By Cathy Ciccolella
Senior Editor

SOUTHFIELD, Mich.--The D.O.C Optics chain, which added a “value” message to its traditional “fashion” marketing strategy nearly two years ago, will turn its emphasis more strongly back to fashion in 2006, according to Richard Golden, D.O.C’s president and chief executive officer.

Richard Golden

Don Jones

The chain also plans a big move toward enhanced sales training in the form of “D.O.C University,” a modular education concept being spearheaded by the company’s new chief operating officer, Don Jones.

Jones joined the chain as COO, a new position for D.O.C, in early November; his 30 years of retail experience include stints with The Gap, Marshall Field and Ikea. Jones’ role is to oversee D.O.C’s store operations, “making sure all company initiatives are understood and carried out all the way to the consumer,” Golden explained. Golden will focus his own attention on broader strategic planning, including marketing and advertising, as well as evaluating new retail concepts and opportunities.

The lagging economy in Michigan, where 70 percent of D.O.C’s stores are located, has kept the chain’s revenues virtually flat this year, Golden told VM, “but the D.O.C brand has kept us in the game.” D.O.C, long-established in the Detroit area, celebrates its 60th anniversary next year, he noted.

Referring to Michigan’s economic woes, Golden added, “We take that as an incredible opportunity and cue to flourish in the future.”

D.O.C, which for years promoted “Sexy Specs” in its advertising, initiated its “value” merchandising in an attempt to attract “new customers who were going to Wal-Mart and other discounters for their glasses,” Golden said. However, by bringing in a lot of lower-priced merchandise and promoting two-for-$99 eyeglass offers, “we did too good a job and made the stores’ ‘value’ area too appealing, so our average transaction went down,” he acknowledged.

Going forward, although its stores will still have a “value” frame section at an as-yet-undetermined entry price point, the chain will turn back to “what D.O.C does best--making people look great in their glasses,” Golden declared.

Helping promote that fashion image will be a section--now in about 80 percent of D.O.C’s locations--devoted to the company’s fashion-forward SEE private-label eyewear, with about 250 frames showcased in a special display module.

Delivering a fashion message will also be a focus of the chain’s new training, set to kick off in mid-January with the first D.O.C University program, Jones told VM. “Our goal is to create a ‘quality of selling’ culture,” he explained. “We want to make sure all our store associates can present our fashion position, which is D.O.C’s roots, and learn all the ways to speak to the customer about all the ways to buy.”

Jones envisions an initial training program encompassing five learning modules, presented in the chain’s various market areas. Its thrust? “Sell more eyewear!” he declared.

Included in that selling message will be mention of laser surgery to appropriate candidates, who may be referred to D.O.C’s own laser-surgery facility. Opened last March in a reconfigured existing store, the D.O.C Laser Center in Royal Oak, Mich., was developed in partnership with ophthalmologist William Martin, MD. Golden said he had considered opening a laser center several years ago, “but a price war broke out in Detroit, and we couldn’t make money at it.” Now that conditions have settled, he said, “we felt it was time again, because the financial models made sense.”

D.O.C also recently opened a second City Eyes store, expanding its edgy, urban retail concept to another area of greater Detroit in which it had previously operated a traditional store. “That City Eyes location is already doing more business than when it was a regular store,” Golden said. “This concept has tremendous growth potential.”