After clothing or household appliances, will the eyewear market succumb to the phenomenon of second-hand? Two initiatives launched by the Groupement Optic 2000 (Lissac and Optic 2000) and by Écoute Voir show that the players in the sector are particularly thinking about it. Every year, 23 million frames are sold in France, including six million in solar versions. It is on this last niche that the two actors decided to try the experiment. The pool of unused copies would be enormous, since 100 million pairs would sleep in our drawers.
"We already repair and refurbish glasses and we collect three tons per month that we send to recycling companies," says Benoît Jaubert, CEO of the Optic 2000 Group. The sale of second-hand products complements our CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policy. From June 1st, the network will allow customers to bring their old frames to receive in exchange a voucher worth 10 to 50 euros, depending on their condition.
Sold at least "25-30% cheaper"
The recovered and refurbished products will then be sold between 39 and 59 euros, "at least 25 to 30% cheaper than the equivalent in new", according to the manager. A one-year warranty will also be offered. Refurbishment includes polishing the frame, checking branches and welds, and changing defective parts if necessary.
For the moment, thirteen stores will experiment with this pilot program called Revue, before it is extended to 1,200 Optic 2000 stores and 230 licensed Lissac. In the fall, the operation should concern optical pairs. An ephemeral store entirely dedicated to second-hand pairs will be installed in the Beaugrenelle shopping center, in Paris, in the fifteenth arrondissement.
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At Écoute Voir, the refurbished solar pairs of major brands (Ray-Ban, Guess) are offered at the single price of 69 euros. Its partner, the start-up ZAC, collects them via special urns installed in stores. The reconditioning tasks are carried out by workers with disabilities employed by the AlterEos teams.
At the moment, eleven stores offer this type of products for sale. Next year, this should concern the 750 of the network.