What progressives do costco and Walmart Use ?

[rdcoach5]

What are their standard progressives and can they get pretty much any lens ? Pricing not as good for non-standard ?

[sharpstick777]

Costco uses mostly the Ovation, except they were using in Transistions the Natural. It will vary depending on what deals they get, and areas, and material. They are experimenting with hybrid Free-form in 7 stores though, testing some different designs, so that could change in the near future.

[jefe]

They use the SmallFit, too -- mostly or all poly.

[mike.elmes]

In canada they are using the accolade freedom as well as smallfit and ovation

[Chris Ryser]

These large corporation employ scientific marketing methods for selling as well as purchasing.

You limit the choice of products of the same type, purchased and sold, to an absolute minimum, you can attain a better volume in purchasing and command the best price and discounts from your suppliers.

...............and when selling you can beat the selling price of your competition by far and still make good money. Furthermore your employees will gain special knowdlege and expirience in selling a limited amount of the same type product.

[rdcoach5]

These large corporation employ scientific marketing methods for selling as well as purchasing.

You limit the choice of products of the same type, purchased and sold, to an absolute minimum, you can attain a better volume in purchasing and command the best price and discounts from your suppliers.

...............and when selling you can beat the selling price of your competition by far and still make good money. Furthermore your employees will gain special knowdlege and expirience in selling a limited amount of the same type product.

If someone requests to duplicate their old progressive and it is, say, an Individual 2 or other top free-form, can they get it and what about the pricing?

[blindboy]

These large corporation employ scientific marketing methods for selling as well as purchasing.

You limit the choice of products of the same type, purchased and sold, to an absolute minimum, you can attain a better volume in purchasing and command the best price and discounts from your suppliers.

...............and when selling you can beat the selling price of your competition by far and still make good money. Furthermore your employees will gain special knowdlege and expirience in selling a limited amount of the same type product.

Great points, Chris. And there's nothing wrong with a NOT large corporation employing the same techniques - with the same (but scaled) results!

[sharpstick777]

They use the SmallFit, too -- mostly or all poly.

True, i did see one or two here. forgot about that.

[Chris Ryser]

Great points, Chris. And there's nothing wrong with a NOT large corporation employing the same techniques - with the same (but scaled) results!

blindboy..............Your right, also the small guy can do the same thing. Limit the choice in lenses and buy more from the same supplier get better discounts and you can lower prices and still make a bundle. The more you sell from the same kind or make the better you get at it.

There are too many progressive lenses on the market and they are all still the same basically, and your customers really don't give a hoot what make they are as long as they can see properly.

One more thing is that you as a retailer should let yourself not get brainwashed by the heavy advertising by the manufacturers, and should find good reasons to sell the products YOU choose to sell because you can sell them for less and still make a good profit.

Instead of complaining about the big players on the market one should try to do the same in a smaller environment and see that it works as well.

I would like to add that anything you can do yourself should not be done somewhere, where you have to pay for it. If you can finish a product in house you are always the winner.

[Chris Ryser]

.........................one more thing. When we go to the drug store these days we try to purchase our medications that are of a generic name, because they are cheaper while having been made from the same formula, but cost a lot less. Today verybody knows about that.

Why have I never heard of an optical retailer that calls himself "Generic Optical" making and selling generic Frames and Lenses ??????????????????

[sharpstick777]

blindboy..............Your right, also the small guy can do the same thing. Limit the choice in lenses and buy more from the same supplier get better discounts and you can lower prices and still make a bundle. The more you sell from the same kind or make the better you get at it.

There are too many progressive lenses on the market and they are all still the same basically, and your customers really don't give a hoot what make they are as long as they can see properly.

I would disagree that Progressives are all the same. There is an opportunity now to dispense with more precision, take advantage of those differences, and dispense each lens based on each lifestyle. So we can fit lenses just like we do frames, finding the perfect one for every patient.

Right now I have found 14 different basic progressive shapes/designs, 8 of which are unique to free-form, and 4 of which only launched in the last 1-2 years.

You can save a few dollars buying in bulk, are you can gain hundreds of referrals through precision dispensing. I would prefer the latter myself.

[mervinek]

I would disagree that Progressives are all the same.

+1

[HindSight2020]

If someone requests to duplicate their old progressive and it is, say, an Individual 2 or other top free-form, can they get it and what about the pricing?

Not if it's from Costco. Essilor products only.

[Rob Brown]

blindboy..............Your right, also the small guy can do the same thing. Limit the choice in lenses and buy more from the same supplier get better discounts and you can lower prices and still make a bundle. The more you sell from the same kind or make the better you get at it.

There are too many progressive lenses on the market and they are all still the same basically, and your customers really don't give a hoot what make they are as long as they can see properly.

One more thing is that you as a retailer should let yourself not get brainwashed by the heavy advertising by the manufacturers, and should find good reasons to sell the products YOU choose to sell because you can sell them for less and still make a good profit.

Instead of complaining about the big players on the market one should try to do the same in a smaller environment and see that it works as well.

I would like to add that anything you can do yourself should not be done somewhere, where you have to pay for it. If you can finish a product in house you are always the winner.

+1, and if you're an independent ECP, PM me to take advantage of this.

[Chris Ryser]

I would disagree that Progressives are all the same. ........................................


You can save a few dollars buying in bulk, are you can gain hundreds of referrals through precision dispensing. I would prefer the latter myself.

Maybe I should specify that there are some variations, however they still all contain 40% to 60 % of distortion on one of their surfaces.


So then what's the difference between the thousands Costco sells a week .....................and you can gain hundreds through precision dispensing ?

[EyeCare Rich]

Ohhh Myyy Goooooodness. Here we go again. I could also make the statement (as false as it is) that All Cars are the Same. I have to agree with Sharpstick here. While yes you are correct in the last statement Chris, that all progressives have some distortion on one of their surfaces, the level of, location of, and shape of said distortion is what makes or breaks each of the progressive designs. Why on earth would we continue to develope products if they are all the same. What I choose to fit my patient, rx, lifestyle, etc, is what makes a difference from Costco. Not saying what Costco is doing is wrong, just saying that there is better and different choice out there in the big bad diverse world.

[Chris Ryser]

Ohhh Myyy Goooooodness. Here we go again. I could also make the statement (as false as it is) that All Cars are the Same. I have to agree with Sharpstick here.

Why on earth would we continue to develope products if they are all the same.

......................Talking of cars, they are probably a good example of marketing and profitability. I have kept some of the old GM and Ford want list's they used to hand out to suppliers. In 1982 they were planning for their 1988-1999 models. Example: A rear light tinted plexi glass cover cost them $ 4.50 each in 1982, and they requested the same items (different design) for the 1988 models that should not cost more than $ 2.80. That same principle applied for all other parts and when the 1988 models hit the showrooms the price was about 40% higher than 6 years prior.

The same has happened over the years in the optical trade. Manufacturers of frames have to change models continously to satisfy the consumers taste for a new look. Lens manufacturers have to play around with re-positioning distance and reading parts on proglessive lenses
so that they can say they have a new technology, that can be sold for more money.

The real technology has not happened in the endproduct but at the manufacturing level where new equipment and machinery allowsthem to produce more, faster, better quality at a much lower cost.

So in our field the products that we are selling atthe retail end are produced for a huge difference in actual production cost andretail sales value.

When looking at manufacturers selling prices insome overseas countries where frames and lenses are made to 97%, anybody wouldsee that there is a huge difference between the manufacturing and retail level.

The Costco and WalMart have a large volume andcan purchase right at the source, sell a limited choice and still make a decentprofit. They operate their own most modern labs in every corner of thecontinent.

The optical retail should really startre-thinking the way of selling the goods, which still has its roots a hundredyears ago.

[blindboy]

The real technology has not happened in the endproduct but at the manufacturing level where new equipment and machinery allowsthem to produce more, faster, better quality at a much lower cost.

So in our field the products that we are selling atthe retail end are produced for a huge difference in actual production cost andretail sales value.

Fwiw,,,I would guess there was an investment into R&D, patents, etc...

[optimensch]

The pseudo science nonsense the lens companies spew regarding many design improvements usually smells like it comes from the marketing department more than the r&d department.

[optimensch]

ar coated transitions ovation for under $200 at costco in canada. so E makes sure to load independents with the latest "advance" product, not available at costco, but for almost double the price. And by double, I mean the WHOLESALE cost to ECP is nearly DOUBLE the RETAIL price to consumers at Costco. And of course these "advanced" products are at least twice as good and worth the difference. Of course. E said so.

[Chris Ryser]

Fwiw,,,I would guess there was an investment into R&D, patents, etc...

That is always the case, specially if it is lens designs, while many other techiques and items have simply been taken over from other industrial applications that had been used for years and the suddenly made into the optical.

I have gone the other way and have brought a product idea that was used in the optical retail forever, into the automotive industry and sell it in bulk to them for the last few years. So for them there was no R&D cost involved, it worked and they use it. In many cases you only have to adapt and change the way of handling an idea to your purposes.