It may seem, at first, like a retail sleight of hand, or someone in the corner office practicing the dark arts. It may seem like the answer to a riddle no one asked, a riddle like: How do you sell lawn sprinklers in Seattle? Or snow tires in Florida? Zenni Optical, the 19-year-old DTC prescription eyewear brand, has looked paradox straight in the eye, and asked:

How do you sell glasses to people who don’t wear glasses?

The answer is not out of the blue—it’s squarely in it. Namely, lenses that filter out blue light from phones, tablets, and computer screens, and which some believe help relieve eye strain and sleeplessness.

House of blues: Like many prescription-eyewear stores, both online (like Warby Parker), and brick-and-mortar (like Pearle Vision), Zenni offers blue-light blocking lenses as an add-on feature after customers have selected frames, who pay extra for the feature as they do for lenses that are anti-glare and anti-fog. However, the brand has made a unique effort to sell blue-light blocker lenses, which it calls Blokz, not only as an upgrade for prescription glasses, but also as a reason to buy a pair of their frames in and of itself.

“We’ve often used ‘protection before correction’ as a way to consider using these,” Sean Pate, Zenni’s brand marketing and communications officer, told us. “It’s not a hard sell.”

• In 2019, Zenni sold 60,804 frames that had no prescription or tint, only Blokz, a 130.2% YoY increase.
• In 2020, when screen time skyrocketed at the height of the pandemic, Zenni sold 137,194 non-prescription glasses with Blokz, a 126.9% YoY increase.
• In 2021, as consumers increasingly emerged from their four walls, the number dipped to 92,226—a 33.2% decrease but still 52% higher than the pre-pandemic 2019 total.

Gamer on: Zenni’s primary strategy to promote Blokz is to target gamers, who spend an inordinate amount of time looking at screens, and who also tend to be younger and thus likelier to enjoy 20/20 vision.

• In 2021, Zenni announced it would be the official eyewear of the Call of Duty League, the sanctioned competitive league for the game.

Put on your protective glasses and keep reading here.—AAN

American customers are about to get a taste of a beloved Japanese fashion retailer—and for a discount.

Last week, GU, the discount store retailer owned by Fast Retailing (aka Uniqlo’s parent company), announced it is looking to debut in the US, starting with a location in New York’s SoHo neighborhood.

• GU already boasts ~450 stores across Japan and raked in ¥249 billion (~$1.9 billion)—about 12% of Fast Retailing’s revenue—during the last fiscal year.

Per Michael Prendergast, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal’s Consumer Retail Group, consumers are “trading down” while looking for value, more than ever.

• “We’re seeing a trade down in the marketplace by consumers, so I’m sure the value proposition of their pricing and the product that they’re offering seems very attractive to them to capitalize on the market opportunities that exist,” he said.

Discount store transactions were up 65% between March and November of last year, compared to pre-Covid transactions, according to Facteus, which tracks credit-card and debit-card transaction data.

Bargaining chip

If this is the first time you’re hearing about GU, you’re not alone. The fashion-basics brand, founded in 2006 as a sister brand to Uniqlo, is known for its trendy apparel that otherwise attracts younger consumers.

• The average cost for a pair of women’s pants at GU comes to around ~$20, compared to Uniqlo, where women’s bottoms retail for ~$40.

Moreover, since GU’s designs are based on a fast-fashion model, they can offer a variety of items that are both cheap and trendy.

Keep reading analysis about GU’s launch strategy here.—JS

Walmart is asking the tough questions: Is its annual membership worth more if you throw in a few episodes of The Office? Uh, what about The Mandalorian?

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that the retail giant was having discussions with the likes of Paramount, Disney, and Comcast (which owns NBCU and its streaming service, Peacock) about adding a streaming service to its membership program, which costs $98 per year.

• So far, reporting indicates that these relationships are in the “still dating” phase, and nothing has been decided in terms of what a deal might look like.
• Rachel Nipper, Walmart’s director of corporate communications, told us it “will not be commenting on speculation.”

Walmart has a ton of shopper data that it’s using to bolster its fairly new advertising business. That data is already being used for targeted online advertising. Partnering with a streamer could potentially give Walmart even more ways to reach its customers, explained Ana Milicevic, a digital marketing consultant and co-founder of Sparrow Advisers.

Changing the (omni)channel: On its own, Walmart+ is still fairly one-dimensional, Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at GlobalData, told us.

• Its current offerings—like free shipping, discounts on gas, and a six-month Spotify trial—likely aren’t enough to rope in consumers who don’t already shop at Walmart’s website or buy gas elsewhere, he said.
• He added that bundling streaming could be an attempt to not only retain existing members but also grow Walmart’s membership base by providing better value for the money.

Keep reading this special report from Marketing Brew and Retail Brew.—KM, RB

Today’s top retail reads.

Undervalued: Value menus, the cornerstone of fast-food retail, are taking a hit as inflationary pressures and rising costs pose challenges. (the Wall Street Journal)

Fashion forward: Danish fashion brand Ganni’s latest invention, a t-shirt made of old cotton, could mark an important step towards sustainability in fashion. (Vogue Business)

Mo’ money, moo problems: In Uruguay, a cattle management company is struggling to find land for its cows to graze upon as the waiting list to buy cows reaches $30 million. “Our problem isn’t investors,” the company’s co-founder told Bloomberg. “It’s finding places to put the cattle.” (Bloomberg)

Made in the US of A: What does it really mean to be American made, and how are US companies bringing manufacturing home amid a turbulent supply chain? Get the answers from our Made in America article series, sponsored by AT&T Business.

We’ve all seen “made in USA” stamps on products from footballs to coolers, but it takes a lot to be able to make that kind of claim. It’s not easy (nor cheap) to manufacture products in America, yet while US companies face supply-chain tumult, many are evaluating how to bring their manufacturing home. Read Retail Brew’s exploration of what it really means to be “made in America.”

This editorial content is supported by AT&T Business.

Three of the stories below are real...and one is most definitely not. Can you spot the fake?

1. A Utah-based apparel company was fined for removing Made in China tags on their clothing and replacing them with Made in America labels.
2. In New Mexico, Michelin-star restaurants are serving $5 “value” meals through food trucks.
3. Domino’s was forced to shutter stores in Italy after facing high competition from local pizza eateries.
4. Coca-Cola has debuted a new limited-edition flavor inspired by the “technicolor world of dreams.”

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• With layoffs en route, retailers return to the drawing board
• Live shopping advocates say their time to shine is here
• Inside New Balance’s new Massachusetts factory