By Staff
Wednesday, November 25, 2020 1:58 PM
NEW YORK—During the second and third quarters of 2020, the COVID-19 crisis has brought about “years of change in the way companies in all sectors and regions do business,” according to a recent McKinsey report and analysis. Citing its new McKinsey Global Survey of executives, the consulting firm noted that the companies surveyed have accelerated the digitization of their customer and supply-chain interactions and of their internal operations by three to four years.
In addition, the share of digital or digitally enabled products in their portfolios has accelerated by “a shocking seven years,” McKinsey said in a post on its
website. “Nearly all respondents say that their companies have stood up at least temporary solutions to meet many of the new demands on them, and much more quickly than they had thought possible before the crisis,” according to the consulting firm. “What’s more, respondents expect most of these changes to be long lasting and are already making the kinds of investments that all but ensure they will stick.”
McKinsey noted that when it asked executives about the impact of the crisis on a range of measures, the executives noted that funding for digital initiatives has increased more than anything else—more than increases in costs, the number of people in technology roles, and the number of customers.
“To stay competitive in this new business and economic environment requires new strategies and practices,” McKinsey said. “Our findings suggest that executives are taking note: most respondents recognize technology’s strategic importance as a critical component of the business, not just a source of cost efficiencies.”
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Wednesday, November 25, 2020 9:17 AM
NEW YORK—Chances are, you or someone you know is already gearing up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. But in-between those two major shopping holidays is another: Small Business Saturday. Championing small businesses across the U.S.,
Small Business Saturday is headed up by American Express, who put together an annual collection of resources for both shoppers and business owners.
By Staff
Wednesday, November 25, 2020 12:30 AM
Optical sales remain flat, Eyes on 2021 concludes as one of the largest virtual optometry events of 2020, Satisloh announces formation of specialized STEP team, Premier Academy360 offers badges on VSP's Find a Doctor directory, and CooperVision announces 2021 Best Practices Scholarship Program all topped this week’s
VMAIL news feed. Click on the headlines below to catch up on anything you might have missed.
By Staff
Wednesday, November 25, 2020 12:25 AM
Less than a year after debuting its
Brilliant Futures Myopia Management Program featuring the
MiSight 1 day contact lens in the U.S., CooperVision is now expanding the comprehensive approach to multiple countries, including the United Kingdom, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Canada, South Korea and Taiwan.
By Staff
Wednesday, November 25, 2020 12:24 AM
SAN DIEGO—
CovalentCareers wrapped up its
Eyes On 2021 on Sunday, Nov. 22. The three-day virtual event was one of the largest virtual optometry events of 2020 with over 6,000 eyecare registrants, 4,500+ attendees and more than one million minutes of content watched across three days, the organization said.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Tuesday, November 24, 2020 3:18 PM
ST. LOUIS—It was over 100 years ago, in 1879, when A.P. Erker arrived in the U.S. from Germany and founded
Erkers in St. Louis, Missouri. Within a few years, A.P.’s brother August joined the business, and the rest, as they say, is history. Erkers is officially the first optical laboratory west of the Mississippi River, and also served as the official photographer for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. The company is a steadfast and integral part of both St. Louis’ history and American optical history—and that stands true to today.
By Staff
Tuesday, November 24, 2020 2:54 PM
NEW YORK—
CO, the U.S Chamber of Commerce’s special online virtual resource center, which helps businesses “Start, Run and Grow” their operations, is offering a great recap of its recent
Big Week for Small Business, a special virtual event marked by interesting speakers, presentations and insights, which brought together successful entrepreneurs and small business experts for advice, networking and practical strategies for business owners. Sponsored by CHASE for Business, the sessions were designed to help small business owners navigate challenging times.
By StaffL
Tuesday, November 24, 2020 12:24 AM
GERMANTOWN, Wis.—For more than 15 years Satisloh customers have had the opportunity to choose from the company’s tiered coverage plan, STEP (Satisloh Total Equipment Protection), designed to help labs keep their equipment running at maximum efficiency with minimum down time.
By Staff
Tuesday, November 24, 2020 12:15 AM
Orasis Pharmaceuticals, an Israeli-based ophthalmic pharmaceutical company announced the start of Phase 3 clinical studies in the U.S. to evaluate novel eye drop candidate, CSF-1, designed to provide temporary correction of presbyopia.
By Staff
Monday, November 23, 2020 1:34 PM
A new study from
Juniper Research has found that transaction values for physical goods sales online will grow from $3.3 trillion in 2020 to $4.4 trillion by 2025, with this 33 percent growth hastened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has fundamentally altered customer behaviors toward e-commerce, with these behaviors likely to be sustained in the longer term, according to Juniper Research.
By Staff
Monday, November 23, 2020 12:25 AM
Italia Independent launched on Instagram a new filter created in collaboration with Cristiano Ronaldo, which allows all fans of the Juventus champion to virtually wear the strongest styles of the first CR7 eyewear collection by Italia Independent.
By Staff
Monday, November 23, 2020 12:24 AM
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—In time for Diabetes Awareness Month this month,
VSP Global is deploying a new program for doctors as part of an ongoing commitment to support and reinvest in private practice optometrists. Doctors and staff who complete
Premier Academy360 education courses, such as those offered in the Diabetes Education Track, can now attain and display the badges they earn on the VSP Find a Doctor Directory, which receives over three-million-member visits per month. The badging program is intended to highlight the unique strengths and abilities of practices to enhance the patient experience, the company said.
By Staff
Monday, November 23, 2020 12:21 AM
SAN RAMON, Calif.—In support of the education of future eyecare professionals,
CooperVision, Inc. announced its 2021 Best Practices Student Scholarship Program.
By Staff
Monday, November 23, 2020 12:15 AM
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Vision Council is extending the deadline to participate in the 2020 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Survey until Tuesday, November 24 at midnight.
By Staff
Friday, November 20, 2020 4:07 PM
NEW YORK—The annual YouGov brand rankings find that Band-Aid is the most positively perceived brand in the US overall. The bandage brand ranks slightly ahead of Dawn, the dish soap brand, and e-commerce giant, Amazon.
Band-Aid, Johnson & Johnson’s brand of bandage and first aid-supplies, has taken the top spot in YouGov’s BrandIndex rankings for the United States for the fourth year in a row with a score of 47.8.
“This year’s pandemic caused Americans to stock their homes with cleansers and disinfectants, escalating demand for dish soap and detergent brands such as Dawn and Clorox with [these] brands placing second and fifth, respectively, with scores of 47.6 and 46.1,” according to a
YouGov announcement.With more time at home leading to higher consumption of digital media, streaming companies such as Netflix (44.5) and Amazon.com (46.6) undoubtedly benefited from a more captive audience this year.
The rankings were based on the Index score from YouGov BrandIndex, which is a measure of overall brand health calculated by taking the average of impression, quality, value, satisfaction, recommend and reputation.
The home improvement retailer, Home Depot, made its debut to America’s top rankings list, earning 10th place with a score of 42.2. The company saw an influx of Americans buying supplies to improve their homes and tackle various do-it-yourself projects following mandated stay-at-home orders.