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Maui Jim is aiming to convince practices that more stock naturally leads to better sales. Chris Bennett reports on the company's latest retail strategy and the drive to grow brand awareness
'How can this be?' says Martijn van Eerde, director of marketing Europe at Maui Jim, pointing out that the firm is blessed with 95 per cent patient loyalty for its polarised sunglass product but hamstrung by an unaided brand awareness of just 5 per cent.
This prompted the firm to look at its routes to market, its customers and the end users to drill down into the nature of the relationships in modern optical retailing.
Maui Jim has seen growth in all but one year of its 27-year history. Last year the company chalked up its second biggest growth but the firm is hungry to find out how it can reach more customers. With Oakley's male dominated business worth $750m, opportunities should abound for Maui Jim's gender-neutral and loyaltyinspiring product. Maui Jim doesn't talk numbers so just how far away that goal is is hard to gauge, but it is clearly frustrated.
Target group
Maui Jim's target group for sunglasses featuring high-tech lenses and 'functional elegance' is those people who value a quality of life and want to protect their vision. In the quest to seek those people out Maui Jim has used various forms of media and engaged in sponsorship but...