ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Vision Expo West 2022 concluded on Saturday, September 17. The four-day event, which took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, from Sept. 14-17 at The Venetian Convention Center & Expo, brought together thousands of members of the industry together. “It was amazing to see the full scope of the vision care industry come together in Las Vegas last week, both on and off the Show Floor,” said Fran Pennella, vice president, Visio Expo, at RX, co-organizer of Vision Expo.

“From reconnecting at networking functions and parties to conducting business on the Show Floor and taking advantage of the brand new CE program, there was so much energy and enthusiasm throughout the Show. Thank you to our attendees, exhibitors and partners, whose support and commitment brought the Show to life,” Pennella said.
 
Vision Expo West 2022 featured more than 380 exhibiting companies across several distinct neighborhoods and offered cutting-edge continuing education as well as engaging programming. Additionally, The Suites offered attendees access to established luxury fashion houses and the latest exclusive upmarket boutiques in an intimate and unparalleled buying experience.
 
Show organizers did not report any specific attendance numbers for the event and told VMAIL that "there are no plans for attendance numbers to be reported for Vision Expo West 2022."
 
Vision Expo’s all-new education program offered more than 320 hours of education, ranging from the latest business strategies and optical technology to patient care and innovations. Returning to the Show, OptiCon@Vision Expo offered an unmatched education program and Exhibit Hall experience for opticians, contact lens professionals, allied ophthalmic professionals, optical assistants and office managers, frame buyers and lab technicians.
 
“We loved reconnecting with so many of our members at Vision Expo West,” said Mitch Barkley, vice president of Trade Shows and Events at The Vision Council, co-organizer of Vision Expo. “The success of the Show directly impacts The Vision Council’s ability to fulfill its mission of growing the industry through education, advocacy, research and consumer education—so by being here together we are all helping to elevate the greater industry. Thank you to everyone who made the Show so successful,” Barkley said.
 
This year, the Innovation Stage served as a main stage destination and a hub for collaborative learning and the host venue for the EYE2EYE Series panels, an educational series of interactive panels featuring industry experts in discussion on topics ranging from fashion trend forecasts to tactics for refining patient care. The Career Zone-Student Lounge, a destination for students to connect with optical companies that are actively recruiting and explore career resources, also returned to Vision Expo West on Saturday, Sept. 17.
 
Additionally, Vision Expo West 2022 brought together key industry groups and supporters, many of which hosted parties, special events and networking sessions throughout the Show. Prevent Blindness, the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight, hosted its Swing Fore Sight Golf Tournament event on Wednesday, Sept. 14. 
 
In an effort to accommodate members of the community from around the globe, Vision Expo+, a free digital extension of the Vision Expo experience is being offered again from Sept. 15 to 23 and features online showrooms from Vision Expo West’s exhibitors and recorded Vision Expo West content. Vision Expo+ is delivered through ShopVISION, Vision Expo’s global sourcing platform. Sessions that took place at the Innovation Stage are available to view in an on-demand format on the ShopVISION platform.
 
To gain access to Vision Expo+ specials, register for ShopVISION here by clicking the “Sign in/Join” button and then “Register Now.” ShopVISION and Vision Expo+ are being offered on a complimentary basis to all eyecare providers, buyers and all Vision Expo West 2022 exhibitors. Registrants who signed up for Vision Expo+ ahead of previous Shows do not need to register again.
 
Vision Expo East 2023 will take place at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City from March 16 to 19, 2023. The Show’s educational program, together with OptiCon@Vision Expo, will open Thursday, March 16 and the Exhibit Hall will open Friday, March 17. Details on registration will be released in the coming months.
 
Vision Expo West 2023 will take place Sept. 27 to 30, 2023. The Show’s educational program, together with OptiCon@Vision Expo, will open Wednesday, Sept. 27 and the Exhibit Hall will open Thursday, Sept.  28.
 
Organizers of Vision Expo West 2022 provided these testimonials from some exhibitors.
 
“It was remarkable to see engagement and energy at Vision Expo West at an all-time high this year.  We were honored to spend days in rich discussion with our customers about how we can support their practices with our latest must-have collections, advanced lens innovations and best in class services, training platform and business solutions initiatives,” said Ludo Ladreyt, chief commercial officer, U.S. Optical at EssilorLuxottica North America.
 
Francesco Rinaldi Ceroni, president & CCO of North America, Safilo Group, said, “Vision Expo West was an amazing opportunity for us to support our industry and celebrate our people, products and heritage with our customers with a contagious energy and renewed vigor and strength. It was exciting to be present in very impactful ways with our inviting new open booth concept, educational offerings for ABO credit, industry sponsorships and two super successful customer events for Carrera and BOSS.
 
“It was also the perfect setting to celebrate our 60th anniversary of commercial presence in North America and officially unveil our new campaign for the market defining partnership with a fresh new approach,” Rinaldi Ceroni said.
 
Tina Lahti, VP of sales and marketing for IOT said, “Vision Expo is invaluable for IOT. We use this event to reconnect with our customers and our own remote teams. It is a great time to discuss initiatives, announce new products and technologies, and most of all listen to our customers so we can respond to their business and technological needs. Participating in Vision Expo helps us in so many ways, we consider it to be one of our best marketing investments.”
 
Brianna Rhue, OD, FAAO co-founder of Dr. Contact Lens and Techifeye, said, “Dr. Contact Lens is just coming off of Vision Expo West. Wow what a show. You could feel the energy and excitement. Kudos to Vision Expo for recognizing how important New Technology is to the future of our profession and creating the Panorama neighborhood.
 
“Dr. Contact Lens and Techifeye were excited to be part of the explosion of technology and new vendors that are the wave of the future and showcased here. The optical industry is changing and the doctors are taking charge for their patients—this show emphasized that new energy.”
 
Nicolas Sinet, CEO, VisionWeb, said, “It was an exciting opportunity to join Vision Expo West. I am happy to have met with some of our customers and partners and spend time getting to know them personally. Being there and seeing all the happenings in the industry really demonstrates the progress we are making collectively. It was great to see my team work so hard to showcase our newest innovation in our products, and I look forward to exhibit more of VisionWeb’s innovation in the future.”  
 
Ken Weissman, president and CEO, Modern Optical International and OCHO Vision, said, “Vision Expo is an essential in-person event for our company, and this year’s show was everything we had hoped for. The strong attendance and robust programming provided countless opportunities to forge new relationships and network with industry partners. Exhibiting our extensive line of value-oriented eyewear and providing live demos of our virtual try-on platform to hundreds of eyecare professionals over three days is highly impactful to our organization. The Vision Council meetings also provided excellent insight to our industry.”
 
Thomas Kimber, president, Karun, said, “It’s been great. This is our official launch in the U.S. and Canada market.  We had high hopes and expectations and so far it’s been very good to see the energy of the people, the interest they have about the brand and what we bring to the table.  And it’s been good to see the energy, the enthusiasm around sustainability and improving the way the industry is doing things toward the environment.”  
 
"Vision Expo West 2022 was a successful show for our company in many ways. We wrote business, we opened new accounts, and we had fun together as a team. It was great to see the aisles busy again and the overall energy was very positive. Most importantly, it was a pleasure to finally catch up with some of the friends and colleagues that I still hadn't seen since 2019," said Scott Shapiro, CEO, Europa.
 
“It was so wonderful to be back at Vision Expo West and connect with customers and colleagues again in person. We were glad to see strong traffic and a wonderful energy in our integrated VSP Vision booth at the heart of the show,” said Thomas Burkhardt, president, Marchon Eyewear.