BNOX Gets Binoculars Out of the Glass Case and Onto the Counter

Swatch is to watches as the new BNOX will be to binoculars, hopes BNOX Inc., New York. The company has just introduced a line of sturdy, low-cost, pocket-sized binoculars that offer the same capabilities as traditional binoculars, but are designed and marketed for mass appeal.Reportedly the first new design and technological development in binoculars since the 1890s, BNOX will retail for about $20, with most comparable-quality compact models selling for more than $85.BNOX are intended as an impulse buy rather than a "considered" purchase. With roll-out starting in April 1995, they will be distributed through mass discount outlets, department stores, mass sporting goods stores, convenience stores, supermarkets, drug stores, and beach, national park and sporting event concessionaires.The first generation of P-O-P for the new product consists of a brown corrugated master carton containing four corrugated shippers, each of which holds 12 BNOX. The blue-colored shippers, intended as temporary display units, measure 14 inches wide by 3 inches high by 12 inches deep.Retailers fold out the shipper top and bend it back and down to produce a riser card. The card has four-color graphics, product information, a logo and a big yellow circle announcing "NEW!" An optional matching base for the shipper went into production in March.Retailers may display the disposable shippers on the base or on countertops, or may hang BNOX from a pegboard hook. "The shippers for our initial production runs are utility in-fielders that are useful in a variety of retail environments," says Munro "Monty" Roberts, vice president of sales and marketing for BNOX Inc. "They're not perfect for any single use but they work almost anywhere. This packaging is the first step in a long-range strategy. Frankly, you have to start somewhere.""BNOX are conceived as a high-volume mass merchandise product," he continues. "We don't anticipate orders less than a carton [four shippers] at a time. Since it's important to maintain a low price point, and packaging is part of that equation, these shippers made the most sense as we entered the market. We're now talking to retailers about what might work better for them. Future generations of P-O-P materials will reflect that feedback."Other pieces of packaging in the pipeline include power wings, multiple unit displays and self-contained shippers that will serve as aisle enders, all designed as throw-away units. All packaging is manufactured by BNOX Inc. and designed in conjunction with Alternative Designs Inc. of New York.Individual BNOX binoculars measure 4 inches wide by 2 inches high by 2 inches deep in the closed position. They are marketed in clear plastic packages that enable customers to look through the eye pieces before purchase.Each package has a prepunched hanger card, complete with four-color graphics and product features.Prefocused BNOX binoculars weigh just four ounces and use a mirror system -- the patented Quadratic Reflection System -- and high-precision, molded acrylic lenses instead of the prisms and glass lenses of traditional binoculars. They are initially offered in 7X (seven times magnification power) and will also be available in 5X and 9X by the end of 1995. BNOX provides viewers with a unique, wide-angle, televisual rectangular image -- like a TV, movie or computer screen -- rather than the round image of traditional binoculars."Our designs are based on market opportunities analogous to the Swatch watch and single-use cameras: entering a traditional market with a highly styled product and comparable quality at a low price point," maintains Roberts. "While most comparable-quality compact binoculars sell for more than $85, and are marketed in inaccessible glass cases, BNOX are right out front for consumers and will retail for only about $20."BNOX were officially introduced in February at The Super Show in Atlanta, the huge, annual sporting goods show. The product was featured at the Daytona 500 stock car races in Daytona Beach, Fla., where the first retail sales of the product took place. Talks are underway for licensing agreements with other sports sanctioning bodies, colleges and professional teams.The initial run of BNOX produced 50,000 units. More than 1 million units are expected by the end of 1995.

BNOX Gets Binoculars Out of the Glass Case and Onto the Counter

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