Bootstrapping A 100M+ E-Commerce Company: OpticsPlanet CEO Mark Levitin (Part 4)

Sramana: Your second market segment, which you call your ‘heroes’ segment, is very interesting because it would seem to be one that could be B2C and B2B.

Mark Levitin: Yes, we have individuals who work professionally in those areas who will make purchases from us on their own accord, as well as fire departments or police departments who make purchases from us for all of their workers. It is a unique B2B, B2C, and B2G combination. San Francisco police and fire departments will have a centralized procurement system. They have a purchasing office with a buyer. However, some smaller police forces do not have a centralized system, and I guarantee you they do not have a buyer. They give their police officers a list of equipment and an allowance.

Three quarters of U.S. firefighters are volunteers. That means there is no centralized system for buying equipment. People are very dissatisfied with the equipment that they are given at work. Their lives depend on their gear and they want to have the best, so they will buy things on their own. It is a unique blend of procurement systems in this space, and unique participation by consumers who have very different lifestyles within this single market segment.

Sramana: We have addressed your first two market segments. What are the remaining two segments?

Mark Levitin: Our third market segment has nothing to do with our history, and that is eyewear. About 60% of the adult population in the U.S. requires some sort of vision correction by age 40. A lot of people require glasses for protection at work or for their hobby. At the same time, most people use sunglasses for fashion reasons or protection. We sell brand name products for sports performance such as Bole, Oakley, Maui Jim, and others. We also sell Prada and other fashion brands. We have hundreds of brands of genuine eyewear.

We are one of the few companies in the world that does prescription eyewear online. This is a key for areas were accessibility can be an issue, such as very rural areas or some global areas. If you are a U.S. soldier or you live in a small town, you can still have access to quality eyewear. We fill that gap. We serve a very underserviced market, and we have done that over and over in our market segments.

Sramana: Do you offer a price advantage?

Mark Levitin: Certainly. We work with very good laboratories and it is very economical. We have very high quality. We never deal with generic products; we stay with authentic name brands and we offer then at a very economic price.

Sramana: What is your fourth market segment?

Mark Levitin: Our fourth and final market segment is laboratory, medical, and scientific products. That is a unique combination of B2B. We cater to individual scientists as well as industrial and government customers.

I am a big customer on Amazon. They are great if you know what you are looking for. However, you cannot call them and talk about fashion. There is no community or peer-to- peer interaction. They have reviews, but that is it. We are a destination for people with these lifestyles. If you are a scientist or if you have a particular application that requires a microscope and you need to talk to a specialist, we will be able to have a PhD level scientist engage with you and answer questions that you would have as a scientist. We can almost build a customer product for you. We have opticians on staff who can talk to your doctor. We have hunters and birdwatchers on our staff. The people who live your lifestyle work here and can relate to your needs and concerns.

This segment is part 4 in the series : Bootstrapping A 100M+ E-Commerce Company: OpticsPlanet CEO Mark Levitin
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