Longview News-Journal
Sunday, January 30,2005
By Jo Lee Ferguson
A better fit
Longview woman makes a more versatile breast prosthesis
Vicki Jones was driven by several factors to develop a new prosthesis for women who have had mastectomies. There were the business reasons - the ability for Women's Health Boutique stores to be able to cut its inventory of prosthetics, for instance.
And then there were the customers, not just at the Longview Women's Health Boutique, but customers at all 12 locations around the country.
"The customer is important to me, what the customer wants," said Jones.
At least one of those customers walked out of her store last week wearing the new prosthesis, "Silicone Light," that Jones developed with the help of a manufacturer.
"It feels good. You knew it would," Marjorie Vaughn told Jones. To fight her cancer, Vaughn had a radical mastectomy 31 years ago. A radical mastectomy removes the breast tissue and muscles on the chest wall.
Vaughn's words made Jones so happy that she wrapped Vaughn in a tight hug and smiled. Vaughn has been a customer since the store opened in 1988. Jones and her sister, Seleta Lovell, founded the store and built it into a franchise before selling it to the International Center for Entrepreneurial Development Inc. in 1998. The International Center, based in Cypress, also is the parent company of Kwik Kopy and other companies.
Women's Health Boutique reported that sales at the Longview store have been brisk since then.
"We need so many that we can barely get them in here," said store manager Madeline Jones. She and Vicki Jones are not related.
Vicki Jones sought to develop a new prosthesis after noticing that 80 percent of her customers would have had to have a different prosthetic to match the shape of the bras they wanted to wear. She wanted to develop a prosthesis to meet women's fashion needs, and their need to feel good about themselves. That means giving women who have had one or both breasts removed the ability to wear different styles of bras without having to buy several prosthesis.
A woman who goes to the store after a mastectomy is first fitted for a bra that best fits the breast that was not removed or cut. Then, she is fitted for a prosthesis.
A common problem, though, had been that the prostheses available before now didn't mold themselves to the bra, Jones explained. Instead, the bra molded to the shape of the prosthesis. That meant that once a woman found a bra and prosthesis that best matched her breast, she couldn't change bra styles.
The patented "Silicone Light" solves the problem.
"The prosthesis molds itself to the shape of the bra," which is what a woman's breast does, Jones said.
Silicone Light is a result of two years of work with a manufacturer, who let Jones work with its designer to develop the new prosthesis as a private label product for Women's Health Boutique.
Jones began developing the prosthesis by studying all the shapes and styles of prostheses available to determine a shape that would fit the greatest number of her clients.
The prosthesis she designed is made of light-weight, air-whipped silicone. Jones said that compared to other prostheses, Silicone Light's design and material allows it to appear more like a woman's natural breast.
In the past, Jones kept a large inventory of prostheses in stock to find a perfect fit for every woman who came to the store. She carried four to six manufacturers, with multiple sizes and shapes.
Now she carries two brands, explaining that Silicone Light might not be ideal for some women, including some who have had radical mastectomies.
"(Silicone Light) allows a broader range of perfect fits," Jones said, with 60 to 70 percent of her customers finding a perfect fit with the new prosthesis.
Women's Health Boutique President Daina Pitzenberger said having a private lable product creates "brand recognition" for the whole system.
Other Longview businesses are helping spread that brand recognition. Jones has bachelor's and master's degrees in art. She designed the marketing materials that go with the product - the packaging, brochures, labels and other products- with technical assistance from Forbes and Butler Visual Communications in Longview. ABC Printing in Longview then printed all the materials for the whole franchise system, except for the warranty cards, which were printed by Ahle Printing in Longview.
Pitzenberger said that the other stores also report that Silicone Light is selling well. All the owners are happy with the product, receiving positive feedback from customers and reducing their inventories, as well.
"According to probably 75 percent of my owners, 90 percent of all customers can be fitted with this product," Pitzenberger. "That's great results. Vicki did a great job."
