Japanese eyes on California

Japan’s largest eyewear retailer Jins is to launch in the US, opening an inaugural flagship store in San Francisco’s Union Square this spring.

Tokyo-based Jins launched its first store in 2001 and now operates more than 300 retail locations across Japan and China.

The 4900 sqft flagship will be located at 151 Powell St and Jins promises it will stock one of the most expansive collections of eyeglasses in the city.

In tandem with the store, Jins will launch a US eCommerce site in Spring 2015. Customers nationwide will be able to purchase Jins eyewear online with an existing prescription and San Francisco/Bay Area residents will have the opportunity to purchase their glasses online and pick them up in the store on the same day.

Jins promises to “reinvent the in-store eyewear shopping experience” in the US, offering “unprecedented simplicity and speed”. At the new store, customers can browse, purchase and receive their prescription eyewear with custom fitting all in the same visit. Customers no longer have to wait weeks to receive their glasses in the mail because all Jins’ aspheric prescription lenses are assembled in-store using its Kanna lens lab.

The company promises customers can receive their glasses from start to finish in approximately 30 minutes.

The Jins store will house more than 1200 different styles, priced from US$60-120, including premium lenses.

“We chose the Bay Area as our first stop in the US because it perfectly reflects Jins’’ progressive spirit and passion for innovation,” said Shinsuke Tomita, president of Jins Eyewear US.

“With the opening of the San Francisco store, we hope to change the way people think about shopping for glasses in the US. Similar to how we shop for shoes or jewellery, we want our customers to explore countless designs and color options without being limited by the unnecessary complexities and inflated prices that are still the norm in the eyewear industry today.”

Jins describes itself as “an early innovator in creating high-quality, fashion-forward prescription and nonprescription eyewear at affordable prices”.

Jins’ point of difference is quality craftsmanship. “Jins pioneered the concept of affordable, high-quality eyewear in Japan, and has always believed that quality should never be delivered with an added surcharge for consumers. Every pair of Jins glasses is created with the passion and spirit of Japanese craftsmanship, using only the best materials, and metal frame parts sourced exclusively from Japan.”