EYES ON SHEPPARD OWNER KERRY SALSBERG, OD, DISCUSSES CREATING A SUCCESSFUL RETAIL ENVIRONMENT WITH FEATURE EDITOR JILLIAN URCELAY

 

We have over 100,000 loyal and diverse patients. Being an established business within the community for over 50 years, our patients come from far and near, and consist of multigenerational families, kids, young professionals and seniors. While WE UNDERSTAND THAT EACH PATIENT IS UNIQUE AND RECOGNIZE THEIR INDIVIDUAL NEEDS, they all value cutting-edge medical technology, fashion-forward eyewear and kind considerate eyecare from a team they can trust.

Our history of serving the community for 50 years as well as the numerous service and retail awards we have been recognized for has contributed to our overall success and brand identity. WE ARE THE PLACE TO GO FOR ALL THINGS EYES with doctors specializing in contact lenses, myopia control, ocular and facial aesthetics, vision therapy, dry eye, pediatrics and senior care, as well as general optometry. Our frame gallery beautifully displays unique and small batch brands from around the world, as well as our signature house brand of Japanese acetate and titanium frames.

We are centrally located in Toronto, and the local community is a mosaic of nationalities and cultures. WE ARE FORTUNATE TO LIVE AND WORK IN SUCH A DIVERSE CITY.

The best advice I’ve received is TREAT PEOPLE WITH KINDNESS, BE CURIOUS, LISTEN MORE AND TALK LESS. Continuously invest in your business and people, be humble, plan and evolve, think outside of the box and dream big!

WE HIRE GREAT PERSONALITIES AND TRAIN THE APPLICABLE SKILLS. We seek out people with a strong work ethic, excellent communication skills and a desire to be ambassadors of the Eyes on Sheppard culture and brand. We want our staff to continuously learn and develop interpersonal and professional skills.

Our new office build-out has been a labor of love and has taken many years to come to fruition. The concept was to CREATE AN INNOVATIVE SPACE THAT ENGAGES THE SENSES, EMBRACING RETAIL AS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF OUR OPTOMETRIC PRACTICE. It’s an environment that stimulates the senses using tactile materials, signature scents and dazzling displays of art, light and optics. We bring nature into the city with a waterfall feature wall, illuminated skylines and a green wall. Interactive floors and large video art walls immerse the customer in a visual wonderland.

We are one of the first retail stores in North America to utilize UV-C air disinfection, thermal temperature cameras and revolutionary nanocoatings on surfaces to keep our customers and team safe. Our retail area consists of elegant and simple floating displays with accent lighting that make our frame collections pop. These displays can attach and detach to reconfigure the space for promotions and events. CUSTOMER FLOW IS OPTIMIZED BY CREATING “NEIGHBORHOODS” SO THAT CUSTOMERS CAN PERUSE THE VARIETY OF COLLECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE SPACE WITHOUT FEELING OVERWHELMED. The Vault, a glass-enclosed viewing room, houses luxury brands and limited edition eyewear. The layout was designed to be engaging while achieving the highest patient retention ratio possible. ■