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Hot List: April 2011

Alicia Isenberg

1 Overexposed

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. (daylight savings time) are the most hazardous for UV exposure in the continental United States.

2 Blinded by the Light

According to Prevent Blindness America, mounting evidence shows that long-term exposure to UV rays can lead to cataracts, macular degeneration, or skin cancer around the eyelids.

3 Damaged Goods

The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that

● 22.3 million Americans have cataracts
● The direct medical costs of cataracts are $6.8 billion annually.

4 Sun Savvy

Consumers are heeding the warnings about excessive sun exposure. According to market intelligence firm Mintel, the U.S. sun protection and sunless tanning market reached $701 million in 2010.

VEE Celebrates its 25th anniversary

Launches, giveaways, and celebrities, oh my! This year's International Vision Expo East, held March 16 to 20 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, celebrated its silver anniversary in style, with attendance up seven percent overall from last year's show. The five-day event was jam-packed with the latest and greatest in frames, lenses, equipment, and accessories from optical companies from all over the globe.

Thousands of attendees flooded the exhibit halls, visiting the 450 exhibitors, which were divided into five main pavilions: Medical & Scientific, Low Vision, Lenses & Processing Technology, The Galleria, and The Underground. Many exhibitors drew in crowds with discounts and contests with prizes including new iPads and iPods.

Attendees also took advantage of the wide variety of continuing education programs available, which spanned more than 220 unique concepts and were divided into four subject categories.

Check back next month for EB's full coverage of Vision Expo East 2011.

Focus Group West Premieres Eyecare Film

Focus Group West's (FGW) design team, with photographer Philip Harvey, has created the short, stop-action film, “Someday.” Built using hundreds of individual images, the film features FGW eyewear and the styling talents of Blake Kuwahara and Thomas Ferguson.

Its purpose, in addition to highlighting FGW's eyewear, is to bridge the editorial gaps between fashion, film, and eyewear. Beginning March 18, the film can be seen on FGW's Facebook page and its blog, The Aesthetic Omnivore.

Essilor
Makes Eight Global Acquisitions

Essilor International recently announced that it has made eight new transactions around the world as part of its strategy of making targeted acquisitions. These partnerships represent a combined full-year revenue of around € 40 million.

Essilor of America acquired two U.S. wholesale laboratories as part of its network of partner labs: Winchester Optical in New York, and NEA Optical, based in Jonesboro, Ark. The management teams of both labs will remain in place.

In Brazil, Essilor International has signed three new agreements with leading local prescription laboratories, acquiring majority stakes in Embrapol Sol, Tecnolens, and Farol. In addition, Essilor has increased its equity investment in Unilab, a prescription lab located in Northeastern Brazil, to 51 percent.

The company has also signed an agreement with Easy Vision, of South Africa, and acquired the majority interest in Prakash, a prescription lab in India, and a stake in Essor, a lens distributor in France.

GOOD IDEA
ALL ABOUT UPDATES

AllAboutVision.com's Eye Health News Feed is a free service that helps to keep your practice's Facebook page relevant and informative by automatically updating posts with patient-friendly news about vision and eye health. Two to three times per week, participants' pages are updated with news from a directory of more than 500 pages of relevant, easily understood information from experienced eyecare journalists.

The continual updates encourage repeat visits, making Facebook pages a valuable source of education for patients, which can help build practice loyalty. In addition, it allows ECPs to concentrate on practice-specific posts that promote your practice.

For more information, visit allaboutvision.com/ecp.

On the Town

ClearVision Optical's 2011 “Game On” sports-themed national sales conference was held in Rockwall, Texas. In addition to setting company goals and extensive training courses, the meeting included an awards ceremony, guest speakers, and face time with an expert panel of sales consultants.

ClearVision also donated BCBGMAXAZRIA Silk sunglasses for a GRAMMY event hosted by MusicCares, an organization that provides support for music people in times of financial, medical, and personal need. The sunglasses were distributed in the celebrity gift bags handed out at the dinner and concert honoring the legendary Barbara Streisand.

PixelOptics' electronic focusing eyeglasses, emPower!, were featured on the morning talk show “Live! With Regis and Kelly.” The segment featured technology expert Leo Laporte highlighting various products showcased at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show. PixelOptics launched emPower! last month at International Vision Expo East.

The Gant by Michael Bastian Fall/Winter preview, recently held in New York City, showcased the designer's latest eyewear creations from Viva International Group for the coming seasons. In other Viva International Group news, the company's newest brand, William Rast, was one of the featured sponsors at the GBK Oscar Gifting Lounge. Celebrities were fit with a selection of sunglasses from the new William Rast Eyewear collection.

1. ClearVision Optical hosted its national sales meeting earlier this year; 2. Michael Bastian poses with Viva's Liz Tontodanti (l) and Nicole Durda (r); 3. and 4. Runway models showcase the Gant by Michael Bastian collection; 5. through 7. (from l to r) Raven Symone, Brooke Adams, Tony Shalhoub, and Terrence Owens in William Rast Eyewear

ABO's Exam Registration Process
NOW OPEN

The American Board of Optometry (ABO) has opened its examination registration for the inaugural Board Certification Examination. The 240-item test consists of 160 General Practice questions as well as two 40-question Areas of Emphasis, picked by the test taker.

Exams is scheduled for June 1 to 18, 2011, and can be taken at more than 400 Prometric Test Centers in the United States and throughout the world. The examination fee is $1,250 throughout 2011 and will increase to $1,500 in 2012. For more information on eligibility, or to register, visit the ABO website (abopt.org).

Coinstar to Invest in SoloHealth

Coinstar, a leading provider of automated retail solutions that benefit both consumers and retailers, recently announced its plan to invest in SoloHealth, developer of health screening and information kiosks, such as EyeSite.

SoloHealth is set to release the next-generation SoloHealth Station, a comprehensive kiosk that screens vision, blood pressure, weight, body mass index, and overall health for free. It will also provide consumers with a database of doctors in their area. The new kiosks will be placed in high-traffic retail locations, connecting them to SoloHealth's multi-platform ecosystem across retail, online/digital, mobile, and emerging platforms.

DAC International Sells Spectacle Lens Surfacing Line to Chemat Technology

DAC International inked an agreement to sell its spectacle lens surfacing system product line, including the RxD Lathe and NSLP Soft Lap Polisher, to Chemat Technology, Inc., of Northridge, Calif.

The sale will allow DAC International to concentrate its resources on continued growth of its core business—development of equipment and software for contact lenses and intraocular lenses—and innovation of its ALM lathes, mills, automation, and further develop the Opteq lathing and blocking system. Equipment support for DAC surfacing customers will be provided by Chemat Technology with the assistance of DAC-trained personnel.

REM's Kara Meyer passes at age 45

Kara Casey Meyer, REM Eyewear's vice president of corporate accounts, died on Feb. 16, 2011, in Coppell, Texas. Meyer began her career as an account executive with Stern Monroe and then moved to Nouveau Eyewear in 1994 as marketing director and eventually vice president of marketing before joining the team at REM. In 2005, Meyer was named one of Vision Monday's “Most Influential Women in Optical.”

Meyer is survived by her husband of 22 years, Jay, their two children, Alexis and Christian, as well as her parents and siblings.

Eye Make
A Difference: New Marchon Philanthropic Effort

Marchon has announced the launch of its Eye Make a Difference campaign. The program provides an opportunity for socially conscious individuals to apply for support for their good causes. Those selected are honored for their achievements and and spotlighted wearing Marchon eyewear in promotional materials for the program. INFO: Marchon.com.

LICENSE LINEUP

PEI Licensing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Perry Ellis International, inked a license agreement with Kenmark Group to design, manufacture, and distribute eyewear and sunwear under the Original Penguin (OP) by Munsingwear brand. The initial launch will take place at Vision Expo West and will be distributed through optical retailers and 32 OP stores shortly thereafter.

The Marcolin Group has extended its license agreement for the design, production, and distribution of optical frames and sunglasses under the Tom Ford Eyewear brand through December 2022.

Costa del Mar and singer Kenny Chesney have designed a line of signature sunglasses. The five-style collection is available online (costadelmar.com) and at each stop of Chesney's “Goin' Coastal” North American tour. Proceeds from the sales will benefit the Coastal Conservation Association, a shared cause for the singer and the frame company.

EYE WEAR ISTA

WEB Watch

Eschenbach is offering one-hour, low-vision online seminars on a variety of topics ranging from device category reviews to clinical and practice management, including clinical tips, patient case studies, and marketing. For more information, and to see a complete list of upcoming events, visit eschenbach.com. To register, send an email to dsommers@eschenbach.com.

ClearVision Optical will debut a new weekly blog, “The Eyewearista,” exclusively on its Facebook page on April 29. The blog, which will be updated every Friday, will cover the latest in fashion styles, new releases, celebrity affiliations, and catwalk trends, as well as engage in a dialogue with the industry on trends and styles.

Bollé recently launched a revamped interactive website. The clean, clutter-free homepage allows for easy navigation and features a customized product search function. In addition, the new dealer locator allows users to find nearby retailers with the help of Google map integration. The interactive tech section highlights live-action simulations of the brand's leading-edge technologies, while the athlete section introduces Bollé's full roster of international competitors in a broad variety of sports.

PBA
Releases White Paper on UV Radiation

Prevent Blindness America, in conjunction with a grant from the Transitions Healthy Sight for Life Fund, has released a white paper outlining the need for public education on the damaging effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation to eyesight. The paper, “UV and Our Nation's Vision,” summarizes discussions during a congressional briefing that was held last September in Washington, D.C., and issues a call-to-action for lawmakers to make UV eye protection a national health priority. It also provides an overview of the role of UV radiation in eye disease, the economic impact of UV-related eye disease, and the important role eyewear can play in protecting and enhancing overall quality of vision.

STARGazers

1. Actress Teri Hatcher flashes a winning smile to the camera while wearing her new William Rast style WRS 2002 sunglasses by Viva International. Catch Hatcher and the other housewives every Sunday on their hit show, “Desperate Housewives,” on ABC.

2. Jane Adams, lead actress in HBO's show “Hung,” was seen trying on Eco style 107 sunglasses by Modo. Adams will don the stylish shades in an upcoming epi-sode later this year.

3. Charlize Theron was out and about wearing John Varvatos style 715 sunwear by REM Eyewear. The Academy-award winning beauty has signed on to play The Evil Queen in Rupert Sanders' “Snow White and the Huntsman,” slated for 2012.

4. Actress Jennifer Aniston was recently spotted in Oliver Peoples model Wacks. Aniston stars alongside Jason Bateman, Jamie Fox, and Charlie Day in the comedy “Horrible Bosses,” which is set to release this summer.