Jacques Marie Mage: the "Hermès" of eyewear and the strategy of renunciation for the independent optician

In independent optical retail there is a silent but pervasive trap: the fear of saying no. Driven by the fear of seeing a customer walk out empty-handed, many practices expand their assortment without end, piling up licensed commercial brands, transparent or ultralight frames and every price band. The illusion is having "something for everyone"; the concrete result is a watered-down identity.

Whoever tries to be everything to everyone ends up being nobody’s first choice.

The analysis of the Jacques Marie Mage (JMM) business model is the conceptual antidote to this phenomenon. It shows how extreme product focus, customer selection and a rigid defence of value can build a cult brand with very high margins.

1. The antidote to mass luxury: where JMM meets Hermès

While the industrial giants of eyewear dominate the global market with large volumes, seasonal fashion licences and standardised distribution, Jacques Marie Mage, founded in Los Angeles in 2014 by Jérôme Jacques Marie Mage and launched in 2015, has taken the opposite direction.

Instead of making seasonal accessories destined to lose value after six months, JMM defines its product as a "modern heirloom": a collectible designed to last and to be handed down. This is where the parallel with the house of Hermès comes in:

• Structural scarcity. Production is not meant to fill shelves; it happens within strict manufacturing constraints.
• Rejection of mass advertising. The brand’s desirability does not come from invasive campaigns, but from rarity, a deep cultural narrative and a protected purchasing ritual.

2. Anatomy of the product: elite craftsmanship and programmed scarcity

JMM does not try to please the mass market, nor the customer who wants an invisible pair of glasses. It offers a single, coherent, sculptural and recognisable type of product:

• cellulose acetate worked in thicknesses of 10 to 12 mm for the fronts;
• Japanese titanium stamped with industrial presses of up to 350 tonnes of pressure;
• complex hinges with 5, 7 or 9 barrels in stainless steel plated with 18k gold or palladium, held by tension pins, with internal wire cores in sterling silver or gunmetal.

The brand’s artisanal promise describes a production process of about 300 manual steps, nearly 100 artisans involved and 18 months of work for the acetate series between Japan and Italy (about 5 months for the titanium series). Among the iconic models are the Dealan, inspired by Bob Dylan, and the Zephirin.

To this JMM adds rigorous serialisation: every model-and-colour combination is produced in limited runs, numbered one by one on the temple, in batches from 20 up to a maximum of 500 pieces worldwide. Once a batch is sold out, that colour-and-material variant is never made again: this feeds collecting and the urgency to buy.

3. The retail experience: from selling to the "private salon" ritual

Customer selection is mirrored in the direct sales network. In its 9 official galleries around the world, at addresses such as Via della Spiga 30 in Milan, Chiltern Street in London and Wooster Street in SoHo, New York, the traditional idea of an optical practice is turned upside down.

No saturated displays: the spaces are designed as art galleries or private clubs, with designer furniture, artworks and whisky bars. Access is mainly by appointment, one or two customers at a time. In the Milan and Paris galleries, however, the aesthetic experience is paired with technical competence: eye examinations and prescription lens fitting.

4. An economic X-ray of the model

JMM is a private company and does not publish full consolidated accounts, but its trajectory gives clear indications:

• Price range. Entry models in acetate or titanium start at around 870–960 US dollars and exceed 1,000–1,500 dollars for special editions and holiday runs.
• Corporate evolution. In 2020 the brand received a minority investment from Midi Management SA. In 2021, HSBC financial documentation indicated the goal of more than tripling turnover over five years.
• Financial positioning. In interviews with management (for example on the industry podcast On the Record) the brand is credited with an order of magnitude, run-rate or valuation, estimated above 100 million dollars.
• Marketing efficiency. JMM states a low dependence on traditional advertising: a small paid social budget on Instagram, and resources focused on organic PR, elite events and special editions with cultural figures such as Jeff Goldblum, Patti Smith or Haider Ackermann.

5. Four lessons for the independent optician

What can an independent owner take from this analysis into their own practice?

1. The courage to narrow down. Giving up a share of the generalist market is not a loss; it is the precondition for becoming the only desirable choice for your audience. It is the theme of Choosing your assortment.
2. Defending value through the story. The optician has to learn, and teach the team, to tell the technical and manufacturing story of the frame (the thicknesses, the runs, the manual steps), turning the perception of price from "cost" into "value". I discuss it in Pricing for the independent optician and in The product is content too.
3. Raising the customer experience. Reorganising time in the practice and introducing consultations by appointment for high-end collections raises the perception of the service and the respect for the professional.
4. Consistency, that is, trust in the process. Repositioning a practice takes time. If volumes seem to shrink in the first months, you need the discipline not to fill the windows again with copycat commercial brands, and to hold your course.

Watch the full video analysis

In the video on this page you will find the complete X-ray of the Jacques Marie Mage model, with the detail of its distribution strategies, the technical specifications and a direct comparison with the volume management of the industry giants. From the opposite end of the market, the same question about positioning is raised by the reports of HOYA and EssilorLuxottica. And if you want to read the numbers of your own assortment before deciding what to give up, the starting point is Trade Up in Italy and The Charismatic Practice elsewhere, within the theme of optical retail strategy.

Are you ready to reduce the number of brands in your assortment in order to raise the average value and the desirability of your practice? If you want to think it through on your numbers, book a call.