EaseVision.com – News and gossips of vision care and optical industry

Did you ever hear about the iPhone application for purchasing eyeglasses online? Perfect Glasses USA is just launching this fantastic service.

Perfect Glasses USA, a Huntington Beach, California company is proud to declare the launch of its innovative iPhone application! With this free brand new iGlassesUSA application, any iphone owner can now carry the complete Perfect Glasses USA shop just in your fingertips and view plus purchase the perfect pair of glasses out of anywhere! This application will allow users to look for through various brands of prescription glasses as well as sunglasses right on their apple iphone, including that widest selection involving varied Paul Frank styles readily available on the internet. Customers could pick out the particular appropriate pair of glasses for your appearance form and style without difficulty by using this specific software package, as well as show friends the products you bought online.

Perfect Glasses USA strives to transform the means people acquire discount spectacles along with eyeglasses mainly by the web-based approach of internet commerce and the convenience of web purchases. Mr. Thompson had mentioned, “There is no need in today’s tech advances to get into a store and purchase eyeglasses anymore. Perfect Glasses USA offer the greatest high quality glasses with a fair cost, and there is simply no way any other on-line competition can come close to their exceptional quality and speedy shipping time. With Perfect Glasses USA you will spend less by 60% off retail store prices, all the while resting assured that they tend to be backed by 60 years regarding experience in optics and manufacturing as well as offering a cozy buying environment with a Huntington Beach after services.

In the event that you don’t have an iPhone or any apps, no worries! You will be in a position to check out the official website online at http://www.perfectglassesusa.com which is nevertheless the user-friendly as well as effective web terminal , or you will be able to wait not so long for Perfect Glasses USA’s future upcoming Android mobile phone app. Visit us now and uncover the perfect pair of eyeglasses or trendy sunglasses for you!

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jun 14, 2010 –The Canada’s online optical sales giant  Coastal Contacts Inc today announced today that in the not-so-far future, the sales of online eyeglasses will outnumber the sales of contatcs, in its financial results for the second fiscal quarter, period ended April 30, 2010. This is an exciting result in the time of economic downturn.

According to the report, sales of eyeglasses grew to $4.7 million (net of returns and cancellations) an increase of 136% over the same period in 2009. Sales in Canada grew 43% during the six months ended April 30, 2010. Sales in the United States grew 32% during the six months ended April 30, 2010 and 55% when excluding the effects of foreign exchange rate fluctuations.

Mr. Roger Hardy, Coastal’s President and CEO, commented, “Coastal continues to demonstrate organic growth in the contact lens category in key markets around the world, particularly in Canada and the United States. Our commitment to providing the highest level of customer service is resulting in a growing number of repeat orders and is increasing the life time value of our customer database. The eyeglasses category is experiencing rapid growth, again mainly in North America, and given the overall size of the global market, we believe has the potential to eventually become a larger business than Coastal’s contact lens business.

In approximately two years we have built a significant eyeglasses business that culminated in over 60,000 pairs of eyeglasses being shipped during the quarter and $4.7 million in sales, predominantly in North America. This quarter’s operating results are consistent with the financial model we used to establish our $20 million eyeglasses sales goal this year. We are significantly expanding the capacity of our North American eyeglasses facility to address consumer demand.”

Coastal noted the following operational highlights during the second fiscal quarter 2010:

–  Coastal reported that the Ministry of Health in British Columbia

modernized the regulations regarding the ability of consumers to

purchase contact lenses and eyeglasses on the Internet, making vision

care products more affordable and accessible.

–  Coastal secured a $5 million revolving line of credit from the Bank of

America, bringing the total cash accessible from existing credit

facilities to $8.5 million, none of which had been drawn at April 30,

2010.

Above results of sales by Coastal partially attribute to the deregulation of online optical sales by BC government which is the first regional government to announce the rules from government’s perspectives.

As Luxottica’s once proud retail chain, LensCrafters was considered as the jewel in Luxottica’s optical crown. However, LensCrafters is on the downturn in many aspects now, such as sales, customer number, quality personnel, Eyenet as well as moral. Some people think that the training that all LensCrafters people go through is a joke. They skip over anything important concerning the how and why of optics. 

The current M.B.E training is particularly considered as a joke that the LensCrafters executives require the associates to stand to sell the lenses to customers. A similar requirement is to take mirrors from the areas where the staff sits, in order to accelerate the process. Another stupid idea from the executives is that the associates are required to tell everyone entering to sign in. What’s more serious, LensCrafters resells returned frames. 

There are many things Luxottica can do if the company wants to turn things around. First Luxottica should return to basics by stopping all the cutesy ads. Some people do not buy at chains now but LensCrafters should do what chains do best. Chains including LensCrafters should always give customers a great deal. 

Products from LensCrafters are thought to charge over prices with old technology. Polarized and photochromic lenses at LensCrafters are also over prices now. In particular, their progressive lenses are extremely subpar. It is time for LensCrafters to lower its prices. 

LensCrafters’ staff actually needs proper training because most of them can not answer a basic optical question at all. They do not know how progressive lenses work. There are many more basic aspects of lenses that should be acquired by LensCrafters’ associates. 

Executives of LensCrafters are advised to get rid of M.B.E, which is believed to be an insult towards customers. Customers should be free to shop around. Chain stores of LensCrafters should bring in better products. Currently, many products in these stores are  outdated such as Vogue. 

Other suggestions for Luxottica include offering an ensured warranty, increasing the salary of associates as well as changing the LensCrafters executives.

From: www.eyeoverheard.com

Believe it or not, the online optical stores are booming. You can see from the hot group discussions in Ira’s GlassyEyes.com. According to my rough statistics, only ZenniOptical, the biggest online eyeglasses reatiler so far, takes about 2500 pairs of orders throughout the country EVERY DAY from their website, this is almost 1% of the total consumption of all the prescription eyeglasses in US (suppose the annual total sales of 75 million pairs).

No one can say 1% of the whole country’s business is small business! I remember about a month ago, Essilor called on all the ECPs in US to embrace the new technology to let part of their business online, or there will be further headaches.

CNET’s author Rich Broida wrote about Zenni earlier this year, is this good for country’s optical industry? Rich’s article is here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-10219745-58.html

What do you think?

My thinking: being earlier aware of the matter, taking earlier action, the better!

It is reported that Abbott Laboratories is going to take another action to make an acquisition. The California-based eye-care device company named Visiogen Inc. will be sold in cash. Abbott buys Visiogen for business reasons.

Currently, the market of eye surgery devices and technology is estimated to be $20 billion in international sales every year. Abbott has clearly foreseen the potentially huge profit, so that its latest move targets at Visiogen, which specializes in developing vision devices for cataracts patients.

As the executive vice president of Abbott’s medical devices business, John Capek also expresses good confidence in this acquisition that Visiogen’s accommodating lens technology used to treat cataracts will improve Abbott’s ability in treating refractive visual errors. With Abbot’s new products, ophthalmologists can offer a wider variety of refractive options for their patients.

In fact, this is not the only acquisitive action in Abbott. The firm has just acquired Advanced Medical Optics earlier this year, which is a firm manufacturing eye surgery care equipments. This earlier acquisition directly cost Abbott more than $ 1.3 billion. Within such a short period after a great acquisition, Abbott is now planning to purchase Visiogen.

All of these moves show Abbott’s long-term view and confidence in the vision care and technology industry. The promising company aims at improving the living standards of the millions in the world by creating and innovating visual technologies.

Asos Chicos

Sept, 9, 2009, Wednesday, Coastal Contacts Inc. (COA, TSX), an online retailer of contact lenses and optical eyeglasses, announces an increase in net profit for Q 3, 15% growth in revenues which mainly can be attributed to the quick growth of eyeglasses. Coastal Contacts started to sell optical eyeglasses from early 2008, and has witnessed great growth in this area.

Though enjoyed by the positive growth both in revenue and net earnings, the whole situation of Coastal Contacts is still not ideal. In the third quarter, this Vancouver-based company posted net earning of C$603,000 (foreign exchange gains at C$252,000 in this quarter), and the total revenue of C$37.51 million, with a net profit rate only at 1.6%, which is below industry everage.

Coastal Contacts spent in advertising C$5.04 million in third quarter, which is 26% more than that of last quarter. The company’s ads can be seen from the Google AdWords and AdSense, to the public transit systems around the selective cities in North America.

One exciting news is that COA is experiencing quick growth of eyeglasses sales to the contact wearers. In July, this Canadian company reached C$ 1 million of sales for the eyeglasses, which is the first time to reach this number, and is a milestone in its history. Most of the contacts wearers will mostly buy the relatively cheaper eyeglasses for back up, for the use of a short period of time at home mostly.

In Canada, Coastal Contacts runs its online business under the name ClearlyContacts.ca. Coastal Contacts is the first and the only company which is listed public in the area of online optical store.