Starting your own Optical Store in Canada: Designing & Building Your Dream Store

Designing and building your optical store is an exciting project that requires careful planning, creativity, and attention to detail. If you are purchasing an existing optical business, the necessary structure and fixtures will already be in place. You may decide to renovate it if the store is old and you want to give it a fresh look. If franchising, you will have a lot of help from the franchiser in the design and building of the store. There may be restrictions in place by the franchiser in terms of what you can and cannot do design-wise and even which contractors you can use. If you are building a store from scratch, careful planning will be of paramount importance.

If you are building a high-end boutique, you would want to hire a designer/architect from the get-go. A professional will sit with you and discuss the target customers, location and the feel/look of the store you envision. They will have valuable input into your ideas and together you will come up with a design that will suit all needs. This is an expensive option for renovation but is totally worth it. Take multiple quotes and meet with each vendor to ensure they will be a good fit. Ask them for their previous work experience, especially in the Optical industry. This is an all-in option and you should end up with the completed store with minimal intervention.

If yours is a mid-level store, you would want to hire a General Contractor who has design expertise. Many contractors, who consistently work in the Optical industry have pre-made design plans or cost-effective design services readily available to them. Expect to provide them with a lot more input into the design project. You would want to get estimates from multiple general contractors. Insist on getting a detailed estimate with line items priced individually. This will help later when changes are made to plans (and trust me, there will be changes) as it will be easier to add/subtract the costs rather than taking the contractor’s word on individual costs. Once the design is finalized, your general contractor will hire sub-contractors to do the actual renovation. A common issue working with a general contractor is the speed and completion of work. You will have to be on top of things and continuously follow up with them on progress (Get them on WhatsApp and talk to them frequently). Pay them in installments as the work is completed and verified. Remember, once you have paid them in full, you will not see them again.

If you are going for the bargain-style store, you probably are on a budget and want to reduce your renovation costs. You do so by taking a more DIY approach toward the many things you can comfortably do yourself including fixtures and displays. Ikea has a great Alex Drawers Unit which fits the bill. A simple store can be built just by adding these units in a row along the walls of your store. Next, you need frame display stands. Look for a style which has the option to lock. Run a search on Kijiji.ca first. Many times, stores are selling used stands which is always a bargain. If you can’t find any or wish to buy new, AliExpress.com is a good choice for sourcing these stands directly from China which will be a fraction of the cost compared to buying locally. It does take extra time to deliver and more work on your side searching for the right vendor. You will need tall mirrors throughout your store so patients can try different frames. Ikea is again to the rescue here and has several bargain options to choose from. Any interior (and even exterior) signage can be designed in Adobe Illustrator yourself if you have the skill; alternatively, hire a designer on Fiverr.com and they will design the signage at a very reasonable cost. Get it printed from a website like VistaPrint.ca and install interior signage yourself. Any window decals can be installed by a local signage installer at a reasonable price.

Security of your store and inventory is very important. Especially higher-end brand frames cost thousands of dollars. Optical stores are a high target for burglary. You definitely want security bars on all windows and doors. White colour is more pleasing and less conspicuous. Many store owners have reported good feedback on industrial strength security screens. These are essentially adhesive plastic sheets of extreme strength which are very difficult to break into. This is an alternative to security bars and would be more conspicuous. However, keep in mind that it also becomes invisible to potential thieves and they may still try to unsuccessfully break in causing damage to the windows/doors. Security bars are very visible to them and they will hopefully avoid your store. A good security alarm system with 24-hour monitoring is a must and also helps reduce your business insurance cost. Ask for glass breakage sensors in addition to the standard motion sensors when installing the security system.

Having a children’s playing area in your store is a great idea as it keeps kids busy and their parents can spend more time shopping. This can be as simple as a couple of kid’s plastic chairs from Ikea and an iPad fixed on a wall running YouTube Kids.

Patients usually have a hard time trying on new glasses because they cannot see themselves clearly in the mirror without their own prescription glasses. To fix this problem, Lens Shapers offers Frame Assist mobile app on iPad which is affixed next to your frame display. Customers can take their pictures with different frames and clearly see the comparison on screen with their own prescription glasses on. They can also send the photos to themselves. This tool helps store owners to contact the patients later on and follow up on the sale.

This post is part of our Starting Your Own Optical Store in Canada: A Comprehensive Guide to Success series.