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Hot List: November 2008

1 WHAT SHOPPERS WANT

These are the top 10 attributes that consumers look for in apparel and accessories retailers, according to an NPD Group/Retail Landscape study.

1. Has the latest trend
2. Has high-quality products
3. Has brand names you want
4. Has a broad selection
5. Has a full range of services
6. Has knowledgeable salespeople
7. Has salespeople who can recommend
8. Offers good value for the money
9. Is easy to shop
10. Has a lot of sales or special deals

Vision Expo West Wrap-Up

Vision Expo West weathered a season marked by financial concerns with a successful show that remained solid in terms of its attendance this year, and on par with its 2007 attendance of 12,816 eyecare professionals. The show's 20th anniversary was a positive indicator that people are still doing business, regardless of the drama in the stock market.

"Our preregistration numbers for the show were strong despite the state of the economy," said Deb Malakoff Castor, vice president of shows for The Vision Council. "We feel our extensive preshow marketing helped to deliver our base of attendees and are pleased with the turnout and the amount of business conducted at the show."

"We're very pleased with the turnout of the show," said Tom Loughran, event director for Reed Exhibitions. "Las Vegas is a great venue for our event offering us the space we need in a town that is easy for exhibitors and attendees to get around. We look forward to continuing our success in Las Vegas where we have show dates through 2015."

The next International Vision Expo event will run in New York City with continuing education running March 26 to 29, 2009 and the exhibit hall open March 27 to 29, 2009 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. For more information, visit www.visionexpoeast.com.

1. Pixel Optics' Clay Musslewhite (l.) and Bill Spies at the company's launch event;

2. Shamir Insight's Matt Lytle details the press on Shamir's latest products and programs;

3. The Vision Council's Ed Greene and Greg Chavez chat with David Friedfeld of ClearVision at ClearVision's Asian-themed party at Tao;

4. Essilor's John Carrier, Carl Bracy, and Howard Purcell, OD (l. to r.), host a press luncheon;

5. Panelists in the Frame Buyer Certificate Program's Retail Merchandising course: Brad Childs, Eyetique; Bev Little, Harrah's; Travis Reed, IADT; Gai Gherardi, l.a.eyeworks;

6. Attending the National Academy of Opticianry's annual meeting are (l. to r.): Danne Ventura, Ed Wnuczek, and Gayle Wilson;

7. (l to r) Alessandro Borzino, Christine Camsuzuo, and Brian Putos, all of Intercast, display the company's latest lens products at a press breakfast;

8. A shopping diva was one of several lifestyle models in the Specialty Lens Corporation polarized eyewear fashion show;

9. Spotlighting the Love Special Edition Collection for Valentine's Day 2009 at the Daniel Swarovski Crystal Eyewear fashion show;

10. Panelists: (standing) opticians Drake McLean, (sitting l to r) Diane Charles, Jack Gunion, and Patti Galko interact with the audience after "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Employer Incentives" panel;

11. President of the Vision Council's Eyewear and Accessories division Jamie Shyer, (l) with attorney Jeff Endres talk about the groups' work on the issue of lead in eyewear;

12. Essilor's Mike and Kathy Daley at Mike's retirement party;

13. REM Eyewear's Mike Hundert (l) greets guests at the company's annual cocktail party after the first day of Vision Expo West;

14. (l to r) Joe Santinelli, Gerard Santinelli, John Carrier, Steve Santinelli, and Bill Gerber contributed to EyeRock with dynamite percussion and MC duties;

15. A select group of eyecare practitioners headed up to The Suites for the Marcolin reception;

16. Luxottica's Pierre Fay, Jan Cory, and Vittorio Verdun (l to r) relax and help Oliver Peoples celebrate its 20th anniversary during a party at Tao on the Beach;

17. The Optical Women's Association held a Professional Optical Women's Workshop (POWW) event focusing on communications strategies. Here, two participants, Rebecca Johnson (l) and Valerie Manso;

18. The fashion show at Safilo's booth featured a wide variety of the latest looks from New York Fashion Week participants such as Marc Jacobs along with the frame manufacturer's coordinating licensed eyewear lines for the season;

19. Marchon wrapped up its Silver anniversary year with its annual blowout at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino;

20. PixelOptics executives, Bill Spies, Robin Rhodes, and Ron Blum, OD introduce lens technology at the company's launch party.

Vision Council News

In response to the recently passed Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the Vision Council has released voluntary lead guidelines to its members. The guidelines were developed as an informative document to help optical manufacturers understand and comply with federal regulations on lead.

The law significantly reduces the amount of lead allowable in toys and products manufactured for children age 12 and under. The guide provides optical manufacturers with information to help them assess the appropriate course of action to comply.

In other news, according to a new report issued by The Vision Council, "Vision Care: Focusing on the Workplace Benefit," two-thirds of Americans say they would be more willing to get an eye exam if they had some coverage, yet only 17 percent of employers report offering vision insurance. Vision benefits lag behind health and dental benefits, with as many as 44 percent of employers offering dental coverage.

"As the second most prevalent health condition in the country, vision disorders affect individuals and businesses, making vision coverage an important benefit for both groups," said Ed Greene, chief executive officer for The Vision Council.

With 11 million Americans living with an uncorrected vision problem, the expense to businesses can also be severe. According to the report, the annual financial burden to the U.S. economy of major adult vision disorders exceeds $35 billion, including an estimated $8 billion in lost productivity.

Employers are increasingly forced to pass along some of the cost of health insurance to employees. Offering vision coverage can help employers enhance their benefits package at a relatively low cost. Such coverage typically costs one-tenth that of medical benefits. Visit www.thevisioncouncil.org/consumers to learn more about vision benefits.

Novartis

Completes First Step in Full Alcon Acquisition

Novartis has acquired a 25 percent stake in Alcon, Inc., as part of a definitive agreement with Nestlé S.A. reached in April 2008 that provides the right to acquire majority ownership of the eyecare company in two steps.

The first step was completed on July 7 when Novartis purchased the Alcon stake from Nestlé for approximately $10.4 billion in cash. The second step provides rights for Novartis to acquire, and Nestlé to sell, the remaining 52 percent stake held by Nestlé between January 2010 and July 2011 for a price not exceeding approximately $28 billion.

Completion of the second step would make Alcon a majority-owned subsidiary of Novartis, strengthening a portfolio focused on growth areas of healthcare. Alcon offers a wide range of pharmaceutical, surgical, and consumer eyecare products.

SoloHealth Introduces EyeSite Vision Kiosk

SoloHealth, an early stage company based in Atlanta, is capitalizing on the growing consumer preference for self-directed health care services with its inaugural product, EyeSite, a self-service vision test kiosk.

The EyeSite kiosk provides vision health information and a customized vision report. Incorporating interactive optical software that assesses near and far vision, the user-friendly experience offers a free assessment of the user's vision, giving them information about common eye health conditions and referring them to nearby ECPs.

As of September 2008, over 20,000 vision tests were conducted, and over 80 percent of the tested consumers were directed to ECPs. Twenty-five percent had never had an eye examination, 66 percent did not have vision insurance, and 50 percent failed the near vision test, with 74 percent passing the distance test.

EyeSite kiosks are being tested with both chain and independent practitioners in multiple locations throughout Metro Atlanta, including major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco, Walgreens, and large malls. Other EyeSite kiosks are currently located at select retailers in Arkansas and New York. Additional locations are coming soon.

Organizations supporting SoloHealth's goals include Prevent Blindness America, Prevent Blindness Georgia, and The Vision Council. Industry partners include CIBA Vision, Eyemaginations, Alcon, VSP, and Transitions.

VSP Personnel Shifts

VSP's laboratory division president Bill Connor will retire on December 31, 2008. Following his retirement, Don Oakley has been named president of ophthalmic operations, which will oversee VSP's laboratory division. Gary Brooks has been named president of VSP's managed care division, Jim McGrann has been named president of practice solutions, and Al Berg remains president and CEO of Marchon Eyewear, Inc., following VSP's acquisition of Marchon.

Unique Industry Information Portal Debuts

Eyedoctordirect.com, an internet portal offering a variety of information and services for all ECPs, recently debuted at International Vision Expo West.

Developed by two optical industry veterans, Christopher Schultz and Eric A. Rangel, the site strives to change the way eyecare professionals do business by offering a one-stop information portal for the fragmented optical community.

Removing geographic limitations, the website features a proprietary search engine allowing ECPs to enter the parameters of the patient's prescription and instantly have multiple choices of labs and prices.

The site additionally features a doctor's discussion forum, an Ask the Expert section, a glossary of optical terms, an event section with zip code and national searches and links, a classified section, a lab-hosted technical section, and educational materials.

Shortly, Eyedoctordirect.com plans to add a frames product and pricing section and a social section for those in the optical industry.

OLA Names Honorees

OLA Optical Laboratories Association has named 12 individuals to be inducted into the OLA Hall of Fame for 2008. The industry veterans were to be honored at the 9th annual OLA Hall of Fame Banquet, in Nashville, Tenn., on the opening day of The OLA 2008 Annual Meeting.

The 2008 Hall of Fame Honorees are:

Donna Benedict
Al de Rojas
Ray Knoll
Steve Sutherlin
Gerald Ward
Bruce Calhoun
Susan Crawley
Don Ruden
Art Waite

In addition, posthumous recognition is going to:

John Payne
George Weber
Irving Rips

The OLA Hall of Fame began as The Optical Pioneers in 2000, for the purpose of "recognizing the contributions of those who participated in the establishment of the wholesale optical industry in its founding years."

Over time, the recognition has progressed to persons from any era and any part of the optical lab industry, and thus the name was changed to the Hall of Fame.

STAR Gazers

1. British beauty Kate Beckinsale has starred in numerous popular movies, including such headliners as "Van Helsing," "The Aviator," and "Click." In her next movie, "Nothing but the Truth," she's featured alongside Alan Alda and Angela Bassett. Beckinsale has plenty of brains to go with her beauty, having studied French and Russian literature at Oxford. Here, she wears Michael Kors style St. Tropez by Marchon. 2. Anne Hathaway seems to have put her "Princess Diaries" days behind her, moving on to such recent films as "Get Smart" and "Rachel Getting Married," and hosting "Saturday Night Live." Here, she's seen in the Jee Vice style Red Hot. 3. Actress and trained opera singer Kristin Chenowith is enjoying success as Olive on ABC's "Pushing Daisies," and is also starring in the new film "Four Christmases" along with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn. She donned Carerra style Cup by Safilo at the Emmy's Style Lounge. 4. Father of six Brad Pitt's next movie, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," is set to hit theaters next month. Lately, Pitt has been keeping busy with his family, including twins Knox and Vivienne, born in July. He was recently spotted in Marseille, France wearing Badgley Mischka style "Boyd" by Sama. 5. Celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe is enjoying a new level of stardom with her reality television show "The Rachel Zoe Project" on the Bravo network. The Yonkers, N.Y. native, seen here in Derek Lam style Gemma by Modo, has had such famous Hollywood clients as Cameron Diaz, Keira Knightley, and Jennifer Garner, just to name a few.

Vision Expo West Prize WINNERS

Honors and prizes were on tap at International Vision Expo West. The newly released "Spinners" collection by Ogi frames was selected as the best new product at Vision Expo West 2008 (shown above). In addition, $60,000 worth of prizes were awarded to eyecare professionals attending Vision Expo West.

Tracy Nguyen, lab manager for Sue Optical in Costa Mesa, Calif., won the grand prize of a two-year lease on a Toyota Prius plus one year of gas.

Other prize winners include:

■ Katie Moore, licensed optician for Family Optical Centre in Rockland, Ill.: trip for two to the 2009 Superbowl.

■ Brian Vanarsdale, practice manager for Dr. Donald Vanarsdale in Chattanooga, Tenn.: trip for two to the 2009 Masters.

■ Michael Conte, OD, of Lake Worth Vision Source in Fort Worth, Texas: trip for two to Cabo San Lucas.

Show floor spending sprees for $1000 were awarded to Stephen Chin, OD, of Encinitas, Calif.; Marianne D'Amica, buyer for Europtics, Inc., in Las Vegas; Karen Luedtke, buyer for J&K Sunglass Creations in Watertown, Minn.; Rebecca Selman, buyer for Sandia Vision Clinic in Albuquerque, N.M.; and David Witherspoon, OD, of Rogers, Ariz.

In addition, a $5000 shopping spree was awarded to Charlie Orr, an optician for Christie Optical, Inc., in Houston. Twenty show attendees also won their choice of an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch.