Heroes in Business - Robert Hillman, Pearle Vision eyewear pioneer EyeLab, Fabulous Fannys

Episode Date: March 25, 2023

Good looking out. Robert Hillman, Pearle Vision eyewear pioneer EyeLab, Fabulous Fannys is interviewed by David Cogan famous host of Heroes Show and founder of Eliances entrepreneur community.  

Go. Welcome back to Alliances Heroes, where heroes in business align. To be part of our super community and find out more about Alliances, visit www.alliances.com. That's right. And we're back. And there's no other place in the entire world or anything else I would rather be doing than this right now. Having the opportunity to interview some incredible people, people that have made a difference in the lives

of others. And thank you again for the feedback we had on when I had the CEO of FranzServe on. So if you're looking for a franchise, they're one of the largest for selection of franchises in again, Wizzu, FranzServe. So I'm excited about this about this first of all can you see me can you see me can you see me all right well we've got with us somebody that can make you see better look better robert hillman he is the eyewear pioneer for pearl vision there's nobody i know that has more experience than him in the business pearl vision eye lab iLab, and also now Fabulous Fannies, and he can be reached at fabulousfanniesnyc.com, and also has a store, which we'll talk about too. So Robert, you know, welcome to the show. You are regarded as the legend, the legend in the world of optics.

How did this whole passion start? And I mean, you're famous in that area. Oh, thank you very much. I appreciate that. Actually, yeah, it's been 60 years I've been in this business. I actually started part-time at 13 and started actually as a throwback in the factory of making eyeglasses. And from 16 to 23, I worked there, I worked here, I worked there. And at 23, I got that Eureka that put it all together and opened my first store at 23 years old called Hillman's Eyeglasses, which ultimately a few years later merged with Stanley Pearl. And we built the first 200 stores of Pearl Vision. Unbelievable. I mean, that's the beginning. 1967. And I mean, and the whole, I mean, you changed really the whole industry of what it used to be like. There wasn't, it wasn't so much. And now, I mean, everybody wears glasses,

whether it's prescription glasses, sunglasses. It's a ginormous industry. It is within itself, but it's still a small industry compared to IT or tech or some of these major, major companies. I still consider it a boutique business and a creative business. All right. So I want to talk about, before we get into it too, and we're going to talk about Fabulous Fannies NYC. Again, Fabulous Fannies NYC.com. We'll have it on our website also at alliances.com, E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com. You created though many firsts. You created the first eyewear superstores with the theatrical

showrooms like no other, including manufacturing on site. Who does that? Doctors and contact lens departments on par with eye hospitals, full service laboratory distribution offices as well. hospitals, full service laboratory distribution offices as well. You know, when you reflect and you look at the history of that and how did they change the world of eyewear? I would like to say, and I do feel all of these businesses, as you mentioned, the eye lab are breakthrough. They're just breakthrough businesses. And they've remade the eyewear business, I would say, a number of times, not only here in the U.S., but also overseas that I've done the same thing. That's great. I mean, wonderful. All right.

I want to get into Fabulous Fanny's NYC.com. I went to the website. Pretty amazing. Things that I've never seen before and all that. Why don't you steal the thunder and tell our viewers what they're going to see when they go to your site? As we've just said, the buildup was very good. And all of a sudden, at this late stage where I'm supposed to be in Florida, one of those plus 55 places, I'm back into the first time I've ever purchased. And it was from a friend of mine who was retiring younger than me, this fabulous Fanny store, which is in the East Village of New York. And I walk in and it's a little gem of a store and it is filled with literally thousands of vintage frames.

Never been worn from literally the late 1800s to, let's say, late 1900s. And I was just amazed. And one day he calls me, he says, I'm going to retire. I don't want the place. I said, oh, you can't close this. As you would say in a movie, we went across the street, we had some bacon and eggs on the back of a napkin, and I bought the store.

And I tell you, with all the things that you've just mentioned, it's probably the most exciting thing I've ever done. It is just filled with these beautiful designer curated vintage frames. And we, as you mentioned, obviously we have the store and, and of course, then we put together the website, which has hundreds of, of vintage frames on it. And I can imagine it's like you being a kid in a candy store. You're there. You are in your environment. That's exactly what I call it. I wear candy store.

And I have to say, I don't know who really gets more excited because when I go in, whether it's me, whether it's our team or staff, as we call it now, or the customer, everybody's excited. They put these frames on and it's things that you've never worn or you remember you wore so many years ago. All right. So I want to talk to you. You said you're buying the frames, so there's nothing inside of it. So if there's nothing inside, how does somebody go about getting, let's say, whether they want to use it as sunglasses, how do they get the lens put in or whether it's prescription? Okay. About 25% of what we do have in the store are finished sunglasses. As far as the others, as you're mentioning, we'll recommend a couple of local optical shops because we're not in competition.

There just aren't any vintage stores around. And we'll recommend some local shops that they can go and put their prescription or sunglasses in. Or we get a lot of tourists, not only in the U.S., from Canada, from when I was in there this past weekend, from London, from Australia. I mean, from places. They obviously will take their frames back and get the lenses made locally. Great. And where does someone get like those things locally? They just do a search? Like how do you go about just getting the glass part put in? Well, most people, most people, if they have had a prescription, they usually have a local optical store or a medical doctor that they've gone to.

We've had really no pushback about that. Most people seem to know where to go to get their lenses in. And as I said, if they're local, we recommend to them a couple of local optical stores that can make it in the same day. Great. And again again we have with us robert hillman eyewear pioneer pearl vision you probably heard of them ilab and now with fabulous fannies um you ever reflect of what do you feel you've learned the most having been so long in the this specific industry now you know congratulations on reaching your 80th birthday, many more years ahead and, you know, starting again, staying in the business and buying a shop.

What do you reflect most? What do you feel you've learned the most? This is a people business. We've talked about the product. You know, we've talked about, you can talk about marketing things we're doing right now between you and I today. But the thousands of great people that we've been able to train, who's been with me for many, many years, through many businesses or who's gone out into the optical world and become entrepreneurs of their own and open very successful businesses. It's people. I mean, could you have ever seen yourself in any other industry? No.

I don't think I could be as successful in any other industry. This industry, I know. I feel it. It's in my bones. And you've got to have the excitement. And this industry has always been exciting to me. It's a creative part of the industry. And, you know, many of your companies have been bought and sold with interest from Asia to America.

And as an entrepreneur, that's truly a remarkable accomplishment. What do you have for others that advice that you can share, particularly with young adults, children, and all that to, how do they find their passion? Like, how did you know, how can, what can they learn? How can, how can they find whatever it may be within their passion and having, you know, and staying with it so long? Good question. Good question. Good question. And the answer I think that we all give to perhaps our children or in general is find something that you really, really enjoy. You have to really have

a passion for it. For example, I've got a grandson who's in graphic arts, but he's got a passion for tattoo. I said, okay, you've got to go in that direction because you're not only going to do it for 90 days, you may do it like me for 60 years. So you got to have a passion and a love for the type of work that you're doing. If not, you know, then it doesn't work, not long-term. Right. All right. We have some questions from our audience listeners. First up is with Fabulous Fanny's NYC. Are there particular frames you would recommend for someone to look younger? The, like myself. If you go there, actually the, I believe

the classic or what we call retro or classic frames today are the most popular. And that's really what I would suggest. And interestingly, they're on the front of the magazines that you see either that you look at or even the trade magazines. You go back to all of the classics. And generally, the classics of the 60s to the 80s. And they make everybody look young again. Which type of eyeglasses at Fabulous Fanny's nyc.com would you recommend where somebody will mention or as a conversation type piece, somebody will say that's unique? Well, I'd like to say, actually,

they're all unique. And we do a lot of business, so to speak, with Broadway shows, movies, celebrities, of course. But it's really, they come in and they put something on, and it's got to feel, wow, this is me. I feel good in these. This represents me. I represent this frame. There's no longer, as you and I go out to buy our shirts, you know, small, medium, large, this or that, black or brown. There's just so much available. And it's a question when they put it on, they know it. Well, I was blown away when I went to your website prior to this interview because i've seen other you know other optical other type ones that are out there and i think all of them

stand out they're all unique things and i think many of them if not all of them are some type of conversation piece where they get noticed and you know people want to be noticed nowadays many they want to you know unique right customized all these. But, and I think your site definitely fits that. I appreciate that. I think so too. I mean, it really stands out mainly because it has so many different looks, as you just mentioned. All right. I want to be, I want to, I want to know, because this is again, exciting is, is, is that describe the type of feeling it is walking into that store when you did for the first time and seeing these things. You started a little bit about, but I think that pulls into the passion part is just what is that feeling like? They walk into this little store

and they just stand back for a moment because it's filled with just so many eclectic frames, be it reproductions that we do or the vintage. And we actually have to guide them through. And we've got a wonderful staff there because you could get overwhelmed. It's something that is a one of a kind. And believe me, I have been around the world, you know, looking and being in eyewear stores or even some vintage stores. This one just takes you back. It just makes you stand back. And you've got to give yourself some time because there's so much to look at. It's a candy store. yourself some time because there's so much to look at it's a candy store wow that's amazing amazing again too so thank you too again Robert you have an unmatched love for eyewear you continue to bring unique vintage Styles to your fans go to the website and literally like it's something so

unique fabulous fannies nyc.com and you can can also see the address if you're in New York of where to go and find it too. Because you know what? That's a hero. It's been a passion of your lifetime doing this. I wear Pioneer Pearl Vision iLab Fabulous Fannies. Go to FabulousFanniesNYC.com. This has been David Kogan with the Alliance's Hero Show. Great.