Scott Poupore on what it takes to keep a local business alive in a mountain town
Interview by Bryan Welker and Stefan le Roux | For The Aspen Times
Scott Poupore has spent more than three decades in the optical business, from trade school in northern Minnesota to Oakley and, eventually, to leading Eye Pieces across Colorado’s mountain towns.
Bryan Welker sat down with the Eye Pieces CEO to talk about staff retention, local customers, and what it takes for an independent business to survive in a resort economy.
Bryan: How did you first get into the optical industry?
Scott: I graduated from high school in 1986 and jumped right into the optical industry. I went to a trade school in northern Minnesota, where I grew up in a town of 10,000 people.
There was not a lot of opportunity, so I took a year-long course in optics and lens making. It was pretty basic, but it set me up to get a job in the industry, and it worked for me. I have been doing it ever since.
Bryan: How did that path bring you to Colorado?
Scott: I was working for LensCrafters in New Hampshire when one-hour eyeglasses were a new thing, so everything was about speed. Quality was maybe secondary, but I learned quickly.
After about three years, I realized it was not for me. One busy day, I was thinking about where I wanted to be, and I knew I wanted to be in the mountains.
There was no internet then, so I called information and asked if there was an optical shop in Vail. It happened to be October, when everyone was looking for people to start the season, and they were blown away that I was an optician who wanted to move to the mountains.
I flew myself out, met Dan Barry, the founder of Eye Pieces, and came out in January of 1990. That was the start of my career at Eye Pieces in Vail.
Bryan: You also spent time at Oakley. What did that period teach you?
Scott: I went to Oakley in 1995.
When I got there, the prescription side of Oakley was maybe a $300,000 business. Today, I think it is getting close to a $100 million business. I was there from 1995 to 1999, and I look at it like college.
The CEO took me under his wing and helped me write a business plan for the prescription side. I presented it to Oakley’s board after the company went public. Michael Jordan was in the room. It was crazy.
From there, I helped open laboratories in a number of countries. We were figuring out how to make high-wrap prescription glasses, which people thought could not really be done at the time. I loved the job, but I did not love the lifestyle in Southern California. I missed the mountains.
Bryan: What brought you back to Eye Pieces?
Scott: Dan called me one day and asked if I would ever consider coming back. I came back as general manager at the end of 1999.
The business was at a bit of a low point then, so I dug in and started fixing one thing at a time.
In 2012, Harry Frampton bought the majority of the business. Dan stayed involved until 2020, and then I became CEO and president of Eye Pieces for Harry.
Harry’s organization has been a big influence in establishing a happy culture at the company.
Bryan: What is the biggest challenge in running a local business?
Scott: The cost of living.
It has always been expensive in ski towns. When I moved to Vail in 1990, a box of cereal was twice as much as it was in New Hampshire. Gas was high. You were paying the paradise price.
But you could always make it.
Now I look at rents and what I am paying people. A lot of younger workers dream of coming here, but then quickly realize they may not be able to stay. That has a direct effect on attitude and how they show up every day.
That is probably our biggest challenge: the cost of living from an employee standpoint.
Bryan: How do you try to retain people in that environment?
Scott: It comes down to pay, benefits, and culture.
We pay a competitive wage and try not to put everything on commission. People live here 12 months a year, so we pay more hourly.
We work pretty hard on the culture of the business being a place where people want to work.
We are fortunate. We have quite a few long-tenured employees. Many of them have been with us for decades. That does not just happen.
Bryan: How important are local customers to the business?
Scott: We have always looked after locals. The ski instructor, the concierge, the people like us who are trying to make it here.
We have local sales in the off-season, and we put a priority on working with locals.
They are our best advertising, and we put a high value on that.
Bryan: What characteristics does a local business need to survive here?
Scott: Service. Consistency. Being there.
You cannot just shut it down and open when it gets busy. If the door is locked, locals stop coming.
If you are consistent and you tough it out in May, June, September, and October, people notice.
The busy times are easy. You have more business than you can handle. The slow times are where you earn it.
Surviving in a resort town is not easy, and as Scott points out, it is not just about maximizing the busy months. It is about showing up when the crowds have thinned, the margins are tighter, and locals remember who stayed consistent.
Bryan Welker lives and breathes business and marketing in the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond. He is President, Co-founder, and CRO of WDR Aspen, a boutique marketing agency that develops tailored marketing solutions. Who should we interview next? Reach out and let us know bryan@wdraspen.com
