An eyewear fill rate door allocation playbook is the first-wave plan apparel and lifestyle brands use with their OEM to land opening depth across doors by role and climate—so United States and South America programmes open boards with heroes in place instead of empty slots or orphan colourways. It is not a public price card. It is ship-to-door discipline before the first sell window, with clear optical–sun splits and factory-ready packs.
This guide sits beside our inventory turns playbook, markdown exit playbook, open-to-buy plan, sell-through rate playbook, and replenishment cadence playbook. Light siblings include the merchandising calendar, core carryover, seasonal capsule, apparel assortment, category expansion, lifestyle launch, and AOV. Here we stay on first-wave door allocation.
Quick answer: what makes this door allocation playbook work?
In short, eyewear fill rate works when merch names door types before the factory packs, protects hero depth on day one, caps guest colourways, and splits optical versus sun by climate—so US and South America programmes do not open with half-empty boards that force panic reorders.
- Write eyewear fill rate packs by door role (flagship, wholesale, resort) before the OEM ships
- Protect carryover heroes first; keep guest colourways shallow on the first wave
- Split optical–sun fill by climate, not one blended carton
- Label packs so warehouse teams can stage doors without guessing
- Keep Japan light unless those doors are already on the brief
Why first-wave eyewear fill rate matters after OTB and turns
Buy capacity and board productivity only help if the opening board is honest. Trade coverage keeps saying the same thing: give board space a job, keep productive lines in stock, and refill holes before sales leak.
For example, CV Optical on frame-board strategy stresses deliberate space allocation. Optical Women on board management treats board spots as rent that must earn turns. Optometric Management on vendor allocation warns against overbuying that leaves holes. ReviewOB on static board management, Optometric Management on frame inventory, ReviewOB on intentional inventory, and Vision Monday all push evidence-led boards—the same mindset for first-wave fill with an OEM.
Consequently, US and South America programmes that lock first-wave packs early arrive at RFQ with cleaner door splits. Japan stays a light secondary lens.
How does door allocation differ from sell-through, OTB, replenishment, turns, and exit?
Clarity matters. Use this map so teams do not argue past each other:
- Open-to-buy. Our OTB playbook owns remaining buy capacity and share buckets.
- Inventory turns. Our inventory turns playbook owns how productive stocked depth is after doors open.
- Sell-through. Our sell-through playbook owns velocity after doors open—hub only here.
- Replenishment. Our replenishment cadence playbook owns when winners return later.
- Markdown exit. Our markdown exit playbook owns what to do when soft depth ages.
- Calendar / carryover / capsule / assortment. Those guides own timing, evergreen depth, short drops, and SKU roles—link lightly; do not rewrite them here. Silhouette notes such as optical aviator or chunky acetate stay design hubs, not allocation clones.
- This eyewear fill rate guide. How first-wave depth lands across doors: door packs, hero protect, guest caps, and optical–sun labels.
Therefore, finish capacity, turns, velocity, cadence, and exit maps first. Use this playbook when the factory needs a door-split ship plan.
How should you stage first-wave eyewear fill rate across doors?
Keep the path simple and qualitative. Do not invent public fill percentages. Size packs to door roles the merch team can explain in one page.
- Door map. Name flagship, wholesale, and climate doors before the OEM packs—never one average carton for every market.
- Hero protect. Put everyday optical and sun heroes on every priority door in the first wave.
- Guest cap. Keep capsule colourways shallow so soft guests do not steal board holes from heroes.
- Optical–sun split. Run separate eyewear fill rate depth for heat doors versus gift/optical doors.
- Ship labels. Mark cartons by door type so warehouses stage US and South America lanes without unpacking the whole wave.
Moreover, US DTC fashion and South America wholesale often need different first-wave rhythms. Never force one blended pack across both lanes.
How do you brief an OEM on fill rate and door allocation?
Attach a one-page fill sheet to your next RFQ checklist and tech pack. Name door packs, hero protect SKUs, guest caps, and optical–sun labels. Keep acetate or metal programmes on the usual MOQ 400 pcs/model and about 90–100 day lead path—FOB China or Vietnam—without debating public price. Concept Eyewear has 26 years in fashion frames, with Vietnam production at Block E5 & 6, Hoa Hiep Industrial Zone, Dong Hoa, Phu Yen (+842573550435), paired with Dongguan. See how to choose an eyewear OEM, compliance, and manufacturing techniques.
Common mistakes when planning first-wave door packs
- Shipping one blended carton to every door type
- Overfilling guest colourways while heroes open thin
- Using one blended optical–sun fill clock
- Waiting for replenishment to fix a broken first wave
- Skipping the OEM brief so packs arrive unlabeled and age into exit work
Eyewear fill rate FAQ
What is a door allocation playbook? A first-wave plan to land opening frame depth across doors with the OEM—hero protect, guest caps, and climate splits—before the first sell window.
Does fill replace open-to-buy? No. OTB sets buy capacity; fill decides how that depth lands across doors.
Does fill replace inventory turns? No. Turns judge productivity after doors open; fill rate sets the starting board so turns are readable.
Start your first-wave allocation with Concept Eyewear
Bring your door map, hero protect list, and first-wave pack ask. We help US and South America programmes open boards clean. Visit the homepage, read About, or contact the team.
