ClearlyContacts Opens Brick and Mortar Store Months after WP

Opening day at ClearlyContacts new store in Vancouver, BC.

"When Roger Hardy looks at the next big opportunity for Coastal Contacts Inc., the online eyewear retailer, he looks at real estate—physical stores with front doors, signs and cash registers, the sort of overhead that e-commerce once eschewed," reports Canada's Globe and Mail. "Coastal Contacts, which operates as ClearlyContacts.ca in Canada, opened its first domestic store—on Robson Street in Vancouver—earlier this year as little more than an experiment. It proved so successful that Hardy, the company’s founder and CEO, has now set his sights on opening one or two stores in every major retail centre across Canada." Read more.

Coastal Contacts Starts Vision Plan

According to a press release on Yahoo! News,  Coastal Contacts Inc.has launched a new vision benefit plan. The Coastal Vision Plan provides each employee and their dependents with an initial Free pair of prescription eyeglasses in addition to significant ongoing savings on prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses and contact lenses. Other options exist that allow employers to customize the plan to suit their needs. The plan is particularly attractive to employers, who are seeking to reduce their benefits costs while providing their employees with enhanced vision benefits. Coastal is currently working with Benefits Consultants, Brokers and leading HR Professionals to bring the plan to market. Read more.

Coastal Contacts Gets Slapped for Misleading Facebook Promo

"Coastal Contacts encouraged Facebook users to “like” its page and in doing so, promised them a free pair of glasses," according to a New York Times post. "It also promised discounts of 70 percent on contact lenses. The rival, 1-800 Contacts, said that Coastal Contacts did not disclose the shipping and handling fees associated with the offer for free glasses and that not all styles of glasses or lenses were available in the offer. In addition, the company contended that users who 'liked' the Coastal Contacts page in order to get the free glasses were inadvertently endorsing the company. The National Advertising Division ruled that all claims for free merchandise must clearly disclose any hidden fees and conditions at the outset of the offer, including increasing the font size of the message that 'conditions apply.' Facebook likes can be interpreted as 'conveying a message of general social endorsement'  the ruling said."  Read more.

Brick and Mortar 1, Virtual 0

"Two of the world’s discount eyewear upstarts have faced off in the Federal Court over advertising claims, with British-owned retail chain Specsavers winning relief from what it claimed was misleading advertising run by Canadian online player Coastal Contacts," notes the Australian edition of Smart Company. "Federal Court Justice Peter Jacobsen last week granted Specsavers temporary relief from the advertising campaign run by Coastal Contacts, which trades in Australian and Canada as Clearly Contacts." Read more.

Eyewear Sales Grow for Coastal

Coastal Contacts Inc. sales that sales of eyeglasses through its North American hub grew 150% on Cyber Monday, November 28, 2011, when compared with the same day last year.

National BBB Takes Coastal Contacts to Wood Shed

"The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that Coastal Contacts, Inc., discontinue an 'up  to 70 percent' savings claims and modify advertising that promoted 'free' products," according to Dealer Communications. "Further, in a case of first impression, NAD – the advertising industry’s self-regulatory forum – reached a determination regarding the messages conveyed by general social-media endorsements, and more specifically, the endorsements signified by “likes” on Facebook. The claims at issue were challenged before NAD by 1-800 Contacts, Inc. NAD reviewed express claims that included" a variety that Dealer Communications lists. 

Coastal Contacts Expands Surfacing Capabilities

MarketWatch reported that "Coastal Contacts ...has expanded its world class eyeglasses manufacturing facility with the installation of a digital lens surfacing system. The system is manufactured by Satisloh, a wholly owned division of Essilor and offers the latest in "free form" digital surfacing technology. The equipment allows Coastal to manufacture "free form" progressive lenses as well as single vision, polarized, prescription sunglasses and progressive Transitions(R) lenses." Read more.