news

Hot List: September 2009

1 Online=Eco-Friendly

According to a recent Shop.org survey, 35 percent of respondents think online shopping is better for the environment than shopping in stores. Those who think it is eco-friendly to buy online are also more willing to shop online more often.

The percentage of U.S. consumers who believe it is more environmentally friendly to shop online:

2 Green demographics

A recent report titled “Sustainability: CPG Marketing in a Green World” divides eco-conscious consumers into specific groups:

• Eco-centrics: the strongest supporters of eco-friendly products
• Respectful stewards: people who are willing to spend more for eco-friendly products
• Proud traditionalists: those who buy eco-friendly to save money
• The eco-chic: consumers who view being green as fashionable

3 Forverism

According to Trendwatching.com, Foreverism is a new trend spurred by technology that lets consumers find and interact with anyone and anything for as long as they want to. Take advantage of the trend by Twittering or starting a Facebook page to create lasting relationships with your own customers.

4 THE WOW RETAIL EXPERIENCE

Recent Wharton research posted on Forbes.com reports that 35 percent of shoppers had an “extraordinary” retail experience in the past six months. Here are the five main factors that eUcit a “wow” shopping experience:

Engagement

Genuine interest in helping

Executional excellence

Helping to find products and having product knowledge

Brand experience

Exciting store design and quality products

Expediting

Speeding up the shopping/checkout process

Problem recovery

Resolving ond compensoting for problems

Vision Expo Networking Events

Vision Expo West, which will be held Oct. 1 to 3 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, has announced several parties and networking events taking place during the show.

• Second Annual Swing Fore Sight Golf Outing: Individuals and teams are invited to sign up for this Prevent Blindness America event on September 30 at 7 a.m. at the Bali Hai Golf Club. Register for the event by emailing kromanas@preventblindness.org.
• Professional Optical Women's Workshop: Hosted by the Optical Women's Association (OWA), “The Law of Selling” workshop September 30 at 5 p.m. OWA Networking Reception and Raffle, Oct. 2, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Venetian Marco Polo Ballroom 802. RSVP to owa@opticalwomen.com.
• MedSci Party: This Vision Expo-sponsored party, Oct. 3, 5 to 6:30 p.m. Medical and Scientific Pavilion.
• Club Marchon: Marchon Eyewear annual party on Oct. 2, 9 to midnight. at the Flamingo Hotel. Pick up passes at the Marchon booth.

Seiko Adds Lab Partners

Seiko Optical Products announced the addition of seven new partner labs to its network of manufacturing labs for the Seiko Succeed and Supercede free-form PAL products.

The labs are Central Optical, Italee Optical, Luzerne Optical, MJ Optical, Rite-Style Optical, Rochester Optical, and The Lens Work.

The move was positive for spreading the word on Seiko's free-form products, Michael Rybacki, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Seiko Optical, says. “We are proud to welcome these fine independent laboratories to our network of manufacturing labs. We believe we have the finest free-form progressive lens designs available, and we look forward to assisting our manufacturing partners in bringing this advanced technology to their customers.”

Rodenstock and ProFit Optix Strike Deal

Rodenstock GmbH and ProFit Optix have signed an agreement for the distribution of Rodenstock lenses and frames in the U.S. Starting immediately, ProFit Optix will distribute Rodenstock branded digital free-form lenses and serve the needs of American surfacing labs, including semi-finished products. The Rodenstock frame collection will be available to the U.S. market shortly.

“We are very proud and honored to be associated with Rodenstock,” notes Alan Yuster, executive vice president of operations for ProFit Optix and former Rodenstock director of international sales-Americas, and vice president of Rodenstock USA. “We're looking forward to relaunching, supporting, and further developing the Rodenstock brand in the U.S.A.”

Adds Dr. Olaf Goettgens, CEO of the Rodenstock Group: “We are pleased to offer our outstanding quality lenses combined with highest comfort for spectacle wearers and our modern designs to customers in the U.S. We've been standing for high quality lenses and frames and the best vision services for over 130 years.”

In other ProFit Optix news, Optixx AG Switzerland and ProFit Optix have signed an agreement for the distribution of Optixx lenses in the U.S. The agreement expands ProFit Optix's portfolio of premium- to value-priced digital free-form PALs. ProFit Optix has distribution agreements with several U.S. buying groups, including Block Buying Group, Premiere Vision, The Buyer's Edge, The Alliance, Optical Resources, Alfred J. Villavecchia Buying Group, and Optical Synergies.

Carl Zeiss Vision Extends agreements

Carl Zeiss Vision and US Optical Lab of East Syracuse, N.Y, have signed an agreement to manufacture Zeiss Individual and other Zeiss custom lenses on-site using the proprietary Zeiss PreciseForm process.

“We are extremely happy to have partnered again with Carl Zeiss to now manufacture, market, and distribute their customized backside lenses,” comments Ralph Cotran, co-founder and president of US Optical. “This is a natural transition for US Optical, which was specifically created in March 2008 to spearhead the revolution from traditional PALs to customized digital free-form PALs.” US Optical now begins the Preciseform certification process, which is expected to be completed this fall. When certification is complete, US Optical will manufacture the full line of customized, free-form PALs from Carl Zeiss.

“US Optical has been a leader in free-form manufacturing since its inception,” adds Fred Howard, Carl Zeiss's president, Americas-Pacific. “They are already a great partner for premium Zeiss traditional progressives and AR. The lab is a natural choice to become our latest partner for personalized lenses, and we're very pleased to extend our relationship with them.”

Hoya Expands Hartford Lab

Hoya Vision Care North America has completed expansion of its Hartford, Conn. laboratory. Enhancements include new digital surfacing equipment, re-engineered layout and workflow, and HOYA's proprietary in-house AR coating facility, which allows the lab to produce Super HiVision AR.

“The expansion of this lab brings new technology to the East Coast,” says Barney Dougher, president and CEO of HOYA Vision Care. “In these tough economic times, HOYA is focusing on the parts of our business that will help independent ECPs stay competitive.”

The 15,000 square foot lab has 70 employees and will process an average of 1,200 jobs per day.

CooperVision Restructures Manufacturing

CooperVision, Inc., will discontinue operations of its soft contact lens manufacturing plant in Norfolk, Va., over the next 15 months. The company plans to relocate contact lens manufacturing from Norfolk to Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, and Hamble, U.K., with part also going to Adelaide, Australia.

“Our manufacturing team has done a phenomenal job improving our efficiencies, and our excess capacity is largely due to their successes,” says Robert S. Weiss, president and CEO. “Over the past year, we have increased manufacturing throughput while reducing manufacturing headcount by roughly 685 employees. We expect these additional moves will allow us to reduce headcount by roughly 570 more employees while continuing to increase production.”

As a result of the moves, CooperVision expects to recognize pre-tax restructuring charges of approximately $25 million.

Chain Link: Sports Eyewear Goes Front and Center

Looking to target the growing consumer market interested in sports performance sunwear, Oakley launched a prototype sunglass store called N3L Optics in 2008 in Denver's upscale Cherry Creek shopping district. It has since added four stores in Texas, Florida, and California, and carries 900 products from 20 brands, with retail prices ranging from $75 to $250.

Here, EB catches up with Kendra Reichenau, senior vice president of N3L Optics.

WHY IS IT THE RIGHT TIME FOR THIS CONCEPT?

It's right because there is a big trend in the industry with sports performance eyewear. The technology on the lens side and the materials being used to develop frames have evolved to such a degree that athletes and active people realize that having the proper eyewear can really give them an edge in specific sports.

HOW DO YOU MERCHANDISE SPORTS EYEWEAR?

We have it all separated out by lifestyle—sport, sport performance, polarized women's, women's polarized and active sport like surf and skate. This is a learning process for us. Will consumers shop by lifestyle when most stores are merchandised by brand? That is part of the test right now—figuring out what works and the right assortment.

DOES THE STORE HAVE SPECIAL FEATURES?

We have simulators in the store that help you see how the frame and lens perform in different environments. We have a demonstrator that you can look into and pick the environment you'd like to test. We also have a wind machine, so you can see how well the wind is blocked. And we have one that emits UV light so you can see how dark your photochromic lenses will become.

World Sight Day Challenge

Optometrists across the United States and around the globe are being invited to take part in this year's World Sight Day Challenge in October. The optical education and outreach effort was created to help raise funds and build awareness for programs that ensure vision care for people in countries without access to even basic eyecare services. This year's theme is enhancing vision care for women.

The World Sight Day Challenge is coordinated by Optometry Giving Sight, which supports projects that offer not only eye exams and glasses, but establish vision centers and train local eyecare professionals in communities with little or no access to vision care services.

The World Sight Day Challenge invites optometrists to make a donation to Optometry Giving Sight on or around World Sight Day, Oct. 8, 2009. Many optometrists choose to do this by donating their eye exam fees for a day in October, making a personal or practice contribution, and/or encouraging staff and patients to give the gift of sight to those without access to basic eyecare services.

Go to www.givingsight.org or call 888-OGS-GIVE for more information and to receive a free kit with World Sight Day Challenge materials to create a great practice and community event.

License Lineup

Safilo Group and Pierre Cardin announced the renewal of the licensing agreement to design, manufacture, and distribute prescription frames and sunglasses under the Pierre Cardin brand, and to manufacture models from the Pierre Cardin Evolution line.

The agreement extends the Pierre Cardin license for a further 10 years continuing until Dec. 31, 2020. The partnership began with the presentation of the first Pierre Cardin-branded collection in 1991.

Luxottica has secured a 10-year extension to the license agreement with Gianni Versace SpA for the design, manufacturing, and worldwide distribution of optical frames and sunglasses under the Versace and Versus eyewear brands.

PBA to Establish New Center

Prevent Blindness America, the nation's oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, has been awarded a multi-year grant from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), a bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Prevent Blindness America will use the funds to establish the National Universal Vision Screening for Young Children Coordinating Center, which will promote and ensure a continuum of eyecare for young children within the healthcare system.

The center will focus on providing national leadership in the development of the statewide vision screenings and eye health programs for all children prior to entering school, and developing and implementing a plan to assist states in coordinating existing vision screening activities.

In addition, the center will collaborate with the states of Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Ohio to develop and implement a statewide strategy for universal vision screening, data collection, and creation of a standardized performance measure for vision screening.

Customized Clip-Ons

Eastern States Eyewear and 1-800 Clip-Ons have partnered for an exclusive program to make custom-made clip-on sunlenses available for its entire catalog.

Any ECP interested in having customized clipons for Eastern States Eyewear frames can call 800-CLIP-ONS (800-254-7667) to open a free account. Then, when the eyecare professional gets a consumer request for a clip-on, they contact 1-800 CLIP-ONS to place an order.

ESE customers who participate in the program will be supplied with a free starter kit that includes a color chart, order forms, and a sample frame with a clipon for use as a consumer demonstration.

STAR Gazers

“Desperate Housewives” star Marcia Cross was seen sporting Jee Vice's “Heated” style in oyster bronze. The actress, who is best known for her role as Bree on the popular primetime drama, wore the shades while toting her adorable twins around town. Brad Pitt waved to adoring fans wearing Tom Ford style Pablo (FT132) by Marcolin at the premiere of his new movie, “Inglourious Basterds.” The Dior Beauty team was joined by top celebrity makeup artists and their clients, including “Private Practice” actress Kate Walsh, who donned Dior style Madrague by Safilo, at a luncheon to benefit Operation Smile, held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Santa Monica over the summer. Actor Jeff Goldblum put the “show” in talk show on July 13, wearing an l.a.Eyeworks Bent frame in classic black on “The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.” Look for Goldblum as Detective Zach Nichols in the crime drama “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” Actor Kevin Bacon has been spotted all over Hollywood wearing the nameless 5 by ic! berlin. Bacon enjoys spending time off at his vacation home on Connecticut. “Twilight” teen heartthrob Robert Pattinson was spotted in Karl Lagerfeld style KL603S by Marchon while preparing to shoot scenes for the upcoming drama, “Remember Me.”

Web World

Eyemaginations announced its partnership with the firm EyeCarePro.net to offer its website enhancement product, 3D-Eye Online, to EyeCarePro customers.

Recently added to the American Optometric Association's list of preferred providers, EyeCarePro.net provides a solution for optometric practices in establishing an aesthetically pleasing and functional website in very little time (30 minutes or less) by use of its ECPro Website Builder product.

Practitioners can choose their design, include more than 100 pages of pre-existing written content, take advantage of a wide selection of patient communication tools, and now can link to its newest technology partner, Eyemaginations, a leader in patient education and marketing software for eyecare practices.

For more information on EyeCarePro's Website Builder, call 866-886-4442 or visit the website www.eyecarepro.net.

Fashion Optical Displays has launched its new website, located at www.fashionoptical.com, which provides eyecare professionals with a variety of fresh, new dispensing ideas and introduces the company's latest interior and furnishing design concepts.

The website lets practitioners scroll through Fashion Optical's Product Gallery, Floor Plan, Services, and In The News sections.

Users can see floor plans transformed into 3-D drawings used to create stunning dispensaries. On the site's In the News section, users can take a 360-degree virtual tour of an actual dispensary. The site's Services section lets ECPs learn more about the company's cost-effective interior design and installation options.

Target: Sports

Sports celebrity endorsements for eyewear in all fields of athletics are popping up lately. Here are just a few EB recently spotted.

1. Golfer Ricky Barnes, who played his personal best and set a new record U.S. Open 36-hole tournament score of 132 shots, sporting customized Oakley shades.
2. NASCAR pit reporter, Wendy Venturini, in TAGHeuer Glamour Series Combo. Venturini has become one of the most recognizable faces on Fox Cable Network's brainchild SPEED.
3. Spy Optic partner and race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., in his new signature sunglass, Dirty Mo.

On the Town

1. Essilor recently completed its promotional trip for Varilux, Crizal, and DEFINITY lenses—Clear Choice 2008. The grand prize winners, including 56 ECPs, 10 IDD labs, and Essilor employees and executives, visited Prague through tours and sightseeing excursions.
2. ILORI has signed on as a sponsor for this year's Shakespeare in the Park, and has partnered with Thakoon and Thierry Lasry to create limited edition sunglasses, which will be available during the show or until they sell out, and are only available at the ILORI SoHo boutique.
3. Held at The Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah, ClearVision's national sales conference took advantage of the natural beauty of the region by including a host of outdoor team-building activities like golf outings, whitewater rafting excursions, and a private visit to the Olympic Park.
4. Oakley dominated the Tour de France with 15 stage victories. During the tour, Oakley auctioned off a one-of-a-kind LIVESTRONG JAWBONE sunglass, autographed by cycling legend Lance Armstrong, on eBay and all proceeds went to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
5. Jee Vice made waves down the runway at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Swim in Miami on July 17. Jee Vice teamed up with swimwear line L*Space as they debuted their latest wares for 2010.
6. Sean John's Pre-ESPY party, held at the Playboy Mansion in July, offered celebrities Sean John's Marchon eyewear and eyewear makeovers.