a commitment, Scott.
We're going to
SPEAKER_01 (43:57):
Brobex.
All right.
I love it.
I love it.
We're going to make that happen.
So, well, Scott, you've been sogracious with your time today.
And I can't tell you howappreciative that we are that
you joined us here today.
And if anybody wants to learnmore about Europa, you want to
get an opportunity to go and seethe factory, which once again, I
(44:17):
highly urge everybody to do,please reach out to us at info
at AquiosAlliance.com.
That's info atA-C-Q-U-I-O-S-A-L-I-O-S.
We'll be happy to get you intouch with Scott and the team.
Scott, once again, thank you somuch.
And we appreciate you being avendor partner and helping our
(44:38):
practices empower theirindependence.
SPEAKER_02 (44:39):
Thanks, Scott.
Thanks for doing the good workthat you guys do.
I'll see you in Kansas City.
SPEAKER_01 (44:43):
I look forward to it.
Welcome to Thrive with Confidence.
This podcast provides insightinto the Aquios Alliance, a
buying group that connectsprivate practices with trusted
vendors and expert support.
We will feature discussion withour vendor partners and
optometrist members while weexplore topics that will empower
your independence.
SPEAKER_01 (00:21):
Welcome everybody to another edition of Thrive with
Confidence.
Today I am joined by a man thatI have great respect for and
that has done so much for ourindustry and has been in it
quite literally all of his life.
So today I'm joined by ScottShapiro, Executive Director with
Europa.
(00:42):
Welcome, Scott.
Hi, Scott.
Thanks for having me.
This is so exciting.
I've been looking forward tothis episode since we talked
about recording it.
I've had the honor to know younow for about three years since
I started with the company, metyou shortly after that.
And I'll tell you, one of thethings that impressed the heck
(01:02):
out of me when I first met you,because I honestly, I knew you
were with Europa, but didn'tknow your title or your place
with it.
And your down-to-earth demeanor,your personality, your ease to
connect and talk to was, was,was outstanding.
And then I walk away and findout that, you know, you, your
(01:22):
importance with, with thecompany of Europa.
And I thought to myself that itblew me away.
It was, it was just veryimpressive as, as to see, you
know, there, there are peoplethat get to a level in a company
and I think they lose that,that, that realness of, of, of
who they are and what they areto, to the industry.
And so I, I love that.
(01:43):
I love that about you.
And I, And I see that in youevery single time we get the
chance to talk.
SPEAKER_02 (01:47):
That is a very, very kind compliment, Scott.
And I appreciate that very much.
I think maybe part of the...
I was born into this positionand born into this company.
So it is kind of a unique way ofcoming to it.
So maybe...
Sometimes, I guess I really amjust a normal guy.
(02:11):
And so that's how I am.
But thank you very much forsaying that.
SPEAKER_01 (02:17):
Oh, you're welcome.
And I appreciate you taking thetime to talk to us today.
Like I said, I've gotten thechance to get to know you over
the years.
And I want people that arelistening to get to know you.
So tell us a little bit moreabout your history.
So being born into the company,just tell us everything about
you and your connection.
connection with Europa and andhow it came to be sure
SPEAKER_02 (02:40):
so um you know Europa was a company that was
founded by my parents back in1977 out of a garage in Chicago
like all great things.
And my parents were, my dad wasa salesperson.
My mom, my dad went out with sixframes in a briefcase and
(03:03):
started knocking on doors ofindependent optometrists in the
Chicagoland area.
My mom stayed back at the garageand had a little bit of
inventory.
They were distributors at thetime, so they weren't working
directly with manufacturers likewe do today.
And so, And, you know, they justbuilt the business.
My uncle, Chris, was their firstemployee.
(03:23):
And, you know, they justalways...
They were also just kind ofregular people that I think had
values that they stuck to, eventhough they didn't write them
down like we do today.
They wanted to...
They were an independentbusiness.
They believed in their business.
(03:43):
They believed in buildingrelationships.
And...
They believed in independentoptometry and opticianry too.
And so there was like thisnatural kinship.
that was like that little kernelthat everything started with.
And then I think as momentumcontinued to build and my dad,
everything was always about oursales team because again, my dad
(04:04):
was a salesperson.
So when he was able to writeenough business himself and
bring out another salespersonand another salesperson, and
that's how we grew, that's howthe business has grown.
I was a child.
I take no credit for that.
But then when I joinedofficially in 2010, That was my
opportunity to really take thatblueprint that had been just
(04:30):
organically created and thenactually put it down to paper
and be like, okay, this is inthe fabric of what has actually
made us successful.
What is it that makes thiscompany special?
And then we just tried to doubleand triple down on that.
(04:51):
And that's still what we dotoday.
SPEAKER_01 (04:53):
Which is nothing short of impressive to be around
as long as you guys have and tohave endured the changes.
I mean, everybody knows ourindustry.
I mean, there's been 17 thingsthat have changed since we
started recording this episode.
Scott,
SPEAKER_02 (05:11):
I don't know when this is going to actually air or
go out, but today we'rerecording this at April 10th at
312 Central Time.
This is a moment of change.
I mean, by the time people arelistening and watching this
podcast, we'll be in a totallydifferent world than we are
today.
And we're in a different onetoday than we were two days ago.
So before you congratulate usfor surviving, just give us a
(05:35):
couple more days.
SPEAKER_01 (05:36):
Let's make sure we can air this.
Is that what you're trying tosay?
Yeah, right.
We have to make some edits.
But even so, the fact that youhave held on to so strongly that
that that core mission, vision,values of what your parents
started with.
And we're not going to changefrom that.
(05:59):
We're not going to veer fromthat.
We're going to grow with it, butwe're not going to veer away
from it.
And I think too often,companies, as they grow, it's
too easy for them to forget.
Where did we come from?
What were we about?
Because we have to conform, ifyou will, to the ways of the
world today.
SPEAKER_02 (06:17):
Yeah, so that is an ongoing challenge for us and
probably every company that'ssimilar to ours.
So we have always been a familybusiness, always an independent
company, but there are some realchallenges that come with being
small.
There are also some realadvantages that come with being
small, right?
(06:38):
So when we were small, and we'renot big now, we're medium-sized,
but when we were small, we hadthe intimacy And this sort of
like rebellious nature thatreally worked in our favor.
So, you know, every single salesrep has my cell phone number.
A sales meeting could be, youknow, 40 people and we all can
(07:01):
go to dinner.
And anytime they have a problem,they can call me and I have the
answer or Jerry, our president.
And there's this intimacy.
And then there's this like Davidand Goliath sort of mentality
that we have.
As you grow, it's really hard tokeep those two things and other
factors, too, that are reallyimportant that help drive your
business when you're small.
(07:21):
And so, you know, I mentionedvalues.
You talked about values.
Just about five years ago, wetried to...
like filter down all of thoseone word values that we felt
really defined who we were.
And we wrote those down and wepicked 10 of them.
My wife said, my wife is our VPof marketing.
(07:43):
She said, 10 is way too many.
You have to have two to three.
I said, no, we're having 10.
We've already done a lot of workon this.
It's 10.
And so- I'm sure most peoplelistening would also say you
can't have top 10 values, butwe're doing it.
SPEAKER_01 (07:56):
I was going to say you can't argue with your wife,
but, I mean, that's fine.
SPEAKER_02 (08:01):
That's value number one, so I already missed that
one.
So we wrote those 10 valuesdown, and we talk about them at
national sales meetings, and wetalk about them whenever we can
because that's like ourconstitution.
That's the thing that doesn'tchange, although the
Constitution changes too.
Those are the things.
(08:22):
We have to accept that we wantto grow.
We're going to grow.
Things are going to change.
We can't really control that.
The world around us is changing.
on a daily basis right now, butour competition's getting
stronger, our customers, theirneeds are changing.
(08:44):
We have to change.
Can't keep things the way thatthey always were.
That's not an option.
But we can stick to these 10elements and make sure that they
are a priority for us as we'remaking all of our decisions.
And that's sort of like theagreement that we have made with
our team.
So be ready for change.
(09:05):
Please try to take change withthe best attitude possible and
focus on the opportunity and thepositives.
And then in exchange for that,we will stick to these values.
And of course, we ask our team,when they're talking to their
customers when they're doingtheir jobs.
They also hopefully are thinkingof those values in the way they
(09:26):
do business on a daily basis aswell.
SPEAKER_01 (09:29):
Thank you.
Yeah.
And
SPEAKER_02 (09:57):
uh, you know, again, struggle all the time, but, uh,
but it's also been a lot of funand, um, and I'm, I'm excited
about where we're going to go inthe future.
SPEAKER_01 (10:06):
Yeah.
Speak, speaking of, of, ofsomething that has stood the
test of time and, and withstoodchange in, in, in many, many
years, American optical, this,this is something that is wow.
What, what a special brand.
And it's, it's been an Americanicon for a very long time.
Um, it's, it's, It has some verystrong ties to history and who
(10:28):
we are.
Tell us a little bit more aboutthat and where can people see
American Optical in history?
SPEAKER_02 (10:36):
Yeah, so, well, I'll tell you sort of the whole story
as to how it became a part ofour family.
But, you know, American Opticalitself is a company that started
all the way back in 1833.
So it's America's oldest opticalcompany.
brand, optical company.
And it is responsible for someof the most important
(10:58):
innovations, not just in opticalhistory, but in American and
world history.
It's so fascinating because ifyou ever get a chance, so
American Optical washeadquartered in Southbridge,
Massachusetts for over 150years.
And today, the Optical HeritageMuseum which I sit on the board
(11:18):
of, that is located inSouthbridge.
And the reason that it's inSouthbridge is because that was
the home of American Optical.
And if you ever get a chance togo visit, it's open to the
public.
You can make a reservation withmy friend Dick Whitney, who
basically runs it there.
And the history of, there's alot of history there, obviously,
(11:40):
that doesn't, it's not justabout American Optical.
But as you follow through thetimeline of American Optical's
history, it's so fascinatingbecause you are also following
the timeline of Americanhistory.
And so it has been so ingrainedin, even though a lot of people
may not know it, it has beeningrained certainly in our
(12:00):
industry history, uh, for solong.
Um, it is, and from a fashionperspective, you know, the
sunglasses have been worn by BobDylan, Bruce Springsteen, uh,
Malcolm X and his famous, famouseyeglasses, uh, uh, were, uh, AO
eyeglasses, uh, JFK famouslywore the Saratoga and the
(12:23):
original pilot sunglass, whichactually I have, this is the
original pilot.
Um, So this sunglass was thefirst sunglass ever on the moon.
I
SPEAKER_01 (12:33):
have those, and they're wildly comfortable.
I love those.
I love those sunglasses.
SPEAKER_02 (12:39):
Yeah, thank you.
So worn by the entire Apollo 11crew.
team crew.
And when Neil Armstrong tookthat first step on the moon, he
had those sunglasses attached tohis uniform.
So, so much, again, so muchiconography.
I won't spend the whole timegoing over it.
(12:59):
But, you know, we had built ourfactory here in Chicagoland in
2014.
And when you build, when youwant to make eyewear in the
United States or anywhere, youkind of have to first start by
deciding what materials you wantto use, because To make a pair
of plastic glasses like the onesI'm wearing versus a pair of
(13:19):
metal frames, that process hasalmost no overlap.
So you can't do both withoutkind of building two different
factories.
So we chose to produce acetatewhen we built our factory and
our state collection, which isour luxury eyewear collection
that's made in our factory.
That was all we were making atthe time.
And, you know, three, four yearsinto that process, we were only
(13:44):
using acetate.
So inevitably, the collectionwas starting to get a little bit
generic because there's all thesame materials.
So we knew we were going to haveto incorporate metal
manufacturing into our processat one time.
And it just so happened thatsomeone from American Optical
(14:04):
contacted us and they wereinterested.
Now, at that time, it was a verysmall company.
That huge company that was atone time the biggest optical
company in the world had kind oflike decreased in size over and
over and over again.
And all that was left was theeyewear division.
(14:24):
And it was a small factory inSouthbridge, had maybe eight
people in the factory, and theywere only producing two styles.
But they were producing metalstyles.
One of them was the OP, and theother was one they called the
General.
And They contacted us becausethey wanted to make the Saratoga
again, which is an acetatestyle, but they couldn't because
(14:45):
they only made metals, and weonly made acetates, so they
wanted to know if they couldprivate label, if they could
produce the Saratoga in ourfactory.
We went through a number ofdifferent meetings and
discussions, and ultimately wedecided collectively that what
would be best is for us just tobuy the AOI work company and
then bring it in-house in 2019,which is what we did.
(15:07):
So today in our facility, and bythe way, we have a factory here.
We try to tell anytime I get ona stage or get to be on a
podcast, like the most importantmessage is always, please come
to Chicago and visit ourfactory.
We want as many people aspossible to come and see what
goes into making a pair ofglasses.
(15:28):
And you'll learn very quicklyall of the handwork that goes
into it, why it's so rare for apair of glasses to be made in
the United States and why itcosts what it does.
anywhere really, because makinga pair of glasses is a pretty
complex and labor-intensiveprocess.
(15:50):
But if you come here, you'llalso see we have a mini museum
on loan from Southbridge,Massachusetts, from the Optical
Heritage Museum, and ours isjust totally dedicated to AO.
So when we brought that on, asyou can imagine, We'd already
been in manufacturing for a longtime.
(16:11):
So this idea of craftsmanshipwas already something that our
team took a lot of pride in.
But now the ability to work withthis incredible brand with all
of this rich history was, Ithink, really inspiring to
especially our marketing team,but also our manufacturers, the
craftsmen in the factory, andall of us.
(16:32):
And to this day, We've now ownedthe company for five years.
We released an opticalcollection just two years ago.
It's really a point of pride andsomething that our whole team is
really excited about sharingwith the world.
SPEAKER_01 (16:47):
As you should be.
And I'm going to echo a messagethat you said about the visit to
the factory.
And I've been lucky enough tohave the opportunity to do this
and spend some time with yourteam.
And it was...
It was amazing.
I mean, I've been in theindustry now for 14 years and to
see the, not even the work, butthe love.
(17:08):
And I know that sounds cheesy,but the love that goes into
creating and making each framewas mind blowing to me.
I mean, to see there's a younglady that works in your factory
and she was sitting there at atable and she was hand screwing
into each pair of glasses.
(17:29):
And I'm like, wait a minute,this is a human being.
This isn't just some hugemachine that's just pumping
things.
I mean, this is a human beingthat is putting her heart and
soul into each and every framethat is produced there.
It was such a cool experience.
SPEAKER_02 (17:47):
Thank you.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I tell people all the time,you know, when a patient comes
in, if you're an optician oroptometrist, a patient comes
into your office, they have noidea what goes into making a
frame.
And they probably heard from 60Minutes or some other source
about how eyeglasses are tooexpensive and there's some
monopoly in the industry andthat's why this is a big racket
(18:09):
and you pay too much forglasses.
They have no idea what goes intothat.
And most opticians don't knoweither because they've never had
a chance to see in firsthandwhat you just described.
But if, you know, I say if therewas some machine that spit these
things out 100 at a time andthey were easy to make, we
wouldn't go all the way to Chinaor Asia to have that done.
(18:31):
We would just have that machinehere and spit them out here.
It would save everybody a lot oftime and effort, especially now.
But it doesn't.
We say for every step, there'sabout 50 steps that go into
making a pair of acetate frames.
For every step, There's also acounter step that has to be done
by hand.
So you can automate it as muchas you want, which we do.
(18:53):
Of course, we have we have oneof the most state of the art
factories in the world.
And most of that process that wecan automate, we do because you
have to.
But even still, half of the workhas to be done by hand.
And and that's what you know,and that and it's that handwork
that differentiates, you know, acheap.
pair of glasses from a highquality pair of glasses.
(19:14):
It's that extra touch, thatextra passion that you talked
about, really spending the timeand the effort, especially in
polishing, to make a pair ofglasses beautiful.
SPEAKER_01 (19:26):
And don't get me started with that interview that
you brought up and theinformation, the misinformation
that gets put out into theworld.
I get fired up and those who areclose to me have had to listen
many times about those rants andgetting upset about the fact
that that's not our industry.
That is not what we are and whatwe offer.
(19:48):
And it's not all just the samething.
garbage that's being pumped outthere.
And I'm glad that you broughtthat up too, because it leads me
into another point I wanted totalk about, especially when you
look at American Optical and youlook at what it has given us.
You mentioned the sunglasses andthe styles that were worn by JFK
(20:10):
and Malcolm X and Bob Dylan.
And there's something thatpeople who are outside of our
industry, unfortunately, if youwere to ask them about those
styles and they're going toequate them to another company
that's out there and anotherwell-known brand because there's
(20:32):
some similarities, but it's notthem.
And I think education of, well,first our staff, so our
opticians and our doctors,everybody should know education
is important, but then toeducate the patient on the
difference between a brandbecause people will say, I got
to have brand Y becauseeverybody knows brand Y.
(20:53):
Well, my response to that isbrand Y is only what it is
because people have talked aboutit.
They say that we have anopportunity to make American,
not state, all of these brandselevated to that level.
Why aren't we?
So my question to you is what'sthe best way for practices to
(21:14):
share that education?
SPEAKER_02 (21:15):
Let me first start by saying that, you know, The
vast majority of thatresponsibility has to fall on
us, right?
On the company, on the brand.
No doubt about it.
You know, especially today, Iknow that so many of our
customers are dealing withstaffing issues.
It's harder to keep people.
So you can train them.
We can train them.
You know, hopefully.
(21:37):
They are being trained at theiroffices.
But if they're not going to bethere for more than a year or
two years, which we just know, Imean, let's face it, that's the
world we live in.
And I'm not sure we're evergoing back.
It just puts more onus oncompanies like ours in order to
make sure that that message isclear, easily and concisely
(21:58):
told.
And then ideally...
When the patient walks in thedoor, they've already heard or
have some kind of attachment orconnection to that brand.
Now, all that being said, thedispenser still has a huge
opportunity to be a part of thatprocess.
And I think it's a matter of–it's really a matter of desire,
(22:21):
right?
Like one of the things that Ithink– you mentioned that a lot
of the– history of AmericanOptical might be confused with
other companies or anothercompany.
To me, one of the things that'sso exciting about this brand is
that sort of misunderstanding,that ability, that opportunity
(22:44):
to educate the average personabout something they think they
might know about.
But here, I have someinformation that you don't have.
And for me, You know, the bestopticians, the best dispensers
and even optometrists, too, thatI know are ones who love not
just to tell stories and to workwith their patients.
(23:05):
Of course, that's true, but loveeducating them, love a story,
love to tell a story that maybetheir patient or their customer
doesn't know.
And so but that's not true foreverybody.
Right.
Like, I mean, everybody.
There are opticians, obviously,and dispensers throughout the
country that it's just a job forthem.
They want to go to whatever'seasiest, and that's okay, too.
(23:28):
But for us, you know, we're nota big enough company that we
have to sell every singlecustomer in the country.
We want to work with thoseoffices where there are
opticians and, again, dispensersthat have that level of
enthusiasm where if you tellthem something, you educate them
something, about something, theywant to share that with their
(23:51):
patients.
And I talk to people all thetime, Scott, I'm sure you're
familiar with the sort of personI'm talking about too, where
they want that challenge.
And by the way, that sort ofattitude keeps patients coming
back to them, right?
Like most optometrists that Iwork with that I know they have
(24:13):
a very loyal group of patientsthat come to them.
But there are also opticians anddispensers that have loyal
patients that want to work withthem.
And what draws, I think, sooften draws them is because they
have valuable storytelling,valuable information to share
with those patients, not justlike, you know this, here it is,
(24:37):
right?
That doesn't create trust.
That doesn't create like thatstickiness, right?
So those are the types ofenvironments that we're trying
to work with because the realityis there is no way that our
advertising budget is going tobe able to compete with the
advertising budget of ourbiggest competitors.
We know that.
So our business has always beenabout developing relationships
(25:00):
with our customers, withoptometrists and opticians, and
then hopefully inspiring themone way or another, either
through our brands or justthrough who we are, inspiring
them to to then share thatfeeling with their patients and
their customers.
And so that's what we do, right?
And I think, thankfully, we'vebeen able to find enough offices
(25:25):
and customers that want to be apart of that in order to make
our company successful.
And we think there's going to bea lot more.
So that's what we work towards.
SPEAKER_01 (25:33):
There's no doubt that there's going to be a lot
more because I don't knowanybody that wouldn't want to be
ignited by the passion that youguys have for the industry and
what we're doing.
And I think there aren't enoughpeople out there that are
looking at this, number one,that are looking at this as a
career, not a job, but that arelooking at this as an
(25:54):
opportunity to build somethingspecial when it comes to that
relationship with a patient.
And I talk to opticians anddispensers and frame stylists
all the time and I challengethem.
I say, I want you to build thelevel of relationship with your
patients that they're comingback for you.
I want, and doctors kind ofscallop me when I say this, but
(26:16):
I want people coming back.
I want to say, oh, you knowwhat?
Seeing the doctor and getting myexam, that's a byproduct of me
coming here.
I have to get that in order toget to Scott and be able to find
out what's the latest andgreatest and what's the new
story that he has for me.
Because those brands have,something, but they don't have a
(26:38):
story.
And, and, and I think thatthat's truly what sets us apart
from everybody else out there.
SPEAKER_02 (26:44):
Yeah.
I couldn't, I couldn't agreemore.
And, uh, you know, that, I mean,that, that is, uh, that's sort
of, uh, for, for our company,you know, we, we have been
obsessed with independent brandsfrom the very beginning and,
and, uh, and that's what we'regoing to continue to do.
We, we love that level ofstorytelling and, And we love
that being a part of thatdiscovery, right?
(27:07):
So again, you think you knowsomething, but let me tell you
something that maybe is asurprise to you and you're going
to walk out of here with someknowledge you didn't have
before.
SPEAKER_01 (27:16):
There's nothing that makes me happier than when I'm
wearing one of your guys' framesand somebody says, you know, I
love the frame you're wearing.
And to me, it's not just a thankyou.
It's a thank you.
Let me tell you about this.
And to be able to share and tobe able to say, you know, I got
to step foot in the place thatmakes these.
I got to meet and shake handswith people who created this
(27:39):
frame.
that's a whole nother levelbecause what I'm wearing is,
yes, it's a medical device thatI can't see without, but it's so
much more than that.
And when I get to share thatwith other people, now they're
like, oh, wait a minute.
I don't get to say that about myonline frame or my frame that I
got from this big box.
SPEAKER_02 (28:01):
I think, again, when we say independent brands, of
course, We're talking mostlyabout brands that are not
licensed from other industries.
And, you know, again, you talkedabout how, you know, offices
feel like they have to havecertain brands in their office.
I'm the last person who's goingto say that's not true, right?
(28:22):
I completely understand whyhaving brands that people are
automatically familiar with ispowerful and valuable.
And I support that completely.
But I think that...
And by the way, every one ofthose brands, at least the good
ones, they have a rich historybehind them as well.
But I think more often than not,by the time that brand makes it
(28:45):
into an optometry office, thosestories are not being told,
right?
It's basically being used as acrutch a lot of the time, maybe
not all the time.
But it's like, you know, again,it's like it's an easy, hey, you
know this brand.
You're comfortable with it.
It has credibility to you.
I don't have to do anythingabout it.
And again, I get that.
It's cool.
(29:06):
But I think it's very difficultto get that sort of richness and
that storytelling in what isbasically a borrowed brand by
the time it makes it to thatoptometry office, where our
brands are optically native.
We like to use that phrase,optically native.
They're born here in ourindustries for our customers,
for their patients.
(29:27):
And I think that's a lot morefun, but that's what I do.
That's my part of the business.
SPEAKER_01 (29:32):
That's fantastic.
So, okay, Europa, it's thelargest independent manufacturer
of eyewear in America.
That is such a cool thing to beable to say.
That doesn't make it, by the
SPEAKER_02 (29:45):
way, Scott, that doesn't mean that it's big.
SPEAKER_01 (29:48):
It
SPEAKER_02 (29:48):
just means it's the biggest.
Right.
It's like, you know, being thetallest short person.
SPEAKER_01 (29:53):
Right.
Yeah.
Hey, Kendall, we know one ofthose people, don't we?
So when we look at this, there'sa big T word that's on
everybody's minds right now.
And who knows where it's goingto be when this airs.
But given the fact of where youguys sit here in America, this
(30:15):
is where things are being made.
I'd love to get your insights onthis topic and how you feel like
it's affecting our industry.
SPEAKER_02 (30:24):
Yeah.
So, I mean, again, as we standright now on April 10th, there's
145% tariff being levied toproducts that are made in China.
There's currently no tariff or a10% tariff on everything else.
But just a few days ago, therewas like a 40% or 50% tariff on
just about any country that youcould actually import eyewear
(30:46):
from outside of Europe.
So, So we don't have enough timeto cover all of this, but I'll
just say, I mean, you know,those those types of tariffs, if
we're going to talk about 50percent tariffs coming from any
other country and then 150percent coming from China, you
(31:07):
know, there's just no way aroundit.
That is going to do seriousdamage to our industry.
It's going to raise pricessignificantly.
And everybody is going to feelthe effects of that, including
and especially the patient.
So, you know, I'm not taking apolitical position on it, but
it's not good for our industry.
(31:28):
That's 100% sure.
And I'm saying that as a U.S.
manufacturer, right, as somebodywho has already done what...
federal government is askingcompanies to do.
We made this investment and havemade it over the course of the
last 10 years.
So we are the type of companythat theoretically would be in
the position to benefit fromthis.
(31:50):
And even I'm telling you thatit's not good for our industry.
And it's probably not good forour company either.
All that being said, we haveinvested significantly in an
American manufacturing facility.
And so we do feel like we arewell positioned to not just
(32:10):
weather this storm, but reallyto take advantage of it as well.
And so one of the things, we hadour national sales meeting
started the day after Trump wasin the Rose Garden with that
chart, right, with all thecountries.
So couldn't not talk about thatwith our team.
(32:32):
And we made the declaration thatday.
We decided we sort of huddledright before the meeting, said,
hey, can we do this?
Did some back of the napkinmath.
And we made the declaration thatAmerican optical will not be
raising its prices at all in2025.
Wow.
You know, the reality is thatand I've been following some of
(32:54):
the chatter online.
You know, of course, this is inour industry.
This is a really importanttopic, as it is in just about
any other.
So I follow opticians onFacebook and some of the other
groups.
And, you know, people are quickto point out that.
No eyewear is really made fromtop to bottom here in the United
(33:14):
States.
You saw our factory.
You know that certaincomponents, certain materials
still have to be imported.
Not really any way around that.
And so we get tariffed on those.
And as a matter of fact, at onepoint, when the tariffs first
came out four years ago, eyewearwas a part of only the third
(33:38):
generation to be tariffed.
So there was a significantperiod of time where there was
no tariff on eyewear, but therewas a tariff on our raw
materials.
So for some of our brands, likeScott Harris is imported, for
those brands, we were paying notariff.
But for our American-madebrands, where we were doing
(33:58):
everything the federalgovernment was asking us to, we
were paying a tariff on the rawmaterials while the importers
were paying nothing.
So that's the sort of likebizarre side effects of some of
these attempts.
But today, we do have to paytariffs on those raw materials.
(34:20):
But the cost of making things inthe United States does not come
from the raw materials.
The raw materials end up being avery small fraction of the
overall cost of the eyewear.
Because it all goes into U.S.
labor, which is a very high-costlabor force, obviously.
So we're willing and able toabsorb that extra cost, those
tariffs that we're going to payon that raw material, because,
(34:42):
you know, what are we all about,right?
It's about partnering withindependent eye care
professionals.
We know, because we've alreadyheard it, All of our customers
are asking their vendors, areyou going to raise prices?
Are you going to raise prices?
What are you going to do aboutthe prices?
If we're going to do our smallpart to say, hey, we're in a
(35:03):
very good position here.
We're going to absorb thosecosts.
And you don't have to worryabout a price increase for us,
at least for our Americanoptical collection.
And so that's a really coolmessage for us to be able to
share, you know, while there's alot of uncertainty and some
chaos going on.
SPEAKER_01 (35:20):
And I think that that's an important message for
people to hear because there isa lot of unknowns that are going
on.
And with the unknown does sparkfear.
And unfortunately, fear cancreate other negative reactions.
And I think it's important foreverybody to know and to hear.
Even though we don't know what'sgoing on and what's going to
(35:43):
happen, our industry is...
extremely stable.
Everybody has to see.
And I think the important thingto know is that our practices
have options and they havechoices.
Things like your amazing companythat are not only doing what it
(36:03):
takes to keep people independentand afloat, but to protect them,
especially during times likethis.
So I think that that's animportant message that I want to
make sure everybody knows thatyou can, it might take a little
research, it might take someasking some questions, but it's
okay.
We will be all right.
(36:23):
And there are options out therefor you.
A hundred
SPEAKER_02 (36:25):
percent.
That's absolutely right.
And, you know, and you're right.
We have been a very resilientbusiness, both Europa and our
industry as a whole.
And I have no doubt that, youknow, obviously we'll make it
through this.
You know, I will say there aresome small companies that if
they're looking at, because whathappens is when you, you know,
(36:50):
you may, we have orders in, AndI'm sure most of our competitors
are like this too.
We have orders in that go allthe way to like the end of the
year.
So those orders are placed fromall over the world.
If when they come in to the US,if we have to pay 50% or more on
(37:10):
top of what we've already paid,again, not concerned about our
company, but if for a smallcompany, How are they going to
pay$400,000,$500,000, a milliondollars out of their cash flow
in order to get that stuff intothe United States?
I am concerned that some ofthose small companies are going
(37:30):
to face some real issues just interms of their cash flow.
And of course, they need tobring that product in.
Otherwise, they have nobusiness.
So that's a real concern that Ihave.
You know what?
I work very closely with theVision Council, so I wear sort
of two different hats.
I have one that is all aboutEuropa and making sure that
(37:52):
we're in a position to succeed,but I have another where I do
have genuine concerns foreveryone in our industry and all
the members of the VisionCouncil.
So that's something we're goingto have to watch very closely.
SPEAKER_01 (38:07):
So speaking of the Vision Council, I know that you
have an opportunity in ways thatpeople can get involved.
Tell us a little bit more aboutthat.
SPEAKER_02 (38:18):
Well, so for two years, I was the chairman of the
board, the Vision Council, and Ijust rolled off.
Jamie Rosen from Rosen Opticalis now the chair.
And then for two years afteryou're the chair, you're the
immediate past chair, and youbecome the chairman of the the
chairperson of the nominatingcommittee.
(38:39):
So that nominating committee isresponsible for bringing other
people on to either the board ofdirectors or to other
committees.
So yeah, this is my opportunityto say, I have been, I mean, I
really can't overstate this.
My experience with the visioncouncil, I've served on that
board now for about eight years.
My experience with the visioncouncil has been so very
(39:00):
rewarding.
I've devoted a lot of my timeand effort towards that Because
I think it's really importantand it's indicative of how I
feel about this industry as awhole.
But it has given me so much morethan I have given it.
And so if anybody who'slistening to this today has some
interest in sort of followingthat path and getting involved
(39:21):
with Vision Council, VisionCouncil is co-owner of Vision
Expo.
So we're very involved inplanning that and making sure
that that's an event that'smeaningful to our industry and
to our members.
But we're also involved inworking on Capitol Hill to make
sure that certain policies andlaws, like tariffs, are
(39:47):
considering the best interestsof companies in our industry and
our patients.
And so there's a lot of greatwork that the Vision Council
does, and I sort of right now amresponsible for bringing new
people on.
So if anybody has any interestin being a part of that
organization, my email is openand available.
SPEAKER_01 (40:05):
Very nice.
Very nice.
Well, Scott, nobody gets to getout of here without me asking my
favorite question, because, youknow, as you know, I'm extremely
passionate about privatepractice and empowering people's
independence.
I want to know what do you enjoymost about working with private
practices and the doctors thatown them?
SPEAKER_02 (40:27):
Oh, man.
So my favorite, my favoriteWell, I love working with our
team, with our sales teamparticularly, but when I look at
my job as a whole, that kind ofhas to be number one.
But one B is, when I can,attending events like yours that
(40:48):
happen once a year.
where I get a chance to meetindependent ODs.
And I'm especially thankful whenthey bring their staff because I
think education of staff is soimportant and giving them that
experience, especially ifthere's travel involved, makes
it more expensive.
But man, I know what it does tosort of the loyalty and
(41:08):
professional experience of thatstaff when they get to attend an
event like yours.
Same thing with Expo.
So being able to meet withpeople like that face-to-face,
on the occasion that I get toget up on stage and maybe give a
presentation.
I love to do that.
And, you know, I think there'ssomething special about
(41:31):
particularly doctor alliancegroups like yours, because we
have, we share so many of thesame values.
Like our company, absolutelycornerstone to the success of
our company is the success ofindependent optometry.
And we've known that for a verylong time.
You know, we are not, again, ouradvertising budget is not
robust.
(41:52):
And so, but we have to pick andchoose which organizations we're
going to support and where we'regoing to spend those dollars.
And to us, partnering with agroup like Acquios is a real
no-brainer because what you'retrying to do to help those
independent offices succeed andremain independent is so very
(42:13):
important to the lifeblood ofour business.
And we think it's what's bestfor our industry and for
patients ultimately.
So, you know, attending eventslike those, and again, being
able to sort of tell our storyand explain to those members,
those ODs, why we're here, whywe decided to partner with
Acquios.
(42:34):
That is one of the things, youknow, this didn't really exist
20 years ago.
These types of opportunities andgroups like yours.
So we were really early intrying to partner with groups
like yours very early on.
And it's been a really wonderfulpart of my career personally to
(42:54):
be able to interact and sort ofrepresent our company to groups
like yours.
SPEAKER_01 (43:01):
Well, you, you, you guys know how much we love, you
know, having the opportunity towork with you and you've been
such a huge support of ours and,and, you know, having you guys
join us for empowerment 25 was,was such an amazing thing.
It was, it was our first timethere and to have you be a part
of it was, was special to us.
And we look forward to seeingyou guys at empowerment 26 and
(43:22):
we might need to look to get youup on, on, on stage next year.
Listen,
SPEAKER_02 (43:25):
just let me know.
I'm, I don't really have toomuch to do.
So just give me like a few daysbeforehand.
Yeah, you show up.
Yeah, and I'll show up.
I love a good excuse.
Where is it going to be nextyear?
SPEAKER_01 (43:37):
It'll be right here in Kansas City again.
So everybody had such a greattime here and enjoyed some
delicious barbecue and some goodfamily fun.
That's what I'm talking about.
So you take
SPEAKER_02 (43:47):
me to that place that you told me I would never
have heard of.
Yeah, you go.
Brobex.
Brobex.
Yeah, there you go.
Dude, it's a commitment, Scott.
We're going to
SPEAKER_01 (43:57):
Brobex.
All right.
I love it.
I love it.
We're going to make that happen.
So, well, Scott, you've been sogracious with your time today.
And I can't tell you howappreciative that we are that
you joined us here today.
And if anybody wants to learnmore about Europa, you want to
get an opportunity to go and seethe factory, which once again, I
(44:17):
highly urge everybody to do,please reach out to us at info
at AquiosAlliance.com.
That's info atA-C-Q-U-I-O-S-A-L-I-O-S.
We'll be happy to get you intouch with Scott and the team.
Scott, once again, thank you somuch.
And we appreciate you being avendor partner and helping our
(44:38):
practices empower theirindependence.
SPEAKER_02 (44:39):
Thanks, Scott.
Thanks for doing the good workthat you guys do.
I'll see you in Kansas City.
SPEAKER_01 (44:43):
I look forward to it.
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