Lenses as a Profit Center

By Paddy Kamen

Selling lenses is easier than ever, with so many finely tuned options that meet the varied lifestyle needs of consumers.

“We always measure both feet,” says Sara Moshurchak of Vancouver-based Granville Eyeland, when asked about how she and her staff sell more lenses. The metaphor is taken from the shoe industry. “While a shoe salesperson really only has to measure one foot, it pays to measure both because it creates more opportunity to talk to the customer and thus better understand her lifestyle and needs.”

Moshurchak adds that maximizing the relationship with an existing customer involves selling special lenses for sports like golfing, fishing and hiking. “We also sell many mid-range task-specific lenses for computer use. And I definitely increase lens sales when I offer to put new lenses in frames the client already owns. That way they can more easily afford a second pair.”

Robert Dalton, president of the Nova Scotia Association of Opticians and an employee of W. Butler Opticians in Halifax, enjoys identifying needs by asking open-ended questions. “I like to use examples from daily life that the person can relate to, such as ‘have you ever been reading in bed and found that you couldn’t lay on your side because your eyeglasses were uncomfortable?’ People often don’t know what they need and it’s up to me to tell them about products that can make life easier.”

Dalton sells plenty of sunglasses and vocational lenses. When it comes to selling new lens technologies to clients he takes what might at first appear to be a big risk. “I guarantee them that they will experience value in the new lenses or I will give them back the old technology lenses and refund them the difference in cost. Very few people have taken me up on that.”

Now that’s belief in the product! And Dalton finds that spontaneous product testimonials do the rest. “The profits from selling new technology really roll in when the client tells his or her family, friends and neighbours how great the product is. That happens a lot.”

Knowing the range of lens products on the market makes for intelligent selling. Let’s take a look at some of the new offerings from leading manufacturers.

A new category of single vision lens is now available from HOYA. The NULUX Active 8 provides enhanced support for active adults who are often looking down at cell phones, PDAs, and laptop computers. Known as a vertical aspheric, the lens incorporates a vertical aspheric design component by creating an activated area across the bottom portion of the lens, which allows the eye muscles to use less energy when focusing and re-focusing at various distances. There is no peripheral distortion, no corridor and no specific reading power, in contrast to progressive lenses with even low add powers. The vertical aspheric design component is placed across the entire bottom portion of the lens providing a wide functional area.

One of the newest innovations from HOYA is the MyStyle digital lens, which is designed by taking into consideration the satisfaction level of the client with previously worn progressive lenses, as well as the client’s lifestyle and fitting parameters. The exhaustive assessment enables HOYA’s proprietary software to design a lens to match every client’s needs. The result: increased performance and patient satisfaction.

ECPs and their clients are also impressed with HOYA’s computerized camera fitting system, known as visuReal. This package features a digital fitting tower, central processing unit and software that assists the ECP in taking pantascopic tilt, vertex distance and frame wrap measurements, in addition to the PD and segment heights. visuReal can also double as a frame camera and demonstrates the differences between upgradeable lens options such as coatings and hi-index materials.

Ergonex single vision lenses from Quantum Optique are the perfect solution for rimless eyewear, says company president David Harboun. “Ergonex is made from a polyurethane base and provides the consumer with excellent vision and high tolerance to impacts. This makes them especially well-suited for rimless frames and sports goggles, safety glasses and children’s eyewear.”

With an ABBE value considerably higher than polycarbonate, the Ergonex gives improved visual acuity to the wearer. And eye care professionals will appreciate the fact that they won’t find stress cracks or hairline fractures with Ergonex. “They edge with water, just like high index lenses, minimizing wear and tear on the equipment,” adds Harboun. “No special grinding wheel is required and they edge faster. We also offer Arctic Extreme A/R, our own oil repellant, anti-static and easy-to-clean coating.”

The staff at Quantum Optique pride themselves on quick, efficient and personalized service. “We meet the individual needs of all our clients, and we are always looking for ways to improve. I invite all opticians and optometrists to sample our products and experience dealing with our professional and courteous staff,” says Harboun.

Nikon introduces two new digital progressives this fall. Presio Power was engineered to address adaptation issues in progressive lenses. Spokesperson Tibor Martz cites a study from Japan, which showed that 75 per cent of patients experience adaptation problems in the first week of wear and that 46 per cent say that the main problems with progressive lenses are lack of clarity and narrow field of vision. “Virtually all adaptation problems have been addressed with this lens,” says Martz. “This is due to our proprietary Dual Power progressive design which works the lens on both the front and back. We’ve reduced aberrations at and around the pupil, making these areas as wide as possible. Users will enjoy instant adaptation, wearing comfort and a clearer, sharper image. It’s a perfect upgrade lens even as the add increases.”

The other new offering from Nikon is SeeMax Power, a custom-made digital lens that builds on the success of the SEE Series and Nikon’s ongoing research and development. The wearer’s unique parameters, like far vision, pupillary distance, near vision working distance and the shape of the lens are all taken into account and routed through the Nikon Optical Design Engine (NODE), based in Japan, before being processed locally. Both new offerings from Nikon are, of course, available with their proprietary coatings SeeCoat, HCC ICE and HCC.

Centennial Optical and Carl Zeiss Vision (CZV) are pleased to announce that personalized lenses are no longer just for presbyopes.

“Many people don’t realize that the latest generation of aspheric and atoric lenses can have .75 diopters of power error, or more, away from the center of the lens – the equivalent of going from 20/20 to 20/40 vision,” says Bernadette Hiskey, CZV director, customized lenses. “In fact, the situation is comparable to switching from standard TV to HDTV – only then do you realize how good vision can really be.”

Zeiss personalization incorporates the patient’s monocular PD, vertex distance, pantoscopic angle and frame wrap angle into the design calculation to create optimum performance. Then the design is optimized in ‘real time’ based on the patient’s exact combination of sphere, cylinder, axis and prism, eliminating the visual compromises that standard spherical and aspheric single vision lenses create for most prescriptions due to the base curve effect.

“With Zeiss Individual SV eye care professionals can give their patients up to 50 per cent wider fields of vision than standard single vision,” said Hiskey. “And we know from our experience that there is very little price resistance to a personalized product that delivers superior performance. By creating this level of performance in single vision, which has been viewed as almost a commodity category, we are creating an opportunity for ECPs when they need it most.”

For those seeking a one-stop-shopping solution, Westlab offers Westclub packages wherein both private label lenses and/or brand name lens products are combined with 15 frame collections in a reasonably priced package that includes a case, and anti-scratch coating. Private lens brands include WestDigital (progressive or advanced digital technology), and Westpal’s classic surfaces, along with Resist2X treatments or Ar+ anti-scratch or anti-glare coatings. All packages are available in single vision, bifocal or progressive. Frame choices include Converse, Elizabeth Arden, Perry Ellis, Stepper and most importantly Kliik and FYSH.

Brand names like Essilor, Sola, Rodenstock, AO and Signet Armorlite are also available from Westlab.

Shamir’s Augograph® line of lenses uses digital surfacing to allow each prescription to adapt to whatever frame the patient has selected, including short corridor and wrap progressives. The wide variety of Autograph styles includes the Autograph II Office™, a personalized occupational lens designed to provide exceptional intermediate and near vision zones, the short-corridor Autograph II™, with minimum fitting heights starting from 11 mm, and the Autograph II Single Vision™, which allows single vision clients the chance to experience personalization in a fully aspheric back-surfaced lens. The Single Vision Attitude™ does the same for wrap frames, without distortion.

The latest word from Plastic Plus is ‘expansion’. The phenomenal response to the first wave of Seiko free-form lenses and the addition of the Seiko Succeed, Supercede and Ws free-form designs, not to mention the new house-brand, Vandelay, made it obvious that the company would have to make further changes to its manufacturing plant in Toronto. “We’ve grown so fast that we ran out of power, air conditioning capacity, compressors and even water,” notes president Paul Faibish.

They broke ground on July 22, 2008 and were just waiting for a final inspection when Vision Magazine caught up with Faibish this past July. “Now we have some equipment that is absolutely the first of its type in North America. Every aspect of production is integrated with a custom-designed computerized conveyor system that moves every lens-in-progress from station to station with amazing efficiency.”

Plastic Plus free-form progressive lenses from house brand, Vandelay, offer free-form design at a lower price point. “While the Vandelay might not be quite on the same level as the Seiko lens, it is definitely better than any conventional progressive lens,” explains Faibish. “Why give a patient an old design when you can offer the latest technological advancement at a reasonable price?”

Younger Optics recently added a hard resin lens to their Transitions VI finished lens line, to complement the Poly lens introduced earlier this year. Response has been very positive to these lenses which have the high quality Super Hydrophic AR coating. The hydrophobic properties of this coating allow water droplets to easily run off the surface of the lens without stains or streaks, and also help to remove smudges, dust, dirt and fingerprints, making the lenses easy to clean and maintain. Tests have shown this advanced coating is very durable, and resists scratching and peeling throughout the life of the lens. Excellent light transmission, another property of the coating, allows the wearer to see clearer, sharper images with the benefits of Transitions® VI photochromic technology. At the same time, the Super Hydrophobic AR prevents annoying reflections, and has a pleasing, uniform reflected colour. 

Recognizing that certain occupational groups and hobbyists have specific vision requirements, Rodenstock has developed a portfolio of lenses for perfect near vision. The Impression Ergo FS®, Impression Ergo®, and Multigressiv Ergo® are adapted from the well-known and successful Rodenstock progressive lens portfolio.

The Impression Ergo FS®, derived from the Impression FreeSign® progressive lens, is the first near comfort lens that can be individually adapted to the personal vision requirements and demands of the customer, with pupil distance, frame tilt, corneal vertex distance and bow angle incorporated into the optimisation, in addition to the choice of frame. With the Impression Ergo® and Multigressiv Ergo®, the optician can choose the best lens solution from three design types – "Book", "PC" and "Room" – which cover the most frequent vision situations that arise in a routine work day or in close-up activities such as reading and computer work.

All Ergo® near comfort lenses are available in higher-refracting plastic material 1.6 and in an expanded usage radius.

One of the largest polarized lens collections on the market today is available from Vision-Ease Lens. The recent expansion of their collection includes Coppertone™ Premium Polarized Sun lenses in base 8.50 semi-finished single vision (great for wrap frames), and a 7X28 trifocal polycarbonate, which gives trifocal wearers a sun lens option while keeping them comfortable in the design they are accustomed to wearing. Both are available in grey or brown as well as the newly introduced Classic Green™. This colour reduces light transmission, for comfortable vision in sunny conditions.

Vision-Ease Lens, sales and marketing manager Nick Lamana says, “Polarized lenses have significant benefits for all wearers. No other lens on the market offers more sun protection for the eye or can block reflected glare. Polarized lenses are for everyone. Outdoor enthusiasts can find lenses specialized for their hobbies. Post-surgery and cataract patients benefit from the low light transmission since they can be extremely light sensitive. Children also benefit as they are outside more than adults and their eyes are more sensitive. And, in addition to eye protection, polarized lenses in sunglasses look cool!”

Vision-Ease Lens has tools to help eyecare professionals sell polarized lenses including a Polarized display, posters, an easel back display, counter cards and stickers. Educational materials for ECPs include material on the technology and suggestions on how to sell and a DVD training presentation.

Sun success story, Maui Jim brings the market an innovative back-surface lens design in the MauiPassport™ for both single vision and progressive prescriptions. Created in partnership with Shamir Optical, the design is perfect for the latest wrap styles. “Our new lenses are designed specifically for our frames, base curves and materials,” says vice-president of marketing, Chris Abbruzzese. “Factors such as pantoscopic tilt, panoramic tilt and vertex distance are taken into account, resulting in lenses that optimize the performance of each individual prescription. With our latest technological breakthroughs, we’ve not only eliminated the mold process but created additional benefits for both patients and practitioners alike.”

According to Abbruzzese, the new Maui Jim digital surfacing process is accurate to within 1/100th of a diopter. “By placing the aspheric design and patient Rx on the back surface of the lens, the optics are moved closer to the eye, opening up the field of vision”, he said. “Each individual prescription stays true at every point.”

Practitioners order the new Maui Jim lenses as in the past. No additional information is required, as the company’s proprietary software incorporates all the calculations needed for a perfect prescription.

Essilor presents two new additions to the Varilux Physio family. The Varilux Physio f-360 is a personalized progressive lens, customized with five wearing parameters (pupillary distance, vertex distance, pantoscopic angle, wrap angle and fitting height) for greater contrast and visual comfort. Combined with the latest W.A.V.E. Technology™ and 360˚ Digital Surfacing, this lens will provide wearers with optimal visual performance. A sister-lens designed for small frames, the Varilux Physio Short 360™ allows a minimum fitting height of 14 mm. Now, small frame wearers can enjoy a wide field of vision and excellent contrast.

Varilux Physio was the first progressive lens to benefit from W.A.V.E Technology, which provides an exceptional quality of vision regardless of the direction of the gaze. Perception of colours, textures, details and contrast are improved. Vision is superior in less-than-ideal environments such as reading in low light conditions and driving at night.

Another great product introduced by Essilor this year is the SV 360º. This single vision lens also benefits from W.A.V.E Technology.

It’s clear that the huge variety of lens options means real business opportunities for eye care professionals. As Sara Moshurchak says, “We give them a range of options and the majority of the time they will choose the better lenses. People don’t mind spending if they know they are getting something really good that will last.”