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
Bookmarks