Hakim Group launches Equal frame range

The Hakim Group has officially launched its first bespoke frame range, exclusive to the independent practices in its portfolio across the UK.

The project, launched on 1 August, is something the business has been working on for over 18 months and is designed to help its partners differentiate themselves on the High Street.

OT spoke exclusively to the Group’s head of buying, Lorna Robinson, who was key in bringing the Equal collection to fruition.

When and why did Hakim Group decide to launch its own frame range exclusively for practices in its portfolio?

We began working on the project in quarter four of 2020, when I had been at Hakim Group for around three months.

One of the first things I did on joining was perform an analysis of market trends and on our own frame portfolio from suppliers in order to better understand the business.

Through the market trend research, there were two really obvious key trends: the rise of director-to-consumer (DTC), particularly among the millennial consumer group, and a move away from big brands. It feels strange to state that in the midst of the current 90s revival and logo mania, but if you think about Jimmy Fairly and Ollie Quinn, those groups have created their businesses out of this trend that is ‘I want a great pair of glasses, but I don’t necessarily want a name down the side of it, or to publicly declare allegiance to a brand. I just want something really cool that goes with everything.’

I also actively spoke to lots of our independent partners about their needs and requirements. Through these conversations, one of the things that was really consistent was a desire to attract younger patients. When you have an independent group of completely unique practices, consistency doesn’t come very often, but I was hearing this regularly.

Completing these exercises, it was clear that there was a gap in terms of style, brand and price point. I was less inspired by the options that sat in this space, so we decided to develop something ourselves.

It was clear that there was a gap in terms of style, brand and price point. I was less inspired by the options that sat in this space, so we decided to develop something ourselves

When and how can practices stock the range?

The range will officially launch across our independent practices in the UK and Ireland today (1 August).

What is currently in the range and how have practitioners responded?

Named ‘Equal,’ the range released on 1 August is a 35-piece optical collection, featuring 11 designs that are available in multiple colours. We have opted to keep the range quite tight. It has a very clear colour palette that is true to the brand and the brand identity. It is very heritage inspired, with the subtlety of having bespoke branding. It also features a custom pin that represents the equal sign – it is enough of an identity that it is interesting, yet it’s also subtle and will not put anyone off. The range has been completely custom designed and is bespoke, with a recommended price point of £140.

Due to the nature of our group of independent practices it’s challenging to produce something that is 100% going to work for everybody. After unveiling the frames to our partners at our annual retreat in December last year, we have been delighted by the response, which will provide us with a strong nationwide coverage at our independent practices with this range.

After unveiling the frames to our partners at our annual retreat in December last year, we have been delighted by the response which will provide us with a strong nationwide coverage at our independent practices with this range

Can you describe the aims and patient demographics for the range?

The overall range and brand is very much targeted at younger patients, the under 40s, but the core demographic is 35 and down.

One of the things that was really important to us when developing the range was that while it was absolutely designed for our desired target audience, it also needed to work really hard as a conversion tool across all demographics and not alienate a core group who we already cater for really well.

The optical design was paramount and this had to work really well on many different faces and fits, ages, demographics and ethnicities. It was all leading towards what Equal stands for. Our anchor phase that we kept coming back to during the project was, “we are not all the same, but we are all equal,” and that was something that drove us through the design process.

How does Hakim Group hope to grow this offering in the future?

As this is our own range, one of the joys of this is that we are completely in control of it. We are already working on the next range of frame designs, which consider the key trends that we have seen coming out of the 2022 trade shows – there were some super clear frame trends for me that I really want to see us responding to within this range.

However, we will most certainly be collecting and responding to feedback from the initial range release within this. We will also look at sales data, review performance, and listen to our partners and their patients about what is working, what isn’t, what they really like and what they want more of.

Updates to the range will be led by a combination of trend findings, and practice and patient feedback.

I don’t see the range becoming a large 100-piece collection as that is not what this is about – it’s about keeping it tight and really true to our brand.

Having an own brand frame collection enables our partners to stand out from the competition. It provides them with a product that no one from outside of our independent practices can get hold of, and that is really powerful

What does having an exclusive frame range mean for Hakim Group?

It’s really important for independent practices to differentiate themselves. My role in Hakim Group is to support our practices to grow, develop and drive their businesses forward, and being able to differentiate themselves is one way of achieving this. Having an own brand frame collection enables our partners to stand out from the competition. It provides them with a product that no one from outside of our independent practices can get hold of, and that is really powerful. This is a really important part of the puzzle as it is exclusive to our practices and always will be.