Optical Community Rallies to Help Those in Need After Two Hurricanes Devastate Southeastern U.S.

While residents of Florida braced for back-to-back devastating storms from Hurricanes Helene and Milton over the past few weeks, the optical community was busy taking steps to provide disaster relief to those affected by the natural disasters. Hurricane Helene’s devastation was felt primarily across six states, with more than 200 deaths reported from Florida to Tennessee. The death toll and damage from Hurricane Milton, which hit a major swath of Florida this past week, is still being assessed.

Alcon Launches Its Innovator Program to Collaborate With ECPs and Address Unmet Needs Within the Contact Lens Industry

FORT WORTH, Texas—Alcon, a global leader in eyecare, has announced the introduction of the Alcon Innovator Program, an initiative to partner with influential eyecare professionals to identify gaps in contact lens offerings and address the market’s unmet needs. As part of the inaugural program in the U.S., Alcon said it selected 20 innovators to receive and offer their patients exclusive access to upcoming Alcon product launches. Through this partnership, innovators shared both practice and patient insights gained from fitting patients in new Alcon contact lenses, as well as developed social and editorial content that highlighted their experience with the latest innovation, according to the announcement.

Time Is Running Out—Cast Your Votes for Jobson's 2024 EyeVote Readers' Choice Awards, Nominations Close Tonight

NEW YORK—Vision Monday and 20/20 are hosting the 16th annual EyeVote Readers' Choice Awards to identify the optical industry’s favorite products and companies this year. But time is running out—the EyeVote survey closes tonight at 11:59 p.m. EST. These two Jobson Medical Information publications are teaming up once again this fall to get readers’ opinions by asking optical retailers and ECPs to identify their favorite products in 22 distinct categories.

The National Average for Gross Revenue at ECP Locations Increased for the Week of September 30–October 6, Jobson’s Latest Practice Performance Tracker Shows

NEW YORK—The national average for gross revenue at ECP locations increased last week, September 30–October 6, when compared with the previous week, at a rate of 1 index point. That places gross revenue at a level 16 index points above where it was at this point in time (Week 40) when compared with last year (2023), 19 points above the same period in 2022, 26 points above 2021, 19 points above 2020 and 30 points above 2019, according to Jobson’s most recent Practice Performance Tracker.

VSP Vision Enters Into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Eyemart Express

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—VSP Vision announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire national optical retailer Eyemart Express from FFL Partners and Leonard Green & Partners. The company noted that the acquisition of Farmers Branch, Texas-based Eyemart Express, with its nearly 250 stores in 42 states, will mark another significant network investment by VSP Vision to serve its more than 85 million members. In June of this year, Eyemart Express was ranked as the No. 12 eyewear retailer in the U.S. as part of Vision Monday's 2024 Top 50 U.S. Optical Retailers report, with reported annual sales in 2023 of $366.2 million, up from $345 million in 2022.