Internet retail presents both an opportunity and a threat to ECPs,

[Chris Ryser]

A interesting article that should be read: Here are some excerpts :
Ownership and Opportunity: Who’s squeezing who in optical retail?

By Paddy Kamen

Many players are vying for a piece of optical retail as the ownership and opportunity landscape continues to change.

In the past 20 years Canadians have seen huge changes in the overall retail landscape. Department stores that were once institutions, like Eaton’s, have disappeared, and The Bay (a.k.a. The Hudson’s Bay Company) with its iconographic Canadian symbols, is now U.S.-owned. Walmart dominates most communities of any size, while independent hardware, drug and bookstores are becoming a thing of the past. Chain stores dominate most sectors. Then there’s Internet shopping, with Amazon doing so well that they’re looking into creating drones to deliver parcels more efficiently than mail and courier services. It’s a brave new world, indeed.

Optical retail has not escaped these changes, although it is perhaps behind the trends rather than leading them. This article analyzes the current optical retail landscape and muses about the future. We ask: what types of ownership and partnership structures currently exist? Where is the growth? Are independents on their way out? How do consolidation and vertical integration affect other players? How will Internet retail shake out? And what does all this structural change mean for eyecare professionals, especially new graduates from opticianry and optometry programs?


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http://www.envisionmagazine.ca/featu...optical-retail

[Lab Insight]

A interesting article that should be read: Here are some excerpts :
Ownership and Opportunity: Who’s squeezing who in optical retail?

By Paddy Kamen

Many players are vying for a piece of optical retail as the ownership and opportunity landscape continues to change.

In the past 20 years Canadians have seen huge changes in the overall retail landscape. Department stores that were once institutions, like Eaton’s, have disappeared, and The Bay (a.k.a. The Hudson’s Bay Company) with its iconographic Canadian symbols, is now U.S.-owned. Walmart dominates most communities of any size, while independent hardware, drug and bookstores are becoming a thing of the past. Chain stores dominate most sectors. Then there’s Internet shopping, with Amazon doing so well that they’re looking into creating drones to deliver parcels more efficiently than mail and courier services. It’s a brave new world, indeed.

Optical retail has not escaped these changes, although it is perhaps behind the trends rather than leading them. This article analyzes the current optical retail landscape and muses about the future. We ask: what types of ownership and partnership structures currently exist? Where is the growth? Are independents on their way out? How do consolidation and vertical integration affect other players? How will Internet retail shake out? And what does all this structural change mean for eyecare professionals, especially new graduates from opticianry and optometry programs?


continue ==============>

http://www.envisionmagazine.ca/featu...optical-retail

In my opinion, FYI has already jumped the shark. I've spoken with many OD's that have taken the leap with FYI and most are not happy after the honeymoon phase has ended.

FYI owns Eyence, their own optical lab in BC. All jobs must be processed there and the turn around is about 3 weeks on average. So whatever a practice is gaining through branding and efficiency by being acquired by FYI only gets eroded at the service level which is the most important aspect of a practice in a patient's/consumer's view.

Also, the private shares they disperse to recently acquired owners are only exchangeable within other FYI members and cannot be traded on a stock exchange like public shares. So one can find themselves trapped in an undesirable situation potentially if and when they retire or decide to opt out.

As for Essilor, they continue to spin the Coastal acquisition to ECP's like it's a good thing for brick and mortar's? Really??? Simply put, they're continuing to do damage control and trying their best to retain their market share but many independents continue to see through it and are now jumping to other labs as their main suppliers and rightfully so.

Evidence of them realizing this acquisition was possibly a huge mistake is the development of the advisory panel listed below in the quote from the article. Do they not realize that Coastal is the foe of B&M? Seems very contradictory and obverse to me mixed with a side regret, of oh crap, what have we done?

"Tersigni has taken the step of introducing leaders in optometry and opticianry to Coastal’s management in order to create understanding and defuse potential points of conflict. He is also creating an advisory panel to help determine a path forward."