Even for those with good incomes, the price of glasses is a bit of a shock.
If you’ve fallen in love with a reputable brand, want thinned, anti-reflective, scratch-resistant lenses, and on top of that you need a progressive focus, the bill can easily go up to $ 900.
For plastic and glass, it’s huge.
At that price, you can get an iPhone, a complex, high-end device hiding dozens of high-tech components.
” It’s scandalous. It is certain that it is scandalous! », Tells me the optician Philippe Rochette, alias the Glasses Man.
“Obviously, three pieces of plastic with two screws and the name of a famous designer on it is not worth $ 300! ”
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Philippe Rochette, owner of the Glasses Man
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It is with the conviction that “seeing clearly is not a luxury” that in 2007 he began to sell glasses at low prices.
To reduce operating costs as much as possible, he does not run any stores. Instead, he travels with his suitcases full of models to some fifty community organizations where he is graciously loaned a room a few hours a week.
Hence this designation of “community eyewear”. There are five in Quebec in different regions that operate on the same model.
Do not be mistaken about the meaning of this name.
First, the Glasses Man is a for-profit business. Despite its low prices, it makes enough money to support 30 people. “We are all very well paid. It’s totally viable, ”Philippe Rochette told me. This is great proof that you can make a business prosper while having reasonable prices with a little imagination and a different business model.
The other important thing is that the Glasses Man sells his products to everyone, no questions about income.
“The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, Richard Wagner, and his wife are clients with us,” gives me the example of Philippe Rochette, before adding that you don’t have to be broke to like to save $ 400.
However, turning to a community eyewear is not just a question of personal finances.
We may also want to encourage this model because it does useful work for the most disadvantaged and in turn encourages community organizations. That’s the beauty of the deal. For each pair of glasses sold, $ 10 is given to the organization which lent its premises, which helps it to continue its mission.
The consumer can also contribute: why not offer a donation by collecting their glasses?
In Montérégie, the community eyewear of Olivier Comtois and his father Richard Comtois, called Monsieur Glasses, has been operating in the same way for 17 months. The middle class in search of affordable eyewear represents 80% of the clientele.
They are hairdressers, teachers, school directors, daycare educators, business people, “owners of large cars”, lists the son, who is an optician.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Richard Comtois and his son Olivier have founded a new, slightly profit-making community eyewear to offer great quality eyewear at good prices.
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It’s not for nothing that everyone is turning to a cheaper solution than traditional shops. Glasses are essential. And private insurance sometimes only reimburses $ 200 every two years, when it’s not $ 75. Amounts that seem to me frozen for too long.
Of course, there are online retailers like Quebec’s BonLook, which arrived in the market with a different offer (her own brand only) and fixed and reasonable prices including both frames and lenses. Since opening stores in malls, it is no longer necessary to be comfortable with the idea of shopping online.
Costco is also a very popular option for lowering your bill. L’Entrepôt de la Lunette (14 branches) affirms for its part that its concept allows it to offer “the best prices for glasses in Quebec”. Some frames are sold there for $ 20.
Let us return in closing to community eyewear. You might be wondering what their frames look like and if the quality is good. It is legitimate.
At Monsieur Glasses, we only sell “top quality products,” says Richard Comtois. During my visit I saw Micolii, OTP, Superflex and John Lennon frames there. All offered at $ 70. And the choice is vast. Glasses imported from Germany are cut in Brossard by the family business OLAB +. Total maximum price: $ 340.
“I like to say that we are a very low-profit company […] We don’t have to make money at the expense of the world, ”concludes Richard Comtois.
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