With De Rigo REM President + CEO Alessandro Baronti

The De Rigo REM leader checks in exclusively with EB Editor-in-Chief Erinn Morgan to share the company’s roster of new programs and initiatives to help eyecare professionals navigate the Covid-19 crisis.

How has De Rigo REM pivoted to help ECPs navigate this challenging time?

Alessandro Baronti: From the beginning of the pandemic, we really shifted from a sales approach to a support approach. For us, it was all about doing the right thing for the optical industry—to try and be a leader and do the best that we could to support our customers.

We donated thousands of masks both to the optical community and also to our local community—including hospitals—along with gloves and sanitizers. We supplied all of our sales reps with [protective] equipment for themselves and to give to customers as soon as they actually could meet with them.

We also created an incredible free Resource Center as a [way] to support independent eyecare professionals with tangible solutions with the sole intent of helping them in their business.

The approach is leveraged on three pillars: innovation, training, and education. At derigoresources.us, there are different tabs that are loaded with information: solutions, communication, education/training, support, and strategy.

How are De Rigo REM’s business consultants working with customers today?

Baronti: In our learning module, we have over 150 hours of training for our business consultants. We asked our business professionals to really invest the time to study to bring valuable information to the customers’ business solutions.

We also asked them to be flexible to the needs of the customer. In some cases, it’s a face-to-face visit in the practice following specific safety procedures. In some cases, it’s a virtual presentation done through Zoom. In some cases, we actually ship the sample set to the customer, and then we virtually open the sample set together and do a product presentation.

Also, we’ve leveraged our B2B solutions—throughout this time, we saw our B2B business increase by 40% compared with 2019. Customers want to go online and look at product and buy. We’ve created incredible incentives for the B2B. If you’re going to our B2B today, you get free shipping. There is also the incentive that you can increase your marginality by 10% on top of the regular discount by ordering on the B2B.

In a moment of pause, I think it’s an opportunity for a business owner to really analyze their business and think about what is working and what is not working and prepare to go back to business.

How have you pivoted on the product side to aid ECP recovery?

Baronti: As we started to go back to business in June going into July, we really focused on bringing tangible product offerings to our customers. Everybody was and still is starving for profitability offerings. Especially in a moment where the majority of patients are coming back to utilize their benefits, there is even more of a need to be profitable in a managed care environment.

We were one of the first companies to introduce a UV-light sanitizer to the market. We have given away hundreds of UV sanitizers, along with thousands of face shields, as a free incentive for doing business with us.

The UV sanitizer is a safe way to sanitize product. We went into backorder because everybody wanted them, but now it’s becoming a regular shipment for us and we’re getting hundreds every two or three weeks.

We don’t sell them. I never wanted to make profit on something that is designed to be able to help.

We also renewed brand licenses, including Lucky and Jones, and we signed a licensing agreement with Tumi, which will debut at Vision Expo East in May.

We also signed a licensing agreement with Philipp Plein [for] something amazing, different, and unique—we’re planning to launch that at Vision Expo West in September 2021. We also have two more brands that we’re going to launch next year, with more details to come on those.

What is your view of how (and when) the market will recover from this crisis?

Baronti: We are already recovering. In many cases, independent eyecare professionals around the country are hitting record numbers never thought possible.

I think it’s pretty clear why this is happening. We are not a retail industry. What we actually are is part of the health ecosystem, plus more. A medical industry with a retail component attached to it—an incredible business model, and this is really the secret to our success.

I think it’s important for practitioners to be smart right now—because whatever was not working yesterday is definitely not going to work tomorrow. This is the time to understand what needs to be done in a different way…and determine how to evolve because of what we went through.

The Covid pandemic has served as a booster in behavioral change. It accelerated the inevitable—specific patient consumer behaviors accelerated probably five or 10 years ahead. We need to react to that in a prompt way. That’s why we have created all of these resources and collaborations. Our training module on the Resource Center reveals the things that should be implemented to react to the reality that we’re going through.