Warby Face Scan -

[optimensch]

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/07/ipho...d-glasses.html

So youre having your face scanned at 6 am while checking your whatsapp for messages from someone you probably shouldnt be chatting with and in steps warby parker suggesting frames for you based on the guilty-looking expression it detected....

How about if the iphone scans your bank account and warby can suggest frames based on your bank balance too?

Or scan your dresser for what you already own and suggest frames based on that?

Why on earth do you want your face scanned and allow apple and warby to own your biometrics and share with other wall street bankers?

Why does CNBC simply act nonstop as Warby Parker's PR department?

[King of the Lab]

Fyi

[lensmanmd]

Fyi

[Chris Ryser]

Warby Parker's new iPhone X app tries to scan your face to recommend glasses -- here's how it works

Another step forward for the online opticals. Soon all the others will offer the same thing.

Next step will be the same app to take and read out the PD.............wont be long.

[optimensch]

That is true, Chris. Not sure when but it is for sure coming.
Of course we b/m retailers will have access to all the same technology which can and will be deployed in mom and pops over time. Given that we can refract-prescribe-edge/mount-adjust-deliver right on the spot at equally competitive prices for the whole bundle (or cheaper than online) - a thing I do on a daily basis - as well as manage medical issues and fit and deliver contacts - we really do have a massive competitive advantage which is being under-leveraged by so many in our industry.

[Chris Ryser]

That is true, Chris. Not sure when but it is for sure coming.

Of course we b/m retailers will have access to all the same technology which can and will be deployed in mom and pops over time. Given that we can refract-prescribe-edge/mount-adjust-deliver right on the spot at equally competitive prices for the whole bundle (or cheaper than online) - a thing I do on a daily basis - as well as manage medical issues and fit and deliver contacts - we really do have a massive competitive advantage which is being under-leveraged by so many in our industry.

1) will be deployed in mom and pops over time.

.................so far the online opticals are active, and have passed the learning curve for just about 10 years.

How long will it take the conventional retail BM store to adapt, cut cost, do yourself, instead of ordering all the goodies finished cooked and ready to eat. Just like it was in the mid 80s.

2) we really do have a massive competitive advantage

So far I still have not seen any visible sign of it.

The monster merger, being most probably accepted by February 2018 (in 3 month from now), will start a worldwide commercial revolution in the optical retail sector, from vision testing to finished eyeglasses.

[optimensch]

Chris
With access to the same stock lenses and an incredible array of product at every price point imaginable - FACTORY DIRECT IN CHINA - at basically the cost as any chain or web player - any independent with a little game can go to MIDO or SILMO or HK trade show and load up on the right amount of product - the minimums are no longer astronomical or beyond the reach of even a smaller retailer. With an in-house edger and a little imagination it really is not difficult to compete at basically any price point, and to offer a much wider selection of service and product than most on liners.
The access to factories is not only for conumers Chris - even little retailers can buy direct and save huge $$$.
Knowing how to control the process, edge, mount and offer on site service - not being lazy and going to the shows and getting an education - really this is not that difficult.
We are busy and 100% of my clients have smart phones and massive data plans. Believe it or not we even sell to millenials!

[Chris Ryser]

Optimensch........................Thank you for the fast response

I have been aware of all you just said, and have followed the trend for years.

You are totally right of what you are doing as per your post. You have to counteract the trend with a good solutions, and you have found one that works.

The situation will be changing even more as soon as the big merger will become a present fact in three month from now.

[optimensch]

Besides Chris, it occurs to me you are a proponent of selling goods at very low or no markup and charging for service - that is exactly what we are trying to accomplish! But it is impossible to run an optometry practice on government-funded RAMQ fees. Impossible.

[Chris Ryser]

Besides Chris, it occurs to me you are a proponent of selling goods at very low or no markup and charging for service - that is exactly what we are trying to accomplish! But it is impossible to run an optometry practice on government-funded RAMQ fees. Impossible.

Optimensch...........Yes I a proponent for a service charge, but not on the refraction part set by the government.

A service charge discounted sales is your decision. you can set it as high as you want and a low as you have to.

If you do purchase frames in the Orient as you posted, you can afford a hefty service charge and still be less expensive than any competition.

It all has to do with your cost factor.

[optimensch]

"Yes I a proponent for a service charge, but not on the refraction part set by the government"
The government only decides what they are willing to pay for an optometric exam, not what an optometrist can charge. Because this no longer makes sense for many or most optometrists, by simply pulling out of the government-funded system and going fully private, we can set our prices based on real economics and not fairy tales from Quebec City.
I think you will agree the free market approach is the best !

[Chris Ryser]

The government only decides what they are willing to pay for an optometric exam, not what an optometrist can charge. Because this no longer makes sense for many or most optometrists, by simply pulling out of the government-funded system and going fully private, we can set our prices based on real economics and not fairy tales from Quebec City.
I think you will agree the free market approach is the best !

Here is the test market ...........................

Essilor project turns youth into optometricians for basic eye-care

HYDERABAD, OCTOBER 4:

‘Eye Mitras or technicians trained in the basics of eye-care promise to bring a visible change to the vision capabilities of the rural poor.

About 3,300 Eye Mitras are now operating in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. The target is to create an army of 10,000 such technicians by 2020 in the country.

The ambitious project is driven by Essilor, the 170-year-old global eye-care company under its 2.5 NVG (New Vision Generation) programme.

Launched in 2013, the project began with data from Boston Consulting Group that 4.5 billion out of the 7.2 billion global population then required vision correction.

Essilor decided to address the concerns of the affected 90 per cent of whom reside in developing nations, especially India, China and the poorer Asian and African countries. Of these, the majority were concentrated in rural areas. The multinational took up a strategy of mass screening, training of rural youth, providing basic toolkits and facilitating the creation of Eye Mitras.

source:
https://www.optiboard.com/forums/sho...basic-eye-care

[Kwill212]

[/SIZE][/FONT][/h]Another step forward for the online opticals. Soon all the others will offer the same thing.

Next step will be the same app to take and read out the PD.............wont be long.

The sky sure has been falling for a long time now......

[ThatOneGuy]

The sky sure has been falling for a long time now......

+1

It gets old that every time I check to see what is new on here, it is a new "problem" for the independent optician or optom.

Here's the deal, folks. You go in to business based on a business plan. You look at your regional demographics and economics, decide if you have a product and/or service you can provide at a profit, and if you want to invest your time and money in to doing so.

If you opt to go in to business, understand that most businesses fail. They fail for a variety of reasons, but most of which have to do with lack of experience, knowledge, or understanding of business. They fail because they choose to stand by their way of doing things, rather than standing by delivering to a market. You can try and sell your $100k house for $1million because that is what it is worth in California, but don't be upset if nobody is willing to pay that much for it...because it is only a $100k house where you live. Some practices try to sell "eyewear" at a "competitive" price, but offer too many options to too small of a market and can't figure out why they are bankrupt. Other practices try to sell premium product without knowing how to articulate why it is premium, so their patients go to competitors who sell discount product.

If you are a private practice, offering medical care, great eyewear, etc., but some of your patients shop online, it is no different than 30 years ago when patients went to chain retailors. Guess what?? Everyone is still in business!!! Online retailors are a growing percentage of the market, but they are a growing percentage of a GROWING market!!

Quit panicking. Take a deep breath. Take care of your patients.

If a new technology appears that does a BETTER job, then implement it. Otherwise, if a technology shows up that can do stuff, but doesn't do anything better, then ignore it. It will go away.

Remember how so many people think that Free Form lenses aren't better, because they buy the same junk product they've always used, but Free Form?? It's the same type of thing. Walmart lenses are still Walmart lenses, with all of the same weaknesses they've always had. True, they offer better produced versions of the same poor designs, but they are still poor designs. People that followed and understood the designs and implementation of product saw key winners in the Free Form market, and now have years more experience than others delivering state of the art technologies to discerning consumers.

Finally, remember that budget product ("I can't survive on government fee for service") is not a sustainable market. Most online retailors make money in the stock market, not by delivering profitable product. They can not sustain themselves. As professionals, study and learn your industry and market, then apply your knowledge. Teach your consumers what it is you do, and they'll tell you if you do it better or not. If not, then fix the problem!

[Chris Ryser]

+1

It gets old that every time I check to see what is new on here, it is a new "problem" for the independent optician or optom.


If you are a private practice, offering medical care, great eyewear, etc., but some of your patients shop online, it is no different than 30 years ago when patients went to chain retailors. Guess what?? Everyone is still in business!!!

Online retailors are a growing percentage of the market, but they are a growing percentage of a GROWING market!!


Finally, remember that budget product ("I can't survive on government fee for service") is not a sustainable market. Most online retailors make money in the stock market, not by delivering profitable product. They can not sustain themselves. As professionals, study and learn your industry and market, then apply your knowledge. Teach your consumers what it is you do, and they'll tell you if you do it better or not. If not, then fix the problem!

The world is changing faster and faster and similar to above arguments were made by many over the years. Online opticals were all going to drop dead soon, until until the first 2 big ones got sold to Essilor for hundreds of million $ s, and more have been added for real big fleet.

The corporate world is banking on it. Even fresh food supplies are now going onto the web.

[ThatOneGuy]

The world is changing faster and faster and similar to above arguments were made by many over the years. Online opticals were all going to drop dead soon, until until the first 2 big ones got sold to Essilor for hundreds of million $ s, and more have been added for real big fleet.

The corporate world is banking on it. Even fresh food supplies are now going onto the web.

Fresh food shipping has been around for more than a decade. Every company flops.

Warby Parker has yet to make a dollar of profit. They may be getting people to buy like crazy, but not in a way that makes them money. When Essilor buys up these online retailors, they do so at their own risk. It bleeds Essilor of profit. The only benefit to the online world is that if it does manage to figure out how to turn a profit, then they will have years of experience in that market.

This is much like the housing bubble. The online retailors are over valued, and when the bubble bursts, a lot of people will lose a lot of money. In the meantime, if they continue to hurt the independent eye care provider, there will be nobody left to turn to for eye care when the bubble bursts.

[Chris Ryser]

Fresh food shipping has been around for more than a decade. Every company flops.

Question: Do you actually believe that a AMAZON that has just entered the online food market will fail. These people have enough resources to study a market situation properly before making multi million Dollars investments.

Warby Parker has yet to make a dollar of profit. They may be getting people to buy like crazy, but not in a way that makes them money. When Essilor buys up these online retailors, they do so at their own risk. It bleeds Essilor of profit. The only benefit to the online world is that if it does manage to figure out how to turn a profit, then they will have years of experience in that market.

Essilor is one company that plans and studies market situations and prognostics down to the nitty gritties, and have always done so.

Whatever they do has been planned properly, and has become successful, that's why they are the largest optical corporation on this planet and will be for a long time after the merger with Lux is approved in February/March.

They have been a profitable company forever, if you care to look at their financial statements. They know what they are doing.

[/QUOTE]

This is much like the housing bubble. The online retailors are over valued, and when the bubble bursts, a lot of people will lose a lot of money. In the meantime, if they continue to hurt the independent eye care provider, there will be nobody left to turn to for eye care when the bubble bursts.

The bubble will not burst, they own already a good percentage of all online opticals, and after the merger, will probably be the majority owners of the most important optical onliners.

There will always be a market for opticians that have the proper education and knowdledge, and supply top quality products, but there will be a lot that will also fade away.