Today we’d like to introduce you to Barry Franzblau.
Barry, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I first got started in the optical business in my early 20s through my father, who was an optometrist. During my last couple of years in high school, I would finish each day after school at his office, working in the lab until it was time to go home.
When I was getting close to graduating, the only thing that I knew was optical, and although I was very proud of my father’s accomplishments as a specialized Optometrist, I knew I was more drawn to eyewear. At the age of 25, I opened my first luxury Optical boutique on the world-famous Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, catering to some of America’s wealthiest families, celebrities, and international clients.
Three years later, I developed “Celebrity Eyeworks,” a company in Los Angeles that provided actors with the eyewear they used to portray their characters in feature films and TV shows, it was definitely one of the highlights of my career. Over a 15-year period, I worked with top A-List actors in over 600 projects. Then came the biggest retail endeavor I was fortunate enough to have.
Capitalizing on my success with “Celebrity Eyeworks,” I was invited by “The Walt Disney Company” to become one of only nine independent retailers for the first time in Disney’s history to land on their property for a new entertainment complex called “Downtown Disney’s West Side,” after many successful years there I was approached by Oakley to acquire my store at Disney and by another company to acquire my Palm Beach store and sold them both.
Today I am still the proud owner of Couture Optique located at Downtown Palm Beach Gardens for the past 18 years. Recently I did a brand new store design that is very modern and chic, when customers walk in the door, they know the experience will be special.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In the beginning, it was not a great start, at the age of 23 I opened my first high-end store in Boca Raton at a new shopping center, and the developer gave the tenants a timeline to have the store ready for a scheduled grand opening. I made the timeline to open but unfortunately, the developer ran out of money to complete the project and 8 months later I had to close and declare personal bankruptcy. They say, sometimes you have to fail before you succeed.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Couture Optique and owner Barry Franzblau have been setting the standard for fine fashion eyewear for over 20 years. This internationally known store has received the “Retailer Of The Year Award” presented by Eyecare Business Magazine and was also voted “Best of Palm Beach Gardens” Barry’s passion has always been to set a very high standard in providing luxury eyewear and services to his very discerning customers.
Mr. Franzblau is also noted for being called the Optician to the Stars, because of his past work consulting and fitting actors with eyewear to enhance their roles in feature films and television shows. Understanding that his customers are the most important aspect of what he does, he knows they can count on finding some very unique eyewear collections from around the world with lines like Chopard, Maybach, Akoni, Etnia Barcelona, FHone, Robert Marc, J.F.Rey, Swissflex, just to name a few.
Of course, it’s not just about finding that perfect pair of eyewear. When it comes to filling prescriptions, Couture Optique only uses the most advanced digital lens technology and premium lens coatings available, ensuring the most accurate and visually pleasing results. We welcome the opportunity to provide you with a great experience when purchasing your next pair of fine eyewear.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
There will always be advancements as fashion trends will influence eyewear designs and certainly advancements in optical lens technology. Speaking from the luxury segment of the eyewear industry. The one thing I think will still hold true is that brick-and-mortar stores are essential vs online when you are selling a product with price points in excess of a thousand dollars.
Bespoke service is what sets the segments of our industry apart from the average eyewear retailer and online retailers, especially when it comes to selection, Bespoke service, specialty lens choices, and fitting the finished product. It’s hard to predict the future but we will always be in step with current trends that fit our model.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://coutureoptique.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/couture_optique/
