Randolph Engineering according to Lou

If you are around Lou long enough you realize when he likes something, he REALLY likes it and it is his mission to tell you why it is the best thing in the world, but, you know what? It probably is. There are several topics like this I will probably talk about eventually like his love affair with Brooks Brothers for the past 14 years, but I will start with Randolph Engineering to give you a typical example of how Lou operates.

Several years ago, Lou was on a mission to find the perfect sunglasses.   When a mission like this starts in Lou's world it begins with a simple idea.  " I need sunglasses" but it always turns into something more.    It starts with a lot of Research.   Lou will never buy anything on impulse.  It's not in his nature.  He needs to know what he got is the most unique, best quality, best looking, high functioning, at the best price item of whatever it is he is looking for.   It needs to fit into his lifestyle.   He needs to understand how it's made, who owns the company, what the history of it is, and if he respects the company, their process and their standards.

So when he started looking for Sunglasses, the first thing he figured out is that about 99.999% of sunglasses are owned and manufactured by an Italian company called Lexotica.  If you by RayBans, or Dolce and Gabana, or Prada or almost any brand you can think of for sunglasses,  Lexotica owns them, manufactures them and brands them for these companies.   What is interesting is they also own Lens Crafters, so not only are they making all these frames, they are charging a premium at a VERY little cost to them.   This was a big turn off to Lou.  It's not how he operates.  It lacks integrity in his world, and so he sought out the .1% Lexotica could not get to, and along came Randolph Engineering.

I am not sure if Lou knew about RE because his brother had flown in the airforce, or if he found them another way, but once he found them.  He was ALL about them.   When he realized they were manufactured in Randolph, Ma.  down the road, it was merely a bonus that he could support the local guy, and when he found out they turned down Lexotica's offer to buy them, even better.

So do you think that Lou looked up Randolph Engineering, where they sold their glasses and bought a pair? Sorry not his style.   He decided, he would have to go to Randolph Engineering directly to buy his glasses.  Not only that, he decided he would research everything about the company.   He found out the man who started RE also built all the machines that manufacture the glasses.  He researched when they got their government contract to provide the military sunglasses.  He even looked into the way they make and test the sunglasses with a 200 step process, done almost entirely by hand.

 RE is only open during the week from 9 to 5 so getting there is a bit of an inconvenience, but once Lou finds what he deems the perfect item of anything, he will wait and wait and wait until he can make it happen.    When the day finally arrived that he could get to RE.  It took almost a year.  Seriously, he will and has waited longer.   He went down to Randolph extremely happy to finally be buying his sunglasses, but the story doesn't end there.

Lou went into the plant and started to tell them about their own history, and how much he admired the brand.    He met the niece of the original owner, as well as, other relatives.   He realized this was still very much a family business, and he convinced them to give him a tour of the manufacturing plant.  He came back with pictures, two pairs of sunglasses and a huge grin of satisfaction in completing his mission.

Today Lou owns all the RE's in the picture at the top of this blog.   He finds out when they have a factory sale every year, and he convinces as many of our closest friends as he can to go buy some RE's with him.   My dad has them, my brother in law, I do, our friend Erin bought 4 pairs.   

You see to Lou, they aren't just sunglasses, they are a work of art.    They are a symbol of high standards and expertise.   Where someone took a typical product and raised it to another level of quality, and that is how Lou finds a product.  

There is one more piece of this story that I shouldn't leave out.   Lou and I were at an open studios event in Somerville, Ma when a girl approached him and said, "Great sunglasses"   He thought it was because she was wearing RE's too and he immediately recognized this, but it turned out to be the Marketing Manager for RE's, also a niece of the owner.  When something like that happens after all his time researching and falling in love with a product, it's just a bonus to him, and in case you were wondering.  Yes it happens all the time.

Here is Lou in San Fran rocking the RE's