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By Cathy Ciccolella
Senior Editor

View a slide show of VM's 2nd Annual Global Leadership Summit.

Watch videos and download presentations of Summit Speakers.

NEW YORK--A sold-out crowd of nearly 300 top optical industry executives gathered here on the eve of International Vision Expo East to hear speakers from both inside and outside the vision care field address key issues affecting today’s business climate, at the second annual Vision Monday Global Leadership Summit.

   
Marchon’s Al Berg visits with Karen Miller of Cohen’s Fashion Optical. Speaker Jeff McAllister of Wal-Mart Optical talked of how the giant retailer is paying more attention to eyecare’s link with overall health.
   
Adam Wolman of the For Eyes optical chain and Andrea Gluck of Eyewear Designs take a break during the Summit. Speaker Andrea Guerra of Luxottica Group defined the luxury eyewear consumer and how the notions of luxury have changed for the industry.
   
Technology speaker Erin Byrne from Burson-Marsteller presented her views on how the Internet has affected marketing and communications. Speaker Ira Neimark, formerly of Bergdorf Goodman, outlined the hallmarks of customer service and exclusivity in the luxury retail environment.
Tim Spangler (l) and David Meisenheimer of sponsor DAC Vision prepare for the afternoon session. Speaker John Agwunobi, MD, of Wal-Mart discussed the forces buffeting health care costs and how vision care is only one issue facing employers, benefit managers and U.S. workers.
Vision Monday’s Marge Axelrad chats with George Gebhardt (l) and Dave Holmberg of Eye Care Centers of America. Stephen Rappoport of L’Amy America catches up with Dana Weeks, Optical Services International.
Ed Buffington (second from r) of OfficeMate visits with Eyefinity’s Ken Suesse (l), Jim Caster of VSP and Suzanne Brehm of Eyefinity. Pat Cummings, OD (l), of Vistakon grabs a cup of coffee with Mike Naugle, OD (c), of FYI Eye Doctors and Alan Cleinman of Performance Partners.
During the opening coffee break (l to r), Mike Hundert of Rem Eyewear, Steve Levenson and Kathy Torrence of Kaiser Permanente and industry veteran Gary Podhaizer. At the Summit (l to r) Rich Montag of Hoya Vision Care North America and Ed Greene and Greg Chavez of sponsor The Vision Council visit with Doug Hepper of Vision-Ease Lens.
During a break (l to r), Alan Ulsifer, OD, and Winston Koo, OD, both of Canada’s FYI Eye Doctor, talk with Raanan Naftalovich and Hilaire van der Veen of Shamir Insight. Essilor’s David Ray (l) welcomes the Davis Vision team (second l to r): Mike O’Connor, Larry Gabel and Joe Carlomusto.
Speaker Rob Lynch of VSP Vision Care addressed the key forces shaping managed care programs today and their opportunities for the future. Reade Fahs (l) of National Vision chats with Volker Heimeshoff of Wal-Mart Optical.
Sponsor Dave Cole of Transitions Optical (r) chats with Bart Foster of SoloHealth. Mark Travis, OD (l), with Matt Herlevic, both of Wal-Mart Optical.
Technology speaker Lynn Vos (r) addressed what eyewear and eyecare executives need to understand to leverage and manage the digital communications world. Speaker Tomás Pfortner of Laboratorio Pfortner Cornealent SACIF spoke to eyecare delivery options around the world, specifically in the Latin America region.
Kerry Bradley (l) of Luxottica Retail talks with Joel Ehrenpreis.
The event--produced by VM with sponsorship by Transitions Optical, Hoya, The Vision Council and DAC Vision--highlighted four key elements impacting not only the optical business, but the worldwide marketplace as well: technology, retailing, luxury and health care.

As Marge Axelrad, senior vice president/group editorial director for Jobson’s Retail Optical Group, put it in welcoming attendees to the event, “We feel it’s important for optical to join the real world.”

Under the banner of Technology, speaker Erin Byrne, global chief digital strategist for Burson-Marsteller, noted that the mushrooming growth of all forms of electronic communication has challenged marketers in all industries: “Because of the nature of digital communication, marketers can’t totally control their message, they can only influence it.”

Byrne said that because consumers trust other consumers most for recommendations on products or services, eyewear and eyecare suppliers must engage potential customers online to build a trusted connection. “Word of mouth is the most prominent way to build your brand,” she said. “You need to build a relationship with consumers so they become your advocate.”

Lynn O’Connor Vos, chief executive officer/president of Grey Healthcare, spoke of the growing trend toward “do-it-yourself doctors”--consumers who search out symptoms and self-diagnose health or vision problems on the Internet. She said research also indicates that 87 percent of consumers trust peer-generated content on health-related topics they find online, even though much of that information is incorrect.

With so much online dialogue among consumers about health and vision issues, Vos said, “we need to be participating in those conversations, and figure out a way to galvanize people to make the right choices.”

In the Retailing segment of the Summit, Dr. Tomás Pfortner, CEO of Argentina’s Laboratorio Pfortner Cornealent SACIF, outlined Latin America’s optical business. Pfortner said the total retail optical business in Latin America, not including exam fees, generates $4.1 billion in annual revenues-- representing about 24 percent of the U.S. optical market--through more than 37,100 optical shops.

For companies considering the Latin American market, Pfortner cautioned, “To enter the market at the intermediate or high end, you need a clever strategy and strong alliances, because professional skills there are well-developed and customer loyalty is very strong.”

Jeff McAllister, senior vice president, optical division, for Wal-Mart Stores, said his company’s new emphasis on health and wellness carries over into its optical operations, now part of a new Health and Wellness division. “Our goal is to be the most trusted eye health care provider of choice for patients seeking the best value,” he said. “It’s more about the eyecare than the eyewear, and how we help people understand the need for both.”

Declared McAllister, “We need to communicate consumers’ need to see an eyecare professional--we want to grow the size of the pie, not just carve it up.” He noted that Wal-Mart’s new walk-in health clinics may leverage eyecare as well; the chain has been testing co-locating its optical departments and acute-care clinics in three locations.

In the Luxury area, Ira Neimark, former CEO and chairman of Bergdorf Goodman, assured the Summit audience that “the luxury market is bigger and better than ever.” Neimark stressed the importance of serving the customer in the luxury retail segment, urging his listeners to “find a gold mine in the lost art of customer service.”

Saying “luxury retailers will continue to grow,” he noted that the luxury markets such as China, Russia and India are expanding as well.

Andrea Guerra, CEO of Luxottica Group, described the U.S. as “the largest emerging market for fashion and luxury.” Listing the five characteristics of luxury--quality, personalization, the merchandising experience, exclusivity and tradition--Guerra pointed out how each of those five impacts the high-end optical market. He noted, “Those five characteristics of luxury must be in our minds when we chose vendors for our frames.”¬

Looking at training of optical dispensers, Guerra said that in addition to basic product education, training should include motivational and marketing guidance in selling high-end eyewear. Store personnel “need to be able to tell the right stories about their products and brands,” he noted. “Stories and emotions can take you away from price.”

Looking at Health Care in terms of the eyecare industry, Rob Lynch, president and CEO of VSP Vision Care, stressed, “We believe there is a very strong future for managed vision care.” Predicting that the managed vision business will grow by 7 percent to 9 percent “organically” over the next few years, he said surveys indicate that 61 percent of consumers in vision plans offering a funded eye exam use that benefit, versus the mere 16 percent of those with general health insurance who have annual physicals. To increase those eyecare numbers, “we have to prove an annual eye exam is part of taking care of your health,” Lynch said.

He noted VSP’s participation in several general health care efforts, including the company’s recent affiliation with the American Diabetes Association and its link to the Center for Health Transformation’s Georgia Project, which will provide health screenings for everyone in Columbus, Ga., for two years.

Wrapping up the Summit, John Agwunobi, MD, senior VP and president of Wal-Mart’s Health and Wellness division, said Wal-Mart’s vision for this new business segment is to “help people save money so they can live healthier.” He stressed that the independent optometrists affiliated with Wal-Mart Optical “are a critical part of our future,” adding that in working with those ODs, “we need to become a more active, visible, listening part of this community.”

Going forward, Agwunobi said, the giant retailer’s goal is “to actively search for new businesses” in health and wellness. “We hope to have an expanding portfolio of services and products,” he said. “We’ll have to do everything we do better, but we also need to have partners--and we’re looking for new ideas.” ■