Sam Pellerito, CEO of Frameri.
CINCINNATI—In just a few months, recently installed Frameri chief executive officer Sam Pellerito is settling nicely into his new role. Pellerito, who co-founded Frameri with Konrad Billetz about four years ago, moved into the top job at the company in March after Billetz left to oversee the launch of a startup solar energy business in North Carolina.

So in just a few months, Frameri, the company that created the interchangeable frame and lens system, has stepped up the pace of its efforts to expand its showroom presence beyond its Cincinnati roots. Pellerito said the next likely location for a standalone Frameri showroom is Dallas – “which should be running before the New Year” — and that the company also is looking at locations in trendy neighborhoods in both Chicago and Brooklyn.

In looking at prospective locations, Frameri is focusing on areas where “we have some brand equity” and customer recognition, noted Pellerito, who has held various management posts at Frameri, “everything from director of optics and fulfillment to director of business development,” he told VMail in a telephone interview.

Frameri also wants its showrooms to be in areas with various social events and a community-oriented population, such as the Deep Ellum neighborhood near downtown Dallas where the next Frameri showroom is expected to debut.

In addition to its showroom in the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood here, Frameri has distribution partnerships covering 28 optical retail practices in 15 different states, Pellerito said. Under the partnership arrangements, the optical retailers stock Frameri products, lenses and frames. All of these locations also are listed on Frameri’s website. The company also has a partnership with Hoya Vision Care that began in 2016. This arrangement calls for Frameri frames with Hoya lenses to be available for sale at independent eyecare practices across the U.S., as VMail reported. This partnership is “going pretty well,” Pellerito noted. “Hoya is a great company.”