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Kenmark: Where Design Takes Center Stage
By Marge Axelrad: Editorial Director
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| Kenmark’s executive team, from left: Michelle Clark, CFO, Don Howard, president and CEO, David Duralde, chief creative officer and Mike Cundiff, COO. |
LOUISVILLE, KY.—Evolution takes place gradually, usually over a number of years in the life of a company. But as the pace of competition increases, that evolution can become a transformation. That’s how Kenmark Group’s executive team characterizes the eyewear company’s current approach to its customers and its collections: A transformation whereby design has become a central focus of the company. Tapping a brand’s potential—combined with assessing what different consumer/customer segments want, and the service its accounts need—is what’s creating distinct market position and a modern image for this 40-year-old eyewear company.
Stated Don Howard, Kenmark Group’s president and CEO, “ A main priority for 2012 is to continue to refine our focus on our collections, showing uniqueness through design execution, materials, patterns, colors and above all— quality. We are also dedicated to improving our customers’ experience though all touch points; better sales rep training, phone service, marketing materials and website improvements.
As Mike Cundiff, COO, pointed out, “Kenmark’s major priorities and successes in 2011 were to continue to build market share based on our belief in our products and brands. One of our goals as a company is to expand even more into the digital age. Our continued investment in technology, combined with our people, will continue to help fuel our growth. Our push into such areas as web-based order entry is a good example of this.”
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| Signature elements, colors and design attitude are translated into the eyewear details and images for all of Kenmark’s brand collections, among them, Lilly Pulitzer, Vera Wang and most recently, Original Penguin. |
David Duralde, chief creative officer, added, “In 2011, we were able to connect with our customers and refine our business processes differently from the past, in order to deliver products and services that were relevant in a changed economic climate. We had to not only exceed expectations, but we had to deliver newer, fresher ideas that weren’t expected from our customers.
“The consumer today is extremely diverse and fragmented,” Duralde continued. “We are most successful when we create eyewear and sunwear that is on point in terms of fashion, fit and innovation in many categories. Choice for the consumer is key. It is our responsibility to provide the optical professional with relevant product that generates excitement and sales. We do this by designing frames that make people look great. People want to see better with glasses, but they also want to be seen for all the right reasons. A great frame does just that.”
Kenmark’s philosophy toward design, its specific goal of building a portfolio that targets various customer types, is being applied to brands that the company has been working with for years, such as Vera Wang and Jhane Barnes, for example, as well as to new collections, like the recent launch of Original Penguin, targeting the young, contemporary male customer. Howard said, “Vera’s multi-generational appeal gives us a great opportunity to serve a large group of women of all ages. Conversely, Original Penguin’s focus on a narrow demographic has allowed us to ‘own the look’ for young men’s vintage.”
Cundiff explained, “Kenmark continually reaches out to our customer base and sales force to stay ahead of the design curve, and we are usually a year to 18 months ahead to determine what will be ‘hot’ for the coming seasons. We continually bring in members of our sales force to serve as a focus group and travel to meet with customers to determine their needs and ascertain future trends. Vera Wang is the perfect example of our design philosophy. There are several different customer groups for this brand and we offer distinct styling to service their differing desires.”
“The best way we tap into our customer base is by putting ourselves in their shoes. We anticipate our customers’ future needs before they even know they need it,” said Duralde, who noted, “If the customer is into browns and blacks one season, we create a pop of color for the next season, knowing it’s time for the brain to experience a ‘happy’ color palette. When people are tired of a logo message, we use other elements to decorate a temple, such as bold stone clusters or textural patterns. When we see that our customers have purchased every rectangle imaginable, we move to rounds. The key is that we are always looking ahead, always moving forward to meet a new demand; sometimes before the demand even appears. We always remember that our major focus is to make our customer look fantastic and feel comfortable.”
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| Kenmark.com has continued to add features for b-to-b. Now, logged-in accounts can see POP available for each brand collection. |
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| Once logged in, customers can see real time inventory levels of each eye size, as well as order the style. This page also enables the customer to zoom in on each color, rate the style, and share the frame on Facebook. |
If the eyewear and design for the consumers’ needs takes center stage in Kenmark’s modern approach, then equally important to the Kenmark team is a consistent investment in behind-the-scenes customer account service and technology. Stated Cundiff, “The eyewear professional of today and the eyewear professional of the future will be looking to companies that make their sourcing experience rewarding and less time-consuming. With Kenmark’s constant devotion to excellent customer service and upgrades to our systems, we feel we are well positioned to address these needs. Another strong component to our company DNA is the fact that we are wholly owned by the employees. This has a great influence on customer service; the customer is truly talking to an owner every time he/she dials Kenmark.”
Kenmark has continued to augment its online presence at
KenmarkOptical.com. (
www.kenmarkoptical.com) Noted Howard, “We are launching a vastly improved website for use by the public, our sales team and our in- house employees. This allows us to better service all three categories in terms of training, order entry, inventory control, past sales information, goals and so forth. And we’ve continued to expand the interactivity of our web page to make it more informative and useful to our customers. Our goal is to make the web experience as rewarding as a phone call to Kenmark customer service. We believe our service is second to none; we want our website experience to reflect that same attitude.” And, added Howard, “social media will be a major watchword in 2012—being on the front side of these new mediums is crucial.”
Kenmark’s current portfolio of brands includes Vera Wang, Jhane Barnes, Kensie, Dana Buchman, Original Penguin, Lilly Pulitzer, Cynthia Rowley, Thalia, Republica, Timex, Wolverine and a range of house brands.
Stated Duralde, “Design and creative literacy is an essential component of success in any business today. Kenmark is committed to the creative process and affirms the belief that design drives innovation, growth and strengthens our ability to serve the customer more imaginatively.”
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maxelrad@jobson.com
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