These look kind of interesting.
http://nikon-lenswear.com/products/e...eries/digilife
http://petapixel.com/2010/05/31/hoya...pany-failures/
According to Hoya founder Shigeru Yamanaka’s grandson, Yutaka Yamanaka, Hoya’s acquisition of Pentax may not have been the best business move. The younger Yamanaka said the $1 billion acquisition in 2007 was made mostly to expand Hoya’s involvement in medical optics, but turned out to be “overpriced.” Yamanaka, a Hoya shareholder, went so far as to say it was one of Hoya’s business “failures” which led to financial turbulence over the last three years until Pentax turned profitable
join a buying group and get an instant 25% discount on the Nikon stuff....for us nikon has been superb, great products and VERY durable. The consumer lovers the brand too
there will be more competition in lab/lens suppliers soon, I believe.
I tried a couple of pairs of HD progressives from a Chinese factory a couple of years ago. They performed very well though the AR was a bit too yellow for my taste. My test subjects (staff in the store) like the lenses a lot. Only problem was logistics/shipping costs. For a small operator like me it was a bit daunting. Well this factory is relentless and they are coming to Canada next week to meet me and to drum up clients here. I am sure they are not here to waste time and have a shipping solution that makes sense.
I will report back on how it goes...
I have a supply/distribution network already in place and still get emails almost daily from the Asian companies. You may be correct - however the only downfall is the shipping costs, logistics and lack of local support. If they can put that piece in place - look out major companies.
Good point. But I am not sure there is an asian lab, all surfacing coating etc.. in china, shipped direct to opticals in Canada. There needs to be a way either UPS or some other courier could do a consolidated ship to canada for the lab and get these to your door for pretty cheap. I was dealing direct so the shipping was too high, but with a few clients, and consolidated ship, it should not be difficult.
Pay the lab by paypal or some other online mechanism. The savings should be very significant.
I don't know if anyone is doing this right now on a wide scale. The ones who are don't seem to be passing on the savings to us little ECPs if they are, and a Chinese Lab could do so. We'll see.
I know of a few that are doing exactly that.
They consolidate shipping to Canada from all over Asia and distribute from here. They save on labor, and I assume, declare little to no profit in Canada saving even more in taxes. They pass the savings on to you.
Every major lens supplier in Canada and the US is doing this.
Thanks for taking jobs away from Canadians. You don't make money buying lenses, you make money selling them. Do a better job of selling the best that you can buy, and you'll be much more successful than giving your money to the Chinese for cheap eyeglasses that can be made by your local, independent (non-Essilor, -Zeiss, -Hoya) laboratory. They are still out there. I say independent labs because when you do biz with the others, especially Essilor, there's a very good chance they are being made in Mexico or China and not across the street by Canadians.
Respectfully, I disagree.
Besides, there is no way we could avoid using Nikon, Essilor, Hoya, Zeiss or the few good independents we use entirely. We're talking a % of purchases which could be directed to China.
It is important to adapt to the changes or you die on the vine. It's about having access to the widest range of products AND prices possible. Essilor sells branded and very good lenses to Costco which Costco sells to the public BELOW your COST.
I am concerned about the jobs of Canadians, but I'm even more concerned about MY job.
Respectful disagreement is what's great about the forum, and I am always anxious to hear others' motivations about how they conduct their business. And you are right, it is important to adapt to changes, which is why I endorse the independent laboratory of your choice. You can stop feeding the beast that is Essilor (lenses, Transitions, equipment, FramesDirect.com, lab supplies, labs, sunglasses, etc. etc....) and develop, market, and enhance your own brands. How many of your patients/customers come in the door and ask for lenses by brand. Perhaps Transitions and Nikon, but not so much beyond that I'll bet.
I'm curious to know why you want to do business with China and what products/services they offer you that make it so attractive over buying local, and what they are offering that it means saving your job.
For clarity, i dont currently do lens business in china. I tried it and found it to be too much trouble due to logistics. But this same china supplier is coming to visit and im guessing they have a plan to make logistics and shipping more simple. Their product was good at the time. So well see what they are offering. I think it would be useful for us to have access to good lenses at a lower price point in addition to (not instead of) the suppliers we use now. The more access we have to global supply and pricing the better.
I found myself almost obsessed with my cost of goods for a while. I think it was the idea that my big competitors (BBox, online, chains) were getting way better pricing, maybe they are? however after a period of time I concluded I have got good prices (I average about 30% off list) and was putting too much effort into still trying to save a few bucks.
I re channeled this effort into growing topline sales selling higher quality products (at higher cost of goods) and the bottom line looks way better now! Service levels are higher than they have ever been and training is happening on a regular basis.
Without seeing the packaging how would you know it's not an Essilor lens? Unless you work there and know they aren't using Essilor lenses, you can't "shop" there and know what you're getting. Costco, as do others, can private label Essilor lenses. Don't assume since they aren't promoting Crizal or other brands that that isn't what they are using.
My understanding - from someone that worked there about 1.5 years ago - is that Costco uses Essilor lenses and coatings made up in their own centralized lab, and that they often tell customers they are "Crizal lenses", whatever that is suppose to mean. (On that note, I've had people come in and ask if we carried "real Crizal lenses", or if we just used the fake ones that only had a Criz coating on them... hard to answer that question succinctly;). If that's the understanding people are gaining from Essilor's Weather Channel ad blitz, then they need to adjust their marketing a wee bit).
someone here said it already, given all the advertising essilor and others pump out, a surprisingly small number of clients ask for a lens by name. occasionally, but really it is a small number.
Clients are coming because you have a good reputation and hopefully to fit them and sell them the right product at the right price. We, the ECPs are the "brand", more than we think. Most of the time.
+1. Never sell yourself short. Those big box and chain retailers can only land one type of consumer - the price driven one. For the majority of consumers, they will pay a little more for expert, personalized service.
Let the giants fight it out for it shall take them 3-5 times the consumers profit to match your 1. Now who's laughing?
Last edited by HindSight2020; 11-26-2013 at 07:24 AM.
I have learned years ago that getting small parcels from China and other places in the far East is as inexpensive or even cheaper as sending UPS and Fedex in the USA and Canada. It does not work both ways but only FAR East to the American Continent.
Check it out at: --------------> http://www.ems.com.cn/english.html
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