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0:30

I am unwilling to give up. But

0:33

I will start over from scratch as

0:35

many times as it takes to

0:38

get where I want to be. I just want to make

0:40

sure you will get knocked down, but just make sure you

0:42

don't get knocked out. So

0:44

your only choice should be, go focus on

0:47

what you can control. Hi

0:49

everyone and welcome to the Kara of Golden

0:51

show. So join me each

0:53

week for inspiring conversations with some

0:55

of the world's greatest leaders. We'll

0:58

talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs,

1:00

and really some of the

1:03

most interesting people of our

1:05

time. Can't wait to

1:07

get started. Let's go.

1:10

Let's go. Hi everyone, it's

1:13

Kara Golden from the Kara Golden

1:15

show. I'm super, super excited to

1:17

have my next guest. I just

1:19

met Alex Salmon, who

1:21

is the president and CEO of

1:23

Peepers, but I've been a big

1:25

fan of his product and just

1:28

amazed to hear more about

1:30

his company that he is

1:33

running. And again, the

1:35

company is Peepers. It's a fourth generation

1:37

family run brand that we're going to hear

1:39

a lot more about. If you are not

1:41

familiar with it, they're the really,

1:44

really cool glasses, which

1:46

did not start out as glasses,

1:48

reinvented glasses in the

1:51

reading blue light and sun categories.

1:54

But I can't wait to get into

1:56

more of this terrific family built legacy

1:58

and how More

2:00

than anything How Safe maintains

2:03

an thrown into the companies

2:05

that they are today. So

2:07

while I'm alex. Oh.

2:09

My God Thank you so much carriage! Such

2:12

a pleasure to be here! I can't wait

2:14

to yeah share anything and everything that I

2:16

have. Super. Excited to

2:18

have you here Sir Alex Just got

2:20

back from Italy's a little jet lag

2:23

there. Were super happy to have him

2:25

here and die. so I. Won't

2:27

I won't offer any trick questions.

2:29

I have been back there. Are

2:33

thirty six. The Story behind Peepers

2:35

You and I started to talk a

2:37

little bit about this that it didn't

2:39

start out. you obviously weren't here in

2:42

the nineteen fifties, but it it didn't

2:44

start out as I as what we

2:46

see today. Know. Just oh

2:48

my so it's a forgery. Superior

2:51

and Company over the years to

2:53

be started off in the early

2:55

nineteen hundreds believe it or not

2:57

as a screen costs provider I

2:59

it started off in San Francisco

3:01

move to Japan My great great

3:03

grandfather sold screen cause she when

3:05

when malaria was on the when

3:07

it was at when it was

3:09

a an outbreak and they would

3:11

sell these being asked to protect

3:13

people from mosquitoes as this up

3:15

there were nights crazy fast fast.

3:17

Forward to the fifties they

3:20

started sewing scissors, And

3:22

cut the read. Ah, When

3:24

I joined the two thousand time we

3:26

still reselling Scissors, it was probably about

3:28

ten percent of our business of we

3:30

were at that moment in time. Peepers.

3:33

Had already been launched but we

3:35

but we had distribution. When you're

3:37

sewing scissors I do pharmacies and

3:39

drugstores and my father there was

3:41

a there is a really beautiful

3:43

town. There was a company in

3:45

Missions in Indiana called See A

3:47

Optical and it sold to be

3:49

reading glasses as well as possible

3:51

accessories and I were accessories and

3:53

he bolted onto the distribution that

3:55

he had with the scissors and

3:57

it works And it was. It's

3:59

a. They'd been made sense. We had

4:01

a is he had some momentum. It

4:04

wasn't until my mom became of age

4:06

in Nineteen Ninety Three where she said

4:08

to my father, all these classes are

4:10

hideous. I want something a little bit

4:12

more fun to wear and so she

4:15

works out. He's like fine. Let's work

4:17

for their factories with sides and near

4:19

updated on design to design. Some weed

4:21

out the samples my dad said from

4:23

know Terry like these are crazy. We're

4:26

never going to be able to sell

4:28

these and so she said fine. Of

4:30

example, I Love Them. So she

4:32

wore on town with the grocery stores church

4:34

forever and she got software to get the last

4:36

is worthy of his passes and she's like

4:38

why. I think we've got something

4:41

they went to to he he gave

4:43

her five thousand dollars he went to

4:45

the Chicago merchandise mart back with heart

4:47

with huge like that you the beach

4:49

on the largest retail and wholesale shows

4:52

in the world as now in Atlanta

4:54

but it's some V at the dates

4:56

you with that show you know what

4:58

you're doing. She had one frame side

5:00

color ways for she had a just

5:02

a plain table with I got a

5:05

tablecloth and to see sold in three

5:07

days. thirty five grand worth of glasses.

5:09

And she came back and she goes

5:12

all I think we got something and

5:14

then to peepers is born and that

5:16

was so yeah two thousand ninety ninety

5:18

three and then fast forward to two

5:20

thousand and so the deal my parents

5:22

had with us we my sister and

5:24

I we both were flew into I

5:26

went to call her military academy which

5:29

is amount at our way you're never

5:31

lost their thoughts. ah but we will

5:33

we will see we both with graduated

5:35

from Uni university My dad said. If

5:37

you want to join the family business. You

5:40

have to have least five years of

5:42

experience. You're not just gonna join the

5:44

family does as you have to go

5:47

get experience. join companies brings something back

5:49

to the family business that we could

5:51

leverage use. you know, obviously making the

5:54

better business. So ah I'm so that

5:56

was the deals I joined a company

5:58

and Chicago conceded up. You ah

6:00

it was an Inside Sales technology

6:02

dialing for dollars sales job. Ah

6:04

I heeded it's ah turned out

6:06

to be pretty good at it

6:08

though. Ah it's I see there

6:10

for nine years and then the

6:12

I joined my sister. She joined

6:14

in two thousand and eight. I

6:16

joined in two thousand and ten

6:18

and we work together for two

6:20

years to see if we could

6:22

work the other. My sister and

6:24

I ah before we bought the

6:26

business in two thousand and twelve

6:28

January two thousand. Father's. when we bought

6:31

the business. but I will. Put.

6:33

Working and a. Family

6:36

business. I mean obviously a new

6:38

for generation. I think it's less

6:40

than one percent in in the

6:42

is in the country about the

6:44

world that actually gets you for

6:46

generations. Ah, my father only had

6:48

one sister, he bought the shares

6:50

from from his sister and he

6:52

and he ran the business that

6:54

way on his own body wise.

6:56

but it almost didn't happen and

6:58

almost to the third generation almost

7:00

did not make at. My father

7:02

was a pilot for T W

7:04

A. Ah for. Seventeen years and when

7:06

he joins the business he was on

7:09

furlough from Seat of You. I stood

7:11

there with their abby of there is

7:13

reduction flights would a false and so

7:16

he was like a cabinet. Maybe try

7:18

this working for the family business father

7:20

ah my my grip my grandfather I

7:22

never met ah but he the beach

7:25

started to work together and my dad

7:27

wanted to implement technology used. He was

7:29

kind of tacky. ah the I B

7:32

M and just launched maybe their first

7:34

Pcs. Ah this is. In the early

7:36

seventies. So this is like seventy One Seventy

7:38

Two. and ah as they

7:40

were working together his father was like paul if

7:42

it's not roper not going to fix it or

7:45

not going to try to to implement new things

7:47

when we don't need to and he's super frustrating

7:49

is like find you know he feels that i

7:51

know this doesn't make sense anymore like i'm going

7:53

to go back to find i love flying a

7:56

you're not letting me implement any of any the

7:58

ideas that i want you to help grow

8:00

the business. And so they got in a

8:02

fight. And he left he flew

8:04

back to Kansas City on his flight back

8:06

to Kansas City, his father drove himself to

8:08

the hospital, my grandfather drove himself to hospital,

8:10

I had a heart attack and passed away.

8:13

Horrible, horrible, like, but I will

8:15

say this. So this is one

8:18

of the main things that

8:20

when we joined the family business, my

8:23

dad was such a

8:25

supporter, he goes, if it makes sense, we're

8:27

gonna try it. Like, it had to make

8:29

a little bit of sense. But he was

8:31

such a catalyst to helping us drive

8:34

new ideas, and just reinvent

8:36

ourselves to to to to create what

8:39

we have today. So I mean, if

8:41

I had to fight with him on

8:43

just implementing new technologies, new ideas, I

8:46

don't think we would have been

8:48

able to evolve as quickly and

8:50

and as diligently as we have.

8:53

And it was so I mean, as soon as we

8:55

as soon as I got in the door, I just

8:58

started to understand, you know, the competitive landscape,

9:00

because I literally knew nothing about reading glasses.

9:02

I was in my early 30s, joining

9:05

a reading glass company where I just

9:07

sold technology to Fortune 500 companies, you

9:09

know, all I knew people

9:12

right. So that's so

9:14

just learning about the industry, how was I

9:16

going to compete? You know, going over to

9:18

China and Taiwan and meeting with our factories

9:20

and understanding how they were developing the product.

9:23

And that's what I was just in Milan,

9:25

the largest obstacle show in the world is

9:27

called Mido. And it's just on the outskirts

9:29

of Milan. So we were there meeting with

9:31

our factories, we had 17 members they're

9:34

trending. And so we get

9:36

inspiration from those shows, like none other. And

9:38

so that's, it's just one of the most

9:41

important things that we do as a brand

9:43

to just stay relevant on trends and and

9:45

continue to offer the best products that we

9:47

can. This episode is

9:50

brought to you by Carnegie Mellon Tepper

9:52

School of Business. Want to

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online hybrid an accelerated and be

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a Center Sunday and Sellers and

10:13

Fisher is it Cmu that Edu

10:16

Sir Stephen to lend more. I

10:20

want to talk about be Southgate that is

10:22

technical diagramming right? Everybody's nodding their heads right

10:24

now and there's a potential solution that I

10:26

want to share. There was one name that

10:28

several people brought up. I did some digging

10:31

and it's kind in know how much this

10:33

program bureau has for developers. I have to

10:35

serve as it could potentially be a game

10:37

changer for you. Built. My favorite part

10:39

about Miro is that half the work is

10:42

already done like right now. Typically we spend

10:44

hours starting diagrams from scratch, right, gathering information

10:46

you get by in from every team are

10:49

you know? following up? That's a lot of

10:51

work to do, but Miro as a full

10:53

set of integrations with the tools you're probably

10:55

already using. and they also offer open a

10:58

T eyes and as the case for

11:00

custom solutions for all those nice diagramming use

11:02

cases we after the right. so the end

11:04

result is the same, but it doesn't take

11:07

forever. It's a massive massive time saver. I'm

11:09

transforming basic flow charts and network architectures

11:11

and it all lives in one place.

11:13

So are you using neural? Have you

11:15

use that? I want to hear? So.

11:19

Thousand amazing. Long winded

11:21

answer. Now I I love it

11:23

so in the early days very different

11:25

company not focused on i were at

11:28

all so with of still called people.

11:31

Know you to see every company be up.

11:33

There was Sam, a company for yeah for

11:35

generations and then the are. We.

11:38

It was probably in two thousand.

11:40

Me says he ah we We

11:42

decided to just make a change

11:45

in and and or identity was

11:47

Peepers South yeah and has changed.

11:51

And. So when. You. Got

11:53

into the business. you. And your

11:55

sister running the company. What

11:57

Was The state? As kind as?

12:00

I were overall like a not

12:03

inexpensive food as a kid you

12:05

not inexpensive but it's like you

12:07

know the reading glasses. Now you

12:10

guys are everywhere. you're in hotels,

12:12

you're in grocery stores. I mean

12:14

you're You're in lots of amazing

12:17

places. Much on mine excedrin by

12:19

a smoker. What. Like.

12:21

What was to stayed at that time? In what. Was

12:24

your goals are kind of. Change.

12:26

In this category. That's

12:28

a really good question on

12:30

the stay unbeaten. When when

12:32

I joined the business. We.

12:34

We were pretty small company. I've

12:36

as he goes like this seven

12:38

team member when I first joined

12:40

so mean it was it was

12:43

we were small I it was.

12:45

Just. Coming out of the financial

12:47

crisis. The. Business was going.

12:50

Down. Ah I I'd

12:52

I'd first when I negotiated you

12:55

know my my my my deal

12:57

with my dad joining the family

12:59

business. I was

13:01

I was doing fairly well. And

13:04

then coming over to the family business. I

13:06

and then maybe two weeks after I had

13:08

given my. My. Notice to

13:10

Cdw they were he called me.

13:12

It's like. For. Hims to cut

13:15

your salary little bit more like things just

13:17

continued to go down on it was in

13:19

his I would say it wasn't as army

13:21

general is it is now like back then

13:23

it was either you or your pretty much

13:25

the way to get your products out. There

13:27

was still very much you to go to

13:29

these shows. it was very much a wholesale

13:31

markets. Their were a

13:33

han of smaller competitors. The biggest player

13:36

that that we competed against the least

13:38

in the gifts world was I see

13:40

You and then obviously Foster Grant which

13:42

is owned by oh exotic. Her ass.

13:45

The Lore be not their the five hundred. You

13:47

know there's a hundred pound gorilla in the States

13:49

armed. And I got a lot.

13:51

I'd a lot of good friends over there

13:53

too. So I they're they're They're great company

13:55

at some but they the landscape is. Changed.

13:58

So much. I mean, I used to

14:00

get beat off. While I was that the

14:03

show is trying to promote a product and

14:05

get into more retailers, the fact that we

14:07

had a website they were at the feet

14:09

They absolutely hated. They couldn't believe that we

14:11

were smelling direct to their own consumer just

14:13

as they were. On. It

14:15

was eighty percent of our business.

14:17

Aca. Now is my dad? Be

14:19

in the Tacky? He started Keepers

14:21

snacks.com back in a was I

14:23

was back in Nineteen Ninety six

14:25

Me: We are one of the

14:27

first web sites out there. Ah

14:29

so that was meet had developed a

14:31

decent amount of ecommerce revenue in

14:33

that's what. That's what saved us

14:35

him in Athletes. That's what up this

14:38

company afloat on. I had just

14:40

I started to hate that the

14:42

at least the margin that we

14:44

could. Make on the to on the on

14:46

the consumer direct side. I. Could

14:48

use to continue to leverage and grow

14:50

the wholesale side of a disaster. Were

14:53

really focused on growing wholesale but that

14:55

an and it is it is also

14:57

grows. There are direct to consumer business

14:59

as well. On it it's customers like

15:02

to try on the glasses. they like

15:04

to see what it looks like on

15:06

their face to the lights you I'm

15:08

not giving a thumbs up. I like

15:11

few years you do those things where

15:13

they also will. They. Also will

15:15

try to you know if if maybe have

15:17

a wholesaler doesn't have the strength of they

15:20

want at the store. a potentially may buy

15:22

it online so it's a it's in. They

15:24

both interact with each other. We're in about.

15:27

Six. Thousand account now nationwide and

15:30

Mattress account. We have many

15:32

more doors in math and

15:34

it's a it's a big,

15:36

it's just seems so rapidly.

15:38

Ah, There are. You.

15:40

in our space there is the you

15:43

know the dollar store you've got them

15:45

keepers than i would say you've got

15:47

in the new have you know hundred

15:49

one hundred fifty dollar frames and then

15:52

on up on so it's a it's

15:54

a very interesting marketplace for we do

15:56

have so many different channels and having

15:58

a different channel really helped us through

16:01

COVID. Everything just

16:03

changed overnight. But

16:06

the thing that also is interesting too is

16:08

as we've grown the business, I mean, we're

16:10

in Michigan City, Indiana. It's a

16:12

thriving metropolis of like 38,000 people.

16:14

It's an hour outside

16:17

of Chicago. It's a very steel-focused

16:21

area. Steel mills, I

16:23

mean, they're still one of the largest steel mills in

16:25

the country. It's right down the

16:27

road. So there's a lot of steel

16:29

fabrication companies. And now we have a

16:31

fashion eyewear company. I had to learn

16:33

fairly quickly to surround myself with the

16:36

right people that I needed

16:38

to hire across the United States. So if I

16:40

needed to fill a role, whether

16:42

that was for merchandising

16:44

or e-commerce or

16:46

product development, I knew I needed to

16:49

look outside of this area

16:51

to be able to support the growth. And

16:53

so the majority of our leadership team is remote.

16:56

But obviously, I mean, with

16:58

technology nowadays, it doesn't matter.

17:01

It just does not matter. So

17:03

we've been able to grow and scale.

17:05

And so when COVID hit, I mean,

17:08

all the technology was already in

17:10

place to be able to shift

17:12

remote overnight. And that really helped

17:14

us. We had just built our

17:18

distribution center. We had

17:20

our own warehouse for a number of years. We were

17:22

outpacing the growth. We had redesigned the space that we

17:24

had four different times. And then we had to move

17:27

to a 3PL, a

17:29

third-party logistics player that was in Elgin,

17:31

Illinois, about two hours away. So

17:34

we made that shift for about four years.

17:36

And then it became very apparent to me

17:38

that I like to control things.

17:41

I also like to do

17:43

the last mile. That's what

17:45

they like to call it.

17:47

The last mile of

17:50

the pick, pack, and shipping,

17:52

of just getting it right. And as we

17:54

scaled into larger wholesalers, the

17:57

value add is a huge key component.

17:59

component to making sure that we can

18:01

continue to compete, as

18:03

well as just making it very simplistic

18:06

and easy for these retailers to accept their product,

18:08

to get it on the rack and get it

18:10

sold to their consumers. So we

18:12

had built our distribution center and able to

18:14

control that during COVID too. I

18:17

mean, it was massive. And

18:19

right now we're doing a 32,000 square foot expansion. The

18:23

roof is almost done. And

18:25

we just continue to put ourselves

18:28

in a place that we can continue to compete

18:30

and obviously just look at new ways that we

18:32

can be more efficient in doing so. So

18:37

as you mentioned, you started direct to consumer in

18:39

1996, pre you, but you guys have definitely

18:44

taken an omni-channel approach

18:46

to the business. What has been

18:48

probably the most difficult aspect? You

18:51

talked about COVID, but what do you

18:53

think is the hardest thing that hopefully

18:57

you don't lose sleep, especially after you've been

18:59

away and you have some jet lag and

19:01

you have a birthday to go to and

19:03

all of those things. But

19:05

what is it that's like, what's

19:08

hard about your business? Wow,

19:11

that's a very good question.

19:15

As we grow, it is,

19:17

it is, it's, culture

19:20

is so important to me. And

19:25

as we're in, we now have team

19:27

members in 10 different states and just

19:29

trying to balance and keeping,

19:32

you know, everyone energized,

19:34

motivated, feeling connected to what

19:37

we're doing

19:40

is something that I'm just super passionate

19:43

about. I do these

19:45

things called Friday news emails every Friday,

19:47

I just sent out a newsletter that

19:49

just it could be short. It could

19:51

be, it could be just, you know,

19:53

very like, hey, we just came from the

19:55

show, we connected with so many customers, we

19:57

did this, this and that, or it's maybe

20:00

something a little bit more motivational,

20:02

where I'll talk about imposter syndrome,

20:04

and how I struggle with

20:06

that, and how I know so many people struggle

20:08

with those sorts of things. And so I just

20:11

try to keep connected

20:13

in any way that I

20:15

can to make people just

20:18

continue to do, if

20:20

they feel connected, if they feel supported, if I give

20:22

them the right resources, if I give them the right

20:24

tools, we will grow

20:26

this thing together. The one thing that I

20:28

will say that's task generation to generation to

20:30

generation is that if you invest in

20:33

the business, and if you take care

20:35

of the business, the business will take care of

20:37

you. I know it sounds so simplistic, but

20:40

it's something that I lean into every single

20:42

day. You know,

20:44

as we've grown, I've grown less into

20:46

the more like day to day operations

20:48

and more into, you know, just coaching

20:50

visionary, where are we going as a

20:52

company, and it's, you know, I'm learning

20:54

how to play that role within this

20:57

company. But it's something

20:59

that I'm learning. Also, I just,

21:01

you know, where can I

21:03

remove landmines, roadblocks, things that are

21:05

that are just causing issues that

21:07

I can make it more seamless,

21:10

and just get the job done that

21:12

they want that they see, because these

21:14

are the like my leadership team, they're

21:16

the experts, they're gonna know way more

21:18

than I do about what the challenges

21:20

are. And if I can just,

21:22

you know, again, remove landmines and figure out ways

21:24

that they can do their job better

21:27

and more effectively, we're going to

21:29

win. I've surrounded myself with people,

21:32

this team loves to win. Our

21:36

e commerce manager, Ariel, she

21:39

always says it sucks to suck. So let's not

21:41

suck. And I,

21:44

I just I love that. I mean, it's just I

21:46

love that. So it's just,

21:48

these are like the little mantras that sit

21:50

and and I, so as we grow, it's,

21:54

it's, you know, we're competing with

21:56

a lot of private equity, I will say that In

21:58

the IWear space, it is. It is

22:00

and I know every every I was a

22:03

channel every. Every. Area with

22:05

in the world is a is is challenge

22:07

with some of those things where for generation

22:09

family company we have to be profitable, we

22:11

have to grow, we have to on you

22:14

know do those things that you know some

22:16

other and I know money now as a

22:18

little bit different getting access to capital as

22:20

a lot different than it used to be

22:23

and so I think those are some of

22:25

those things that were. In

22:27

I'd I'd like to think that we're

22:29

We're in a very good space to

22:32

continue to compete and grow. I and.

22:34

And. Not carry. You know

22:36

the deaths are not carry some the

22:38

things that fab you know, maybe even

22:40

other businesses up and nights though on

22:43

for yeah that is. The.

22:45

Most of our most of our main

22:47

competitors are owned by private equity or

22:49

very large public publicly traded companies and

22:51

so those are things that in are

22:54

just as we continue to grow access

22:56

to capital. Definitely something that we always

22:58

you know we're thinking about. But

23:01

we've been able to grow mart.

23:04

And. In a way that is that

23:06

allows us to grow, safe, safe and

23:08

smarts and and go after things. And

23:10

are he noticed the I'm Free the

23:12

we were not taking a note. Huge

23:14

chances and I think the brand equity

23:17

that we've built has allowed us to

23:19

do those things. So.

23:22

When. You think about this

23:24

consumer and obviously. There's.

23:26

Competition. I'm at what

23:28

I've learned from growing my own branded.

23:31

I can't really do that much about

23:33

competition you hate. Having and there

23:35

are expressly in the beginning. Yeah,

23:37

but is it They make you

23:39

better? pricing, keep you on your

23:42

toes down a few, you know,

23:44

Like check things like quality pricing,

23:46

how you go to mark their

23:48

all of those. Things. So

23:51

when you think about stayed

23:53

connected with your consumer. I would

23:55

imagine I have multiple pairs. The

23:57

papers ah to you also sent

24:00

me okay which is amazing thank

24:02

you but. I'm like I would

24:04

imagine that people. Typically. Don't

24:06

just settle for one. People react

24:09

like job. You've got people. People

24:11

want him in different styles. Gone are

24:13

the days where he wants. You know,

24:15

the cheap? I. Gold ones

24:17

that are just star right? Yeah

24:20

and then. Eat.

24:22

Out you want South that's fine that

24:24

matches your outfit or is opposite your

24:26

outfit. I don't know, whatever it is

24:28

but what have you? Stay close to

24:30

your consumer. I said that's

24:33

a very good question. We beat

24:35

Duke were actually we just hired

24:37

a new Bp a brand she

24:39

is and we're working on doing

24:41

consumer inside studies of just getting

24:44

a much better handle of understanding

24:46

who are customer is doing customer

24:48

surveys understanding there once their needs

24:50

we we really we steaks an

24:52

active through our customer experience. T

24:55

Mercosur students team is right outside

24:57

the store and every month they

24:59

compile a list of all the

25:01

top requests. From our customers on

25:03

any quality control issue I mean

25:06

we we receive from our customers

25:08

we we we take pictures with

25:10

an illness and it to our

25:12

Qc team to understand is that

25:14

is so repetitive issue of me

25:16

where there's there's so many steps

25:18

in the process that. That

25:21

we the that will allow us to

25:23

stay connected to the customer. but this

25:25

is also I'm on the wholesale side

25:28

are trade shows. I'd still go to

25:30

all of our major trade shows adults.

25:32

So many good relationships with our customers

25:34

and it's so important for me to

25:36

to talk with them as the writing

25:39

orders with our sales team and get

25:41

an understanding what challenges that they're seen

25:43

at retail on you know how as

25:45

but what would they love to see

25:48

differently? What are other brands as that

25:50

they carry. That the absolutely love

25:52

what at, Why did they love that the

25:54

process or why did they love the experience

25:56

and then if it's a good idea I'm

25:59

an incorporated and. our company and to our

26:01

brand. We

26:05

are constantly looking at as we evolve

26:07

and we're growing our Sun business as

26:09

well. We're now starting to

26:11

introduce our brand to

26:14

slightly younger customers or

26:16

potentially slightly younger customers.

26:20

Our vision is to introduce them as

26:22

they get into their early to mid 30s

26:24

is to have a brand that

26:29

they already know and trust and love and as

26:31

they grow into needing readers, they already know where

26:33

to go. That's a

26:36

very, it sounds

26:38

great and simplistic,

26:41

but we've got a long way to go.

26:44

It's something that we're very focused on as well.

26:49

The analytics as well from

26:51

having such a strong e-commerce side of the

26:53

business has given us a ton of insight.

26:56

I think anyone listening to

26:58

this, consumer privacy and all those

27:01

wonderful things, it makes it

27:03

tougher. It makes it tougher to understand who's

27:05

buying our products, where are they coming

27:07

from, how did they initially find us.

27:11

All those things continue to make it challenging,

27:13

but then some other company sprouts up and

27:15

figures out a way for us to figure

27:17

out how to connect with customers

27:19

as well. Consumer

27:23

stories are so valuable and I

27:25

always tell people that those consumer

27:27

stories are the ones that probably

27:29

keep you curious but also keep

27:31

you going. Any fun

27:34

consumer stories where you just

27:37

couldn't make this one up that people tell

27:39

you that they

27:42

have a hundred pairs of

27:44

peepers or anything fun like that?

27:47

So peepers, when you say the

27:49

word peepers, it's not, and when

27:51

I say that I work at

27:53

a company peepers, they're always Relieved

27:56

after I Say it's eyewear and they're

27:58

like, oh, okay. Zamir.

28:00

Keepers back.com and eighty Danny sex.

28:02

We bought the you Are Around

28:05

keepers.com of from a company was

28:07

based on London and if and

28:09

they were using it for something

28:12

other than I were. If.

28:14

And you can let your imagination

28:16

go wherever you want for that

28:18

is. We used to have people

28:20

that would call in and they

28:22

would say they would like more

28:25

a nasty like if you have

28:27

customers tell him not to go

28:29

to peepers.com a wise yeah it

28:31

was in those those are not

28:33

great consumer story. Other consumer stories

28:35

there's better ones are now that

28:37

I'm thinking about we have any.

28:39

We have retailers that carry. They

28:41

have a display for every single

28:43

strain. That we carry. I

28:45

mean, they have. Swelled difference displays

28:47

literally a going down there are

28:50

hall or down there. I always

28:52

have of of keepers we have

28:54

customers I did I probably get

28:56

a letter. Or. Two every

28:59

week from Consumers. Telling.

29:01

Me how much they love our glasses

29:03

but that they would love you know

29:06

some certain style. Back on we have

29:08

customers they call and tell us eat

29:10

of that This is their personality. This

29:12

is like who they are like this

29:14

frame his iconic to. Who

29:16

they are and how people see them and how

29:19

they sell off the it's A and if we

29:21

just into knew that I don't. It's

29:23

devastating. I mean it. it's have

29:25

a feels like it's devastating to

29:27

damage to their and to their

29:29

identity. And. As and

29:32

as I'm on. And we

29:34

do have. we have customers that sometimes

29:36

we have to check. Is this a

29:38

legit order? They'll buy eat out ten

29:41

frames, exact same frame, the exact same

29:43

strength and send it to you know

29:45

five different areas and and were like

29:47

what fat and and it's literally people

29:50

that have five different homes and they

29:52

literally are sending their glasses that they

29:54

can out that all their rooms with

29:57

classes. I mean it is. Yeah.

29:59

It's it. It's

30:01

crazy. We have customers that

30:03

will buy two to three pairs every month.

30:05

We have customers that... Some

30:09

of our best customers, you'd

30:11

be shocked at how much they spend with us

30:13

every single year. I mean,

30:15

it's absolutely remarkable. But I am

30:17

now... I'm 36 now. I'm

30:21

just getting to the space where I need

30:23

readers. And it is...

30:27

It's not fun. It is

30:29

not fun needing reading glasses.

30:32

But it's also now I'm starting to... I'm

30:34

just starting to get connected even more to the

30:37

product, even more so than I already am. So

30:39

it's kind of a fun journey. What

30:41

is the strength that everybody... What's

30:44

the top seller in strength? One

30:47

fifty and then two. Those are neck and

30:50

neck every single year. Plus one fifty and

30:52

two are by far our top two selling

30:54

strengths. And then

30:56

it goes to two fifty. And then it goes to one twenty five.

30:59

But yeah, that's... But I

31:01

am... I'm starting at a one. And

31:04

it's great. And it's perfect. And

31:06

I love it. But

31:09

it's shocking. And everyone is now starting to make fun of

31:11

me because my font and my iPhone is too big. But

31:15

I don't care. It's funny. Yeah,

31:17

I love it. So last

31:19

question. So when you think about

31:21

running a company and growing a

31:23

company, in many ways you're not

31:26

the founder of this company. You

31:29

sort of

31:32

blew up for sort

31:34

of what you were doing and pivoted,

31:38

changed a lot of things

31:40

in the company. So I

31:43

kind of think of you as a

31:45

founder in many, many ways. And the

31:47

direction of the company and sort of

31:49

the growth of the company has changed

31:51

significantly. So when you think about starting

31:53

a company and maybe acting

31:55

as a mentor to other founders

31:57

that are thinking about starting a company...

32:00

and sort of knowing too about the

32:02

other generations and kind of what they

32:04

had been through. What would

32:06

you say is like the key thing that

32:09

you would say to somebody who's thinking about

32:11

starting a company, somebody who's just

32:14

getting going and is

32:16

having a crappy day

32:18

and thinking, I don't know what the

32:20

heck I'm doing? And,

32:24

you know, what would you say? What

32:26

would I say? There's so many

32:29

lessons that I've learned over

32:32

the years that

32:35

I could probably take

32:39

into consideration answering this. I

32:41

don't take myself too seriously. I like to

32:43

laugh. I like to have fun. I like

32:46

to, you know, I always joke

32:48

that there's no crying at Peeper's. I

32:52

don't like to protect the policy or, you

32:55

know, do something if it's just going

32:57

to put a smile on a customer's face. And

32:59

so I empower all of

33:02

our team members to make those

33:04

decisions on my behalf

33:07

so that they act like an owner. There's

33:10

no, if you call our customer experience team, you're never

33:12

going to get, let me talk to my manager. They

33:16

have the power to do whatever it takes

33:18

to take care of the customer. And,

33:21

but I learned that the hard way.

33:24

You know, I had team members that

33:27

tried to protect the policy and they, and,

33:30

you know, ultimately a

33:33

customer made them cry. But

33:35

if you take care of some of those customers

33:37

that really push you to your

33:39

limit, they will then

33:42

become your biggest advocates. And as much,

33:44

as much, you know, as

33:47

tough of an experience that they put you through, if

33:50

you take care of them, they will, they

33:52

will, they will take care of you in

33:54

the long run. But I, but, you know,

33:56

Paltter is so important, but investing, I mean,

33:59

the life long. lesson that I

34:01

do lean into is if you take care of

34:03

the business, the business will take care of you

34:05

and that's just continuing to invest in your company

34:07

and invest in the people and

34:10

that's really taken

34:13

me a very long way.

34:16

But there's so much I could

34:18

add to that. I mean I just could continue to go but

34:21

I you know we don't have that as much time. No but

34:23

that's terrific and I think

34:25

it's definitely it's fun to

34:27

learn from you. We'll have to have you back

34:29

on. You can share some of those on

34:32

the next. So Alex

34:35

Famine, President and CEO Peepers,

34:37

thank you so much for coming

34:39

on and sharing all about

34:41

the company that you

34:44

are building and continuing on

34:46

and really appreciate your lessons

34:48

and wisdom and what

34:50

a great product. So definitely if you have not

34:53

grabbed a pair of Peepers even if you don't really

34:56

need them you can go for those 1.0s and

35:00

see what happens right? It's

35:03

super great. So thanks again Alex.

35:06

Thank you so much Kara. It was a lot

35:08

of fun. I appreciate it. Thanks

35:11

again for listening to the Kara Golden

35:13

Show. If you would please give us a

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