owp and

OWPhas joined forces with William Morris Eyewear in the UK and you might not recognise the product offering. optician reportsIf you haven't seen OWP frames in some time, you could be in for a surprise as the German manufacturer is coming back with style to the UK market.
The company, which has introduced attention-stopping designs in its Metropolitan line, has also agreed a new distribution deal for the UK market with William Morris Eyewear.
As OWP managing director Werner Paletschek and Robert Morris, managing director of William Morris Eyewear, agree, OWP has come full circle in the UK. Morris has a long history with the brand, having joined the subsidiary OWP UK 15 years ago as salesman when it was a family business under the stewardship of John Railton, taking over as managing director of the company when ill health ruled out his boss.
Having gone on to develop his own frame firm, Morris kept in touch with the German company over the years as it worked with wholesalers in the UK.
For Paletschek, the distribution agreement has focused on the key strengths of both companies. 'We provide the product, the marketing support and a huge spare parts portfolio, while William Morris gives sales and service. It is a real partnership. We are completely linked to William Morris Eyewear by computer and it is completely linked to us, which is a big advantage for UK customers.'
Morris points out that with 20 per cent of the independent opticians in the A/B category purchasing from his company already, this is very much the target market for OWP and its Mexx brand in particular.
'Our clients are mainly the more progressive, fashion-conscious practices and OWP is tapping into our customer base,' says Morris.
This was a connection that had been lacking in recent years for OWP, according to Paletschek, in spite of the fact that the company is very much design, quality and fashion oriented.
The UK is a key market for the Mexx lifestyle brand, a name that became part of the Liz Claiborne stable two years ago and major marketing campaigns are planned to raise the profile of the fashion line. The eyewear is already popular in France, succeeding in a market without the same level of brand awareness as the UK.
Paletschek adds that Mexx eyewear has grown at 14 per cent each year for the past four years. 'The brand has a very easy attitude. It is easy to wear and a little bit more fashionable than the general market for designer brands.'
Mainly for the women's sector, Mexx eyewear targets wearers aged 20 up to 35, and, he says, is strong in colours compared to other licensed brands. 'We have gone one step further without being ridiculous. The market had reached its peak in Òno frame eyewearÓ and people want more material and colours. It is easy to provide that in plastics.'
Such colourful, bright collections will add more to a window display than any number of rimless designs and brands that are basic and uniform, says Paletschek. 'We want to make a difference and the general attitude in fashion is not just greys and blacks.'

widening the appeal
But it is not Mexx alone that provides design variety, the Metropolitan section has been added to OWP Design and widened the appeal, moving away from the classic styles for which the collection is known.
'What we had to do was come up with something new and we tested the designs on the market and got a good response. We are not doing it because we want to be young Ð people aged 45-55 also want to look fashionable, with the requirement that the frames take progressive lenses. We have achieved that, making the designs bigger without losing the style,' says Paletschek.
That said, the company is definitely not turning its back on the classic, traditional segment. 'Seventy per cent of OWP Design is still classical. We are, however, trying to open new segments for the sophisticated wearer who wants to buy high-value eyewear and is not particularly brand driven.'
OWP itself went through a period of major change in the late 1990s, when a new investor came on board. Paletschek became managing director and the company restructured. 'We dropped some of the silly things like brands, keeping our core competencies, and changing our philosophy in terms of production and distribution,' he says.
With OWP's strength in logistics, administration and back up, Paletschek argues that distribution and sales should be a local concern, thus the setting up of partnerships in markets such as the UK. 'We need a partner with an understanding and love of the product. It was clear to us that Rob was ready to meet the challenge.'
A new sales team is now being brought into William Morris to handle the collection, rather than bundling it in with his existing collections, and Morris is clearly happy to have OWP back in the family.
'It is still a strong brand and is held in a lot of affection among optical practices,' he says.If you haven't seen OWP frames in some time, you could be in for a surprise as the German manufacturer is coming back with style to the UK market.
The company, which has introduced attention-stopping designs in its Metropolitan line, has also agreed a new distribution deal for the UK market with William Morris Eyewear.
As OWP managing director Werner Paletschek and Robert Morris, managing director of William Morris Eyewear, agree, OWP has come full circle in the UK. Morris has a long history with the brand, having joined the subsidiary OWP UK 15 years ago as salesman when it was a family business under the stewardship of John Railton, taking over as managing director of the company when ill health ruled out his boss.
Having gone on to develop his own frame firm, Morris kept in touch with the German company over the years as it worked with wholesalers in the UK.
For Paletschek, the distribution agreement has focused on the key strengths of both companies. 'We provide the product, the marketing support and a huge spare parts portfolio, while William Morris gives sales and service. It is a real partnership. We are completely linked to William Morris Eyewear by computer and it is completely linked to us, which is a big advantage for UK customers.'
Morris points out that with 20 per cent of the independent opticians in the A/B category purchasing from his company already, this is very much the target market for OWP and its Mexx brand in particular.
'Our clients are mainly the more progressive, fashion-conscious practices and OWP is tapping into our customer base,' says Morris.
This was a connection that had been lacking in recent years for OWP, according to Paletschek, in spite of the fact that the company is very much design, quality and fashion oriented.
The UK is a key market for the Mexx lifestyle brand, a name that became part of the Liz Claiborne stable two years ago and major marketing campaigns are planned to raise the profile of the fashion line. The eyewear is already popular in France, succeeding in a market without the same level of brand awareness as the UK.
Paletschek adds that Mexx eyewear has grown at 14 per cent each year for the past four years. 'The brand has a very easy attitude. It is easy to wear and a little bit more fashionable than the general market for designer brands.'
Mainly for the women's sector, Mexx eyewear targets wearers aged 20 up to 35, and, he says, is strong in colours compared to other licensed brands. 'We have gone one step further without being ridiculous. The market had reached its peak in Òno frame eyewearÓ and people want more material and colours. It is easy to provide that in plastics.'
Such colourful, bright collections will add more to a window display than any number of rimless designs and brands that are basic and uniform, says Paletschek. 'We want to make a difference and the general attitude in fashion is not just greys and blacks.'

widening the appeal
But it is not Mexx alone that provides design variety, the Metropolitan section has been added to OWP Design and widened the appeal, moving away from the classic styles for which the collection is known.
'What we had to do was come up with something new and we tested the designs on the market and got a good response. We are not doing it because we want to be young Ð people aged 45-55 also want to look fashionable, with the requirement that the frames take progressive lenses. We have achieved that, making the designs bigger without losing the style,' says Paletschek.
That said, the company is definitely not turning its back on the classic, traditional segment. 'Seventy per cent of OWP Design is still classical. We are, however, trying to open new segments for the sophisticated wearer who wants to buy high-value eyewear and is not particularly brand driven.'
OWP itself went through a period of major change in the late 1990s, when a new investor came on board. Paletschek became managing director and the company restructured. 'We dropped some of the silly things like brands, keeping our core competencies, and changing our philosophy in terms of production and distribution,' he says.
With OWP's strength in logistics, administration and back up, Paletschek argues that distribution and sales should be a local concern, thus the setting up of partnerships in markets such as the UK. 'We need a partner with an understanding and love of the product. It was clear to us that Rob was ready to meet the challenge.'
A new sales team is now being brought into William Morris to handle the collection, rather than bundling it in with his existing collections, and Morris is clearly happy to have OWP back in the family.
'It is still a strong brand and is held in a lot of affection among optical practices,' he says.