Showrooms Serve as New Mode of Branding for E-Tail Start-ups

Online, high-end eyeglasses seller David Kind is opening showroom space at its headquarters in a move several e-tailers are making to solidify their brands in the real world. The space, by appointment only, is located on the ground floor of the company’s Venice, Calif., headquarters and opens Monday. David Kind launched in January 2014 and has four employees, two of which are optometrists. David Kind sells 18 styles — each priced at $295 — all of which are designed in Los Angeles and then made in either Italy or Japan. Customers are sent, free of charge, up to six pairs of eyeglasses to test out at home. The showroom could help the company grow its international base, which is a sliver of overall revenue — less than 1 percent — and mostly coming from Canada. For those international customers visiting in the area for long enough, stopping in at the showroom makes sense, founder and chief executive officer Dave Barton said. “Virtual try-ons just don’t cut it. People want to touch and feel. Frames are like jewelry,” he said. Barton is an eyewear industry veteran, having most recently served as president of eyewear development and design company Bartolomasi. He’s also a former Oliver Peoples senior line

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