Built inside a real optical retailer.
Seeport Eyewear wasn’t created to add one more frame line to the board. It was built to give Rich Rizkalla a brand his customers couldn’t find everywhere else—while giving his store more control, stronger margins, and a more distinctive optical.
The turning point
Like many independent opticians, Rich faced the same pressure most owners feel: patients comparing frames, shrinking margins, low managed care reimbursements and very little true differentiation between one optical and the next.
Carrying more brands wasn’t the answer. It only made the wall look more familiar. The smarter move was to create something his customers would associate with his store—not someone else’s logo.
That decision became Seeport Eyewear: a private-label collection built to look elevated, feel intentional, and give the store something far more powerful than another vendor line.
Why it worked
- No direct online price comparison
- More control over margins (managed care) and product mix
- A stronger brand identity inside the practice
- A more memorable optical experience for patients
- A collection the team could stand behind as their own
What changed
This is where private label becomes more than a nice idea. When a practice builds a frame line around its own identity, the optical starts working harder. The product becomes more defensible. The story becomes clearer. And the customer's experience becomes more ownable.
I will say our business finally has vested interest in our OWN line of frames Quality, colors and styles are the key...in addition to the customer service provided to us by Your Brand Eyewear. The absolute best decision we have made in our 40 plus years in business.
— Rich Rizkalla RDO, NCLE.
Optometric Advisor • Optical Shop Owner
More than a customer. An optician-led brand.
Private branding represents a better model for independent practices: not simply carrying frames, but building a brand inside the practice itself. That is what makes this different. It’s not a rep pitch. It’s not theory. It’s a real owner, in a real retail operation, using private label to create stronger identity, better economics, and a more modern optical strategy.
How the partnership developed
Why this matters to other ECPs
Optometrists and opticians relate to other practitioners. That’s what makes this page valuable. It shows what can happen when an independent owner stops relying completely on other brands and starts building an optical identity of their own.
This is the future of independent optical: practitioner-led, margin-aware, and harder to compare.
Could your practice do the same?
If you’re thinking about building your own private-label frame line, start with a few sample styles and a short conversation. We’ll walk through positioning, price points, and the fastest path to launch.