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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
You might be sitting in a French café, watching a Parisian woman peruse a magazine when you realize she's wearing stylish reading glasses made right here in Utah. Sun Optics Insight Eyeworks is one of several Utah companies we're featuring this week that is distributing its unique products overseas.
Not surprisingly, the market for reading glasses has grown more than 10 percent over the last two years as the Baby Boom generation has come of age. This demographic is also the most fashion-conscious consumer group in history. Bruce Raile was well aware of this trend when he launched is company in 1987.
Several years ago, while working as a sales representative for a brand name eyewear company, Bruce noticed the increasing demand for reading glasses, which were tough to find. He decided to do his best to fill the niche for upscale reading glasses that help customers look good and see well.
At first, the Salt Lake City-based company sold both sunglasses and reading glasses, but Bruce soon realized he needed to put the focus on producing fashion-forward, high-quality reading glasses for some of America's largest retailers.
Sun Optics products are now sold in major retailers such as LensCrafters, Sunglasses Hut, Sam's Club and Rite Aid drugstores throughout the United States. They're also sold internationally in Mexico, Canada and Europe. Once customers in the United States were acquainted with the quality, they recommended Sun Optics to their overseas affiliates, and requests began pouring in from around the world. Now, Sun Optics has an extensive international distribution network for its products.
Bruce hasn't seen any downturn in the demand for his products and expects his market will only continue to grow. Sun Optics Insight Eyeworks is driven by quality, style and value to the consumer. Based on this theme, Bruce hopes to expand his products and merchandising system into even more retail outlets in both North America and Europe.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
Sun Optics Insight Eyeworks 1785 S. 4400 W. Salt Lake City, UT 84104 801-924-0440
