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Thread: When Will We Ever Learn? Essilor Set Sights on Retail Dominance

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    When Will We Ever Learn? Essilor Set Sights on Retail Dominance

    https://business.financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/essilorluxottica-sets-sights-on-retail-dominance-with-8-bln-grandvision-deal

    WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO STOP FEEDING ESSILUX?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Golfnorth View Post
    https://business.financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/essilorluxottica-sets-sights-on-retail-dominance-with-8-bln-grandvision-deal

    WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO STOP FEEDING ESSILUX?

    It will be necessary for people in the optical field to realize they're fueling a gigantic competitor which is taking ever-increasing market share by buying their products.

    There are excellent non-Essilux alternatives in the worlds of frames, lenses, and equipment.

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    I would go as far as to say you're a disgrace of an optical professional if you buy from them

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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert_S View Post
    I would go as far as to say you're a disgrace of an optical professional if you buy from them
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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    And they are not stopping there......
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ision-purchase
    It’s so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don’t say it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Golfnorth View Post
    https://business.financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/essilorluxottica-sets-sights-on-retail-dominance-with-8-bln-grandvision-deal

    WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO STOP FEEDING ESSILUX?
    Independents are little more than a speed bump to what's now inevitable.

    Develop and work your niche position is the only solution if you ask me.

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    Master Jedi King of the Lab's Avatar
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    I carry about 70% Independent & 30% Lux products. The Lux products help me feed the part of the demographic I have, the "name brand cookies" they so desperately crave. When I'm around though, I make sure my patients are educated about why they should pay 3x more the price for an Independent, well manufactured frame. Like Fester said, find your niche, emphasize the facts, educate your patients on all things optical & separate yourselves from all the idiot optical owners selling their souls for a slice of the pie.

    Erik Zuniga, ABOC.

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    Quote Originally Posted by King of the Lab View Post
    I carry about 70% Independent & 30% Lux products. The Lux products help me feed the part of the demographic I have, the "name brand cookies" they so desperately crave. When I'm around though, I make sure my patients are educated about why they should pay 3x more the price for an Independent, well manufactured frame. Like Fester said, find your niche, emphasize the facts, educate your patients on all things optical & separate yourselves from all the idiot optical owners selling their souls for a slice of the pie.

    Truthfully now! What percent come in asking for Crizal, Varilux, Transition??? They want them no line lenses, no glare lenses, change dark when I go outside.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Uncle Fester View Post
    Independents are little more than a speed bump to what's now inevitable.

    Develop and work your niche position is the only solution if you ask me.
    Develop and work your niche position is the only solution if you ask me.[/QUOTE]

    You couldn't be more right in this statement. This is our key to survival, we used to be 100% Essilor we are less and less by the day, now we use a fraction of what we did and things are good and getting better. It is a matter of time before LC has Crizal and Varilux, it only makes smart business sense.
    Find the niche products that the big boys don't have and use better lenses and quality frames and offer outstanding customer service and we as the independent will be fine.
    They have money and political power to make more money, But we have the power to be independent not behooven to a corporate structure or buying group. We can read our patients find what they like and don't like. Take their feedback, good or bad and use it to our advantage. They cannot do that on the local level. We are opticians and eye care professionals, they staff their places with minimum wage frame stylist that work their next shift at the Orange Julius in the mall across the hall.

    (FULL DISCLAIMER, I love Orange Julius.)

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    I buy NOTHING essilor or lux..nothing!!!!!!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Uncle Fester View Post
    Independents are little more than a speed bump to what's now inevitable.

    Develop and work your niche position is the only solution if you ask me.
    I agree with you 100%. Niche should include in house processing ie. edging and FastGrind to greatly lower your lab cost and speed your delivery time. Meet or beat the expectations of your customers. May be counter intuitive but the bigger they get the more expensive there products and the slower their service. Why do you think all the discount chains are adding more and more locations and apparently prospering..... if you can believe VM extra?

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    Quote Originally Posted by EyeManDan View Post
    Develop and work your niche position is the only solution if you ask me.


    Find the niche products that the big boys don't have and use better lenses and quality frames and offer outstanding customer service and we as the independent will be fine.
    I would love you to expand your thoughts on the bolded part, the rest I have under control. That being said anyone who thinks the best varilux/shamirlux lenses aren't as, good as the best lenses out there is kidding themselves. They are awesome. But they are giving them away for free instead of lowering the price for an independent.

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    Essilor does make some great products, however their are some other products out their that each one of us individually feel is better. For example we sell nothing but Avance for Crizal ARC, Easy smudges easily, Alize is adequate and Sapphire gets way to dusty. This is from personal use and feed back from patients. But we find Nikon SeeCoat products. we find they have a better hard coat and much better warranty on their lenses so we use that whenever possible. Just little things that bug us and the patients will make the world of difference. To say that any lens company is the end all be all is and overstatement. Try some new stuff, broaden your horizons, keep you mind open and find that next great product.

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    Every single AR coat you just listed is an essilor produxt aren't they? Last time checked Nikon was an Essilor brand.



    There are actual AR lenses that are as good as Avance, especially in the last 2 years imho. There are progressives that are as good imho as well. (though PALs are obviously more personal a decision). I was more interested in the lenses yoy said were better than essilors top level stuff, I'm always on the look out for that stuff!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tallboy View Post
    Every single AR coat you just listed is an essilor produxt aren't they? Last time checked Nikon was an Essilor brand.



    There are actual AR lenses that are as good as Avance, especially in the last 2 years imho. There are progressives that are as good imho as well. (though PALs are obviously more personal a decision). I was more interested in the lenses yoy said were better than essilors top level stuff, I'm always on the look out for that stuff!
    Nikoneyes are rebranded Essilor lenses sold at Walmart. Nikon makes their own lenses and are very good, just not readily available across the US. I would say IOT camber are the best lenses I have tested, and trialed on patients.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kwill212 View Post
    Nikoneyes are rebranded Essilor lenses sold at Walmart. Nikon makes their own lenses and are very good, just not readily available across the US. I would say IOT camber are the best lenses I have tested, and trialed on patients.
    I don't know what you guys are talking about but Nikon has been 50% owned by Essilor since 2011, no reason for feeling superior or guilt free by using their lenses.

    Camber lenses are good (obviously they are just blanks so it depends on the actual design to patient acceptability).

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tallboy View Post
    I don't know what you guys are talking about but Nikon has been 50% owned by Essilor since 2011, no reason for feeling superior or guilt free by using their lenses.

    .
    I actually didn't know this somehow. I don't use Essilor or Nikon lenses so I guess I don't care. I do now that Nikoneyes lenses sold at Walmart in the US are not the the same as the Nikon branded lenses.

    Quote Originally Posted by Tallboy View Post
    Camber lenses are good (obviously they are just blanks so it depends on the actual design to patient acceptability).
    I'll revise my statement to make you happier then. Top end IOT lenses, specifically cut on Camber blanks, are the best lenses I have tested, and trialed on patients. Better?

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    Also can anyone point me to a press release or article that says Essilor purchased 50 of Nikon? All I can find is that Nikon and Essilor have a joint venture together called Nikon-Essilor.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kwill212 View Post
    Also can anyone point me to a press release or article that says Essilor purchased 50 of Nikon? All I can find is that Nikon and Essilor have a joint venture together called Nikon-Essilor.
    Right and that joint venture is the owner of subsidiary companies:
    NIKON-ESSILOR CO.,LTD.
    Subsidiaries
    1 of 1
    Nikon Optical U.K. Ltd
    Nikon Optical Canada Inc.
    Nikon Optical USA Inc.
    Nikon Optical Middle East WLL
    Nikon Beijing Co., Ltd.

    There is no part of Nikon not 50% owned by essilor that manufacturers corrective optical lenses.

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    Camber lenses are great Kwill, but unless you have compared them to the Zeiss Individual, AutoIII/Intel and Varilux X itsjust you saying something based on nothing.

    Fwiw I dispense around 80% IOT lenses and rarely use the Camber blanks, and I was one of the first people I know to use them.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tallboy View Post
    Camber lenses are great Kwill, but unless you have compared them to the Zeiss Individual, AutoIII/Intel and Varilux X itsjust you saying something based on nothing.

    Fwiw I dispense around 80% IOT lenses and rarely use the Camber blanks, and I was one of the first people I know to use them.
    We have tested those in office, along with the seiko superior. I and the others in my office always try to test out the newest lenses from the big boys when they are released, the only recent one we haven't done yet is the auto intelligence. Sometimes we test them on long time customers with their permission of course.

    I don't usually just say things based on nothing.

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    thats awesome. I've been using more and more camber myself, though Im not presbyopic enough to really test using myself as a subject. hyperopes really seem to like them, though I have dusted off the ol seiko surmount also.
    Last edited by Tallboy; 08-16-2019 at 07:48 PM.

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    Since we process IOT and Zeiss, I test various designs before offering them. I've tried the Camber and the Camber Steady. Maybe it’s just me, but I wasn’t wowed. The Alpha45 Ultimate, however, wowed me.
    I like the Zeiss Precision Plus and the ID2. We are migrating to a new POS system and will be offering ID2 soon.
    Still, I tend to wear my Alpha45 more often than not. Price, scalability, support, and a big bonus, a wide range of options, as IOT is not anchored to any given puck.
    I bend light. That is what I do.

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    Quote Originally Posted by lensmanmd View Post
    Since we process IOT and Zeiss, I test various designs before offering them. I've tried the Camber and the Camber Steady. Maybe it’s just me, but I wasn’t wowed. The Alpha45 Ultimate, however, wowed me.
    I like the Zeiss Precision Plus and the ID2. We are migrating to a new POS system and will be offering ID2 soon.
    Still, I tend to wear my Alpha45 more often than not. Price, scalability, support, and a big bonus, a wide range of options, as IOT is not anchored to any given puck.

    Have you tried the Camber H45? That would be the Alpha45 ultimate on the camber blank. That has been the lens I have gotten the most wows from. The camber steady never really did anything for us either.

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    I agree, The Camber Steady has tooo small of a nearpoint. The camber Mobile has gotten rave reviews as it is designed for those that live on their cell phones

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