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COMPANY PROFILE

1951

[ Arnold Schmied Senior, Judith and Fred Hochstader ]
THREE GENERATIONS SERVING CANADIAN

EYE CARE PROFESSIONALS

hen Fred and Judith road. The company’s office was in the THE SILHOUETTE ADVENTURE
Hochstadter started kitchen of our apartment and we stored The question, in 1964, was how to

Canadian Optical our eyeglasses with a client who had convince eye care professionals that
Supply (COS) in 1951, some extra space in his clinic.”
Win their kitchen in a pair of Austrian glasses twice as
Montreal, they had no idea their Between 1951 and 1963, the couple expensive as the ones sold on the
company would be celebrating its stocked up on frames from the United market would be a lucrative venture and
70 anniversary in 2021! States. At the time, eyeglasses were would revolutionize consumer habits.
th
From its modest beginnings, Judith unattractive orthotic devices made The design and look inspired by Austrian
of plastic and metal. At the end of the designer Dora Demmel, combined
Hochstadter handled the company’s
accounting, deliveries and customer 1950s, their bank manager lent them with quality materials and manufac-
service, while her husband, Fred, money to buy Italian- and French-made turing, would become the cornerstone
travelled across Quebec and, later, eyeglasses. On one of his trips to of their success back then, and
Canada, as a sales rep. In its early days, Europe in 1964, Fred Hochstadter to this day. In fact, Silhouette is
COS was the first independent distributor met Anneliese and Arnold Schmied, internationally-renowned with over
of eyeglasses in Quebec, in a market the founders of Silhouette eyeglasses. 12 million eyeglasses sold around
dominated by Imperial Optical that The Austrian couple, who spoke only the world. There is no doubt that
held a quasi-monopoly of eyeglass sales German, was looking for a Canadian COS played a key role in ensuring
and optical laboratories in Quebec. distributor for their new products. Fred Silhouette’s success in Canada
Today, at the age of 95, Judith and Judith Hochstadter spoke German with its sales reps who were well

Hochstadter recalls, “My husband was fluently. In 1964, COS became their trained by Fred Hochstadter, a
the first sales rep. He was always on the exclusive distributor in Canada. highly-skilled mentor for his sales team.

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