|
|
 Ilori Launches Prescription Services Nationwide, Offers Optical Styles
NEW YORK—The Luxottica-owned Ilori eyewear boutique group has announced that as of June 1, it now carries an expanded assortment of optical styles and offers prescription services for both eyeglasses and sunglasses in all locations. VMail first reported the addition of ophthalmic styles in some Ilori locations on May 19.
Michael Hansen, general manager of Luxottica’s Luxury Retail Group, which consists of Ilori and Optical Shop of Aspen shops, told VMail , “A year ago we started to introduce optical frames into three locations on a test basis because we questioned, why we should let frame and lens opportunities go to someone else? As of June, 6 percent of eyewear units sold in Ilori were optical. In the last month, that number has jumped to 10 percent of our total business being done in Rx, and 40 percent of that number is Rx sun. So we are very pleased out of the box.”
With 24 stores nationwide, all Ilori locations are now fully equipped with the new prescription program and offer a dedicated optician on site to assist clientele. The boutiques currently carry a range of ophthalmic styles, which comprise 10 percent of the mix. They are from designer brands including Oliver Peoples, Chanel, Bvlgari, Tiffany, Prada, Persol, Tom Ford, Gold & Wood, Chrome Hearts and Sama. Hansen said that the percentage and the brands offered are expected to grow. In the stores, the ophthalmic offerings are merchandised separately from their sunwear counterparts.
The prescription service is offered through a simplified cost structure to streamline the process for clients, Ilori said. Clear single vision will retail for $299, clear progressive/bifocals for $399, sun prescription for single vision for $399 and sun progressive/bifocals for $499, with all prices fixed, and additional services such as polarization and AR coating included. All lenses are digitally processed at a brand new, Luxottica-owned, designated lab facility in Columbus, Ohio. Hansen told VMail that Ilori is not currently participating in managed care benefits but it is something they will consider as the business grows.
“We wanted to keep consistent with our consumer strategy of treating our customers like ‘special treasures’,” added Hansen. “Our ‘treasure’ lens is a premium lens, digitally-surfaced and all-inclusive with no add-on pricing. All work is controlled by us in a state-of-the-art lab facility dedicated to the Luxury Group that represents a significant investment on [Luxottica’s] part.”
At the core of the Ilori experience are the Ilori staff. In addition to all the stores now employing licensed opticians, Hansen said Luxottica spent a month and a half immersing the Ilori style consultants in optical intelligence through both online and in-store training. Though Ilori is not offering eye exams on-site, customers can walk in with their prescription or an Ilori consultant will contact their doctor on their behalf to acquire it.
In response to a question from VMail, Hansen said that with the addition of these prescription services, he does not see competition between the Ilori boutiques and Luxottica’s other luxury retail brand, Optical Shop of Aspen (OSA). He noted that the two retailers only have one market in which the stores are in close proximity (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and that the age and gender demographics for each retail brand are distinct. “OSA, a 40-year-old brand, skews male and over 40 with a lot of custom lens shaping and a different product assortment, whereas Ilori, in the three years since its launch, has built a customer base that skews female and under 40 years old.”
For more information on Ilori visit www.IloriStyle.com.
|
HAL Group to Create Single €2.5 B Retail Group by Combining Pearle Europe, GrandVision Operations
MONACO—In a move that will create the second largest optical retail company in the world, the two major retail subsidiaries of HAL Group, Pearle Europe and GrandVision, are to be combined into one entity, creating a company with more than 4,000 stores in 40 countries and systemwide revenues of more than €2.5 billion.
In a recent announcement about the move, anticipated to be completed in mid-2011, HAL said, "We are convinced that this strategic decision will open many new opportunities for future development at both Pearle Europe and GrandVision. The operating philosophy going forward will continue to emphasize decentralization, while the individual country operations will benefit from economies of scale of the larger international organization."
Luxottica Group (NYSE:LUX) remains the largest international retail group with more than 6,200 stores. Its worldwide retail sales last year totaled €3.156B, roughly 62 percent of Luxottica's total FY 2009 revenues of €5.1B, which also includes its manufacturing and wholesale operations.
The parent entity of the combined companies will be incorporated in the Netherlands and named GrandVision B.V. The corporate offices of GrandVision B.V. will be located in Schiphol, The Netherlands.
Theo Kiesselbach will be appointed CEO of GrandVision B.V. Kiesselbach became CEO of Pearle Europe's German and Austrian operations in 2002; since 2006 he has been CEO of GrandVision S.A. in Paris.
Ed Visser will become CFO of the combined company. Visser has been CFO of Pearle Europe since 2002 and was named its co-interim CEO in April 2010.
Kiesselbach will align the strategic decisions at both companies and lead the merger process. Until the integration plan is completed, GrandVision and Pearle Europe will continue to be run by their respective boards of management, with Visser and Dorhout Mees continuing to lead the operational business of Pearle Europe.
HAL Investments currently holds 99.2 percent of Pearle Europe and 99.8 percent of GrandVision. In February, HAL increased its investments in eyewear manufacturer Safilo Group, from 2.08 percent to 37.2 percent, via an investment of €222 million. HAL also acquired 106 retail stores formerly operated by Safilo in Spain and Australia in conjunction with that transaction.
|
|
NAVCP User Survey Indicates Consumers with Stand-Alone Vision Plans Get More Eye Exams
INDIANAPOLIS—Last week, the National Association of Vision Care Plans (NAVCP) released more details about its first benefits-utilization survey, conducted with imput from 10 major managed-vision companies. The survey, previewed at the NAVCP's annual conference in late April, indicates that consumers who belong to stand-alone vision care plans are twice as likely to get an annual comprehensive eye exam as those whose vision coverage is "bundled" with their major medical plan.
That is, 33.3 percent of the consumers surveyed who belong to stand-alone vision plans that offer coverage for both exams and eyeglasses or contact lenses got annual eye exams, vs. 16.3 percent of those enrolled in major medical plans with similar vision coverage. In the case of children, 29 percent of those enrolled in stand-alone vision plans used their benefits, compared to 12.5 percent of those children whose parents have vision benefits bundled into their medical plans.
The survey included data from nine vision-plan providers that are primary NAVCP members, plus VSP Vision Care, which is an allied member through its Eyefinity/OfficeMate division.
The study, conducted by an independent research firm, reviewed eye-exam usage patterns of nearly 85 million Americans enrolled in vision benefits programs during 2008 and 2009. According to the
NAVCP, "The results indicate that vision plan membership has been increasing and eye exams have been utilized at a higher growth rate than membership, indicating consumers value the wellness component of their vision benefits that allows for the recognition of symptoms of chronic disease, as well as assessment of the need for vision correction."
The organization added in a statement, "The study further bolsters the NAVCP's position that stand-alone vision plans should be included within the health-care exchanges contemplated by the recently passed health-care reform legislation."
According to NAVCP's president, Richard Sanchez, who is also president and chief executive officer of Advantica, "Stand-alone vision plans offer a vital service and are an integral part of health-care delivery in our country. In order to ensure related improvements in overall health, and medical cost control for Americans, it is essential that stand-alone vision plans are widely available as part of the new health care landscape."
|
American Board of Optometry Selects Prometric for Development and Delivery of Board Certification Exam
ST. LOUIS― The American Board of Optometry said on Friday that Prometric, a leading global provider of technology-enabled testing and assessment services, will be the ABO’s partner in developing the new optometry board certification examination. The computer based examination will be offered across the U.S. and around the world through the Prometric global test center network.
Computer-based delivery of ABO's exam is slated to begin in June 2011
“The selection of Prometric re-emphasizes our intent to deliver a credible, psychometrically valid examination,” stated David A. Cockrell, OD, ABO Chairman of the Board. “Prometric’s experience with the American Boards of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and other respected organizations will be invaluable as we develop our examination. In addition, their testing delivery centers are state of the art.”
The first step in the examination development process will be to complete a job analysis of the profession. The results of the survey will be the basis for the examination’s clinical content outline that will be released this Fall.
“We would like to welcome the American Board of Optometry to Prometric and we look forward to helping ABO successfully develop and launch its new exam,” said Bill Murtagh, senior vice president, client services and sales at Prometric. “Many distinguished healthcare clients, including ABO, rely on Prometric’s expertise to bring new exams to market, since we have decades of practical experience in test development and delivery that we can apply to new exam programs.”
Optometrists may apply to become “Active Candidates” for ABO Board Certification on the American Board of Optometry Web site at
www.abopt.org.
|
City of Chicago Declares July 19 to 25 ‘Think About Your Eyes’ Week
CHICAGO—The Think About Your Eyes Coalition is kicking off “Think About Your Eyes” Week here today, with an official proclamation from the Chicago Mayor’s Office and a series of high-visibility events around the Windy City this week.
With appearances at iconic locations around the city, the activities and proclamation are aimed at reminding Chicagoans about the importance of annual comprehensive eye exams for maintaining healthy vision. Think About Your Eyes teams, including giant costumed eyeballs at Wrigley Field, Navy Pier and Lincoln Park Zoo this past weekend encouraged residents to visit
thinkaboutyoureyes.com to locate an eyecare professional and schedule an annual exam.
To further discuss this important issue, the Think About Your Eyes Coalition will meet with other industry leaders, July 20 to 21, in Chicago at the
Eye Health Summit, hosted by the
Foundation for Eye Health Awareness. These organizations will work together on plans for continuing to raise public awareness of the need for improved eye health.
Think About Your Eyes is a multimillion dollar, two-year public awareness initiative which launched earlier this year, aimed at increasing consumer awareness of the importance of vision health and comprehensive eye exams. The campaign includes special appearances as well as television, radio, online and social media communications that focus on a variety of eye health issues ranging from eye disease and children’s vision to school performance and visual fatigue. The campaign is focused in nine cities across the U.S., including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Atlanta, Houston, Sacramento, Cincinnati and Portland, Ore.
|
Independent ECPs’ Attitude Toward Biz in June On a Par with May Sentiment, per Jobson Research’s Optical Business Barometer
NEW YORK— Independent ECPs’ attitudes about business stayed relatively stable in June, compared to May, according to the Optical Business Barometer (OBB). However the May and June Index scores were 3.4, among the lowest for the year since the OBB Index began in January.
In an effort to gauge the optical business trends of eyecare professionals and keep the industry up-to-date on emerging business trends, the OBB provides independent optical retailers (those with single locations or groups of no more than three locations) with a comparative “how’s business” benchmark throughout the year.
As a monthly survey conducted online by Jobson Optical Research, the OBB is designed to measure attitudes toward the business climate of independent ECPs on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is “very negative”, 3 is “neutral” and 5 is “very positive.”
The May and June 3.4 Index scores were lower than independents’ sentiments first measured in January when the Index was 3.6. February’s Index score of 3.5 was slightly higher. March was the highest Index scoring month with 3.7 while April fell slightly to 3.6.
Independent optical retailers’ attitudes toward the next six months for their own businesses dipped to 3.5, per the Barometer, when compared to the previous OBB May report of 3.7.
The latest OBB findings are now posted
online and also compared to those in the Consumer Confidence Index from the
Conference Board as well as the
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). Be sure to look for the latest OBB results from Jobson Optical Research to be posted in the middle of each month on
VisionMonday.com.
Want to know more? The full Optical Business Barometer tracks the sentiment of eyeglass and contact lens sales as well as exam numbers and breaks out the numbers based on region, profession, age, location emphasis, and more. To learn more about the full report, contact Jennifer Zupnick at
jzupnick@jobson.com or (212) 274-7164.
|
Former AOA President Peter Kehoe, OD, Joins Transitions as Professional Relations Advisor
PINELLAS PARK, Fla.—Peter Kehoe, OD, a recent past president of the American Optometric Association, is now serving as a professional relations advisor to Transitions Optical.
In his new role as an independent consultant to the company, Kehoe will advise on professional education, as well as strategies and tactics to improve the dialogue between patients and eyecare providers, according to Transitions. He will also work with Transitions’ professional development team “to help strengthen the company’s programs and ensure they are aligned with the needs of the eyecare community,” an announcement said.
Kehoe continues to see patients at Kehoe Eye Care in Galesburg, Ill., as well.
|
VM Spotlights Women With a Vision in 2010 Most Influential Women Special Report
NEW YORK—Vision Monday’s eagerly anticipated 2010 Most Influential Women in Optical is now available on
VisionMonday.com.
In this our 8th annual Special Report, we tell the success stories of women in optical as they continue to take on leadership roles in companies via R&D, design, marketing, sales and educational institutions. This year, we profiled honorees in four key categories: Executive Suite, Mentors, Innovators and Rising Stars. Honorees were selected from more than 200 nominations received from readers of Vision Monday.
VM also reprises its annual salute to the
Next Generation of Leadership with profiles on the best and the brightest graduates from top optometry and opticianry schools in the U.S. in a special section underwritten by a grant from the Luxottica Group.
We hope you enjoy reading their profiles of accomplishment as VM salutes women who make a difference in this ever-changing world of optical. Visit
VisionMonday.com to review an alphabetical listing of past years’ honorees and to read prior years’ Special Reports.
|
Life Imitates Art on VisionMonday.com
NEW YORK—It seems like the art of technology has streamlined everyday life by leaps and bounds in recent years. For example, Avalon Eyewear has collaborated with fashion designer Norma Kamali to feature ScanLife Technology. ScanLife allows shoppers to scan codes with their smartphones in order to access rich product information. Find out more about this exciting technology in
Online Trends.
Optical retailer Spex recently teamed up with Chicago Loop Alliance to sponsor Chicago’s inaugural Art Loop 2010 public art project, featuring visual artist Tony Tasset’s installation, “Eye.” Three stories tall, the piece is modeled after Tasset’s own eyeball. See the behind the scenes video on VM Web TV and take a look in
A Greater Vision.
And what’s more artful than a dashing man? The latest edition of
Bold Face: Manly Men celebrates those charming alpha males that artfully choose great eyewear to promote their mystique, including styles from Marchon, Base Curve, Sama, and Altair.
|
|