Fabrizio Uguzzoni

NEW YORK—From his vantage point now as the leader of EssilorLuxottica's North American Wholesale business, a position he assumed in August of last year as the two companies' planned integration was taking shape, Fabrizio Uguzzoni, president, is sharing several top-line goals toward the company’s key business partners in 2022. In an exclusive conversation with VMAIL here late last month, Uguzzoni outlined four main service pillars. New initiatives will also be coming into view as the division enters this year facing its customers, the majority of whom are independent ECPs.

They will be geared to "help practitioners, business leaders and employees better thrive and serve patients via the company's global 'See More, Be More' mission," he said.

Uguzzoni describes 2022 as the start of "a new era in this journey, one in which EssilorLuxottica is already investing, via new types of programs, helped by our 4,000-person strong N.A. wholesale organizational team, to both add value and create new opportunities for eyecare and eyewear among patients and consumers.” He added, “We would like to make sure that the market understands what we have to offer through all our resources as a company, and to make sure we fulfill the promise we stated when we announced our merger several years ago.”

An initial pillar is a continued investment in the people throughout the EssilorLuxottica Wholesale organization in North America “We are making sure our organization is now structured on a scale to equip our team to support customers and hone their skills. In the field, we have more than 1,200 people to engage in the ways that our diverse groups of customers want to work with us. Sometimes they will want and need subject matter experts in frames, sunglasses, brands, spectacle lenses, systems, digital technology and support.

"And at other times, they’ll want to take advantage of expertise we can bring around special 360-degree, broader types of programs and resources—such as EssilorLuxottica 360, for example, or the new Ray-Ban Authentic or our robust digital tools. These bring together all that EssilorLuxottica can deliver. There is not a ‘one-size-fits-all' approach, we recognize there is a need for flexibility.”

Uguzzoni also emphasized a second pillar of the company’s approach, stating, “Independent optometry is the backbone of the industry and we are committed to helping it thrive for years to come. We believe that to be successful, the independent should remain independent, but not alone. Alliances play an important role in this concept. We are investing in all the alliances to help evolve what it means to be independent and practice the way they want, but with the support they need.”

He emphasized that these pertain to all alliances that EssilorLuxottica partners with across the country. In 2022, with the Vision Source alliance, there will be a further investment and relaunch of Vision Source Next, to offer “a complete solution to perpetuate private practice.” More details will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead.

Another, Uguzzoni pointed out, is work underway to create options for practice transitions in the market. “We know that practice owners are looking for choice in terms of the next phase of their career, and we are exploring how we can ease some of the operational and administrative burdens so they can focus on health-based patient care."

Business solutions remain a third element of EssilorLuxottica’s interactions with accounts. “EssilorLuxottica 360 is now 3,300 practices strong,” said Uguzzoni. “We are looking forward to introducing new features based on what we hear from our customers. One example is creating a business concierge, focused on ensuring members are taking advantage of every opportunity the program has to offer."

New from the company in 2022 in this sphere will be “an integrated complete pair offer across our assortment for lenses and frames, creating a larger opportunity for independents in making the supply chain easier across eyewear and eyecare,” Uguzzoni said. “We started with Ray-Ban Authentic last year and that continues. But the big news this year will be to solve for a broader portfolio of products. We will be piloting this ambitious program in the first half to ensure that before we offer this to all independent practices, we can be certain it is sustainable and scalable.”

EssilorLuxottica will continue to invest in its extensive range of brands, products and innovations this year. Uguzzoni pointed to the following:

• “Our brands have great connections with consumers and we are not just here to sell units. We don’t just sell a pair of glasses, we are here to sell dreams. Specific examples are Oakley's presence at The Super Bowl and Winter Olympics, where we are part of history in the making, inspiring millions to be more.”

• "We will continue to build categories with innovation in lens technologies including the launch of a new Crizal range elevating the performance of the entire Crizal portfolio."

• "Presbyopia begins to take effect around the age of 40. However, we know that only 45 percent of presbyopes wear progressive lenses and the average age of a wearer is somewhere in their early 50s. We plan to continue to help doctors treat and correct presbyopes earlier, while educating consumers to what is happening to them and that they can get better vision now, and not to wait."

• "Myopia is another key priority area in North America. We will continue to build it by helping practitioners treat this as a disease, and not just correcting near-sightedness. Myopia has been a niche and we’ll see the category open up. We will launch a full range of myopia management solutions in Canada, including the Essilor Stellest lens, which slows down the progression of myopia in children."

In addition, Uguzzoni also pointed to the broader EssilorLuxottica goal in helping to “elevate the education experience for the industry and to make vision care more relevant for all.” Citing the recently launched Leonardo learning platform, which VMAIL reported on late last month, he noted, “We saw an opportunity to advance learning and education for our industry and create one learning platform where employees, eyecare professionals and patients will find content about the world of vision uniquely tailored to their interests.

"This has been a major investment in a new, intuitive, always-on, education experience. Leonardo will tailor this learning based on the individual user’s interest and needs—actually becoming smarter over time. We expect our community to like and share content from Leonardo to show the most popular learning modules among other eyecare professionals and highlight skills and content that employees in an optical practice might need or benefit from. Its potential is truly exciting, we’ve built the 'Netflix of education.'”