You can review the many headlines among VMAIL throughout the past several years and see the cumulative impact of practice acquisitions and the formations of new financial backed retail groups and companies in the U.S. optical market. You can also review those in the context of the many headlines in the general business media during that same period, about the current transformation of the general, traditional retail business.

“Outside” the business boundaries of the Three Os and leading regional and national optical business, there are ample examples of new consumer attitudes, the impact of digital technology and a changing world of access to information that is bringing a new landscape into sharp relief.

With the rise of online retail (in the face of stronger online sales for apparel, home goods, electronics and general merchandise), we saw many traditional general high-profile department store and specialty retailers forced to make decisions to revamp and close stores. Those decisions did sometimes impact the number of such stores housing optical departments and these high-profile store closings and shutdowns have affected the overall landscape, particularly for mall-based retailers.

As VM pulls together its ranking of the Top 50 largest optical retail players in the U.S., we certainly see the reshaping of the business. And while this also reshapes the competitive climate, it occurs to this observer that the story of the “competitive climate,” while major in its implications, is far from the whole story.

Remember that at the same time that consolidation and new financing is helping to build new opportunities and efficiencies in how eyecare and eyewear can be delivered, that “experience” is most important to today’s consumers and patients.

Regardless of a business’ size or scale, it’s a one-to-one feeling, the knowledge base of retailer, doctor or staff, expertise in product, creativity in presentation, brand and explanation, that are generating business that will “stick,” even in this fluid business environment. Those are going to be the attributes of a successful vision care and eyewear provider that will rank highest in this and the coming years.

maxelrad@jobson.com