By Staff
Sunday, March 17, 2024 10:30 AM
NEW YORK—The
Opticians Association of America (OAA), and the
National Federation of Opticianry Schools (NFOS), have completed a merger, with continuing funding provided by the
American Board of Opticianry & National Contact Lens Examiners (ABO & NCLE) that has created a model opticianry association representing over 80,000 opticians and contact lens professionals throughout North America, according to a statement from the three organizations. OAA has proudly been committed to promoting a professional stature of opticianry through leadership education and communication since 1925, and NFOS has been dedicated to facilitating the development of formal educational programs, upgrading the standards of opticianry education, and working for uniformity of opticianry education since 1999.
By Staff
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 12:30 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The Vision Council, a trade association dedicated to supporting the optical industry, released Focused inSights 2024: Online vs. In-Person Purchase Patterns, offering a comprehensive examination of consumer shopping habits for eyeglasses, contact lenses, sunglasses and readers. The report detailed both online and in-person buying trends, providing valuable insights for a variety of optical businesses. A summary, along with the full research report, is available in The Vision Council’s
Research Download Center as a complimentary download for members of The Vision Council, with a paid option for non-members.
By Staff
Thursday, March 7, 2024 12:27 AM
NEW YORK—
The Vision Council and
RX, co-organizers of
Vision Expo East, have announced new details on special events planned throughout the four-day Expo, scheduled for March 14 through 17 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. The Expo is marking its final show in the Big Apple before heading to Orlando, Fla., in 2025, and will be paying homage to its history in New York. “Vision Expo East 2024 is shaping up to be a most memorable event as we look forward to bringing people together from all across the industry, country and globe to celebrate nearly four decades of success in New York City, before kicking off our next chapter,” said Fran Pennella, vice president, Vision Expo at RX.
By Staff
Friday, February 16, 2024 12:27 AM
NEW YORK—A special registration price is now available for the live, in-person 2024 Vision Monday Leadership Summit, taking place on Wednesday, March 13, just ahead of Vision Expo East here. The special registration price of $695 will be valid through Feb. 21. Registration for the 17th annual VM Summit and details about the event are posted at
www.visionmonday.com/summit. The Summit program will open with a networking breakfast from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m., and the program and lunch will run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Registration includes the full program, networking breakfast and lunch.
By Staff
Tuesday, February 13, 2024 12:21 AM
NEW YORK—As artificial intelligence and its pervasive impact on modern life continues to make headlines, the 2024 Vision Monday Leadership Summit will bring AI’s influence on optical business and vision care into focus. The 17th annual VM Summit will take place in New York on March 13, just ahead of Vision Expo. In line with this year’s Summit theme, "What's Your AI Acuity? Sharpening a Vision for the Future," influential thought leaders, business experts and vision care professionals will explore the critical decisions that leaders need to wrestle with to develop a clear-eyed view of the risks and rewards of AI implementation.
By Staff
Tuesday, February 13, 2024 12:18 AM
NEW YORK—As artificial intelligence and its pervasive impact on modern life continues to make headlines, the 2024 Vision Monday Leadership Summit will bring AI’s influence on optical business and vision care into focus. The 17th annual VM Summit will take place in New York on March 13, just ahead of Vision Expo. In line with this year’s Summit theme, "What's Your AI Acuity? Sharpening a Vision for the Future," influential thought leaders, business experts and vision care professionals will explore the critical decisions that leaders need to wrestle with to develop a clear-eyed view of the risks and rewards of AI implementation.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Thursday, February 8, 2024 8:30 AM
NEW YORK and MILAN, Italy—Over 40,000 people headed to Milan this month for the 2024 edition of
Mido. The show welcomed visitors from over 160 countries—including many Americans who made the trek across the Atlantic to take a look at Italian eyewear up close and personal. Mido organizers reported a major success this year, with an 11 percent gain in visitors over last year and an active presence overall. Mido president Giovanni Vitaloni said, “Prior to the show opening, we had hoped for an increase in visitors compared to last year. Thanks to everyone’s efforts and the industry’s trust in us each year, we achieved the ambitious goal we had set for ourselves." Here, we’re taking a look at how some ECPs spent their time in Milan.
By Staff
Wednesday, January 31, 2024 12:27 AM
BENTONVILLE, Ark.—In a program ramping up nationwide that will be marketed next month,
Walmart, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is debuting its own augmented reality optical try-on to enable customers to visualize and customize eyeglass fits. The company talked about its approach in a corporate blog post, noting that its approach will be to offer the VTO service in what it calls "adaptive retail." The company explained in its post, "At Walmart, we are committed to being there for our customers—whenever, wherever and however they choose to shop with us, the customer is at the center of everything we do."
By Staff
Friday, January 26, 2024 12:27 AM
ST. LOUIS—
EyeCare Partners (ECP), a leading provider of clinically integrated eyecare, announced that Chris Throckmorton has been named chief executive officer, succeeding the role held by Ben Breier as interim CEO. This change is effective Jan. 29, 2024. “We are thrilled Chris is joining the organization,” said Breier, head of U.S. private equity health and life at Partners Group. “Chris’ proven track record and dedication to patients and clinicians made him the ideal candidate to lead the organization into its next phase of growth and success. We look forward to witnessing the positive impact he will have on our continued commitment to enhance vision, advance eyecare and improve lives.”
By Staff
Tuesday, January 16, 2024 11:50 AM
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla.—
ABB Optical, a leader in the eyecare services industry, has announced the appointment of Daniel Liberman as chief executive officer, effective Feb. 1. Liberman will assume the role held by Tom Burke, who will become co-chairman of the board of directors. An announcement from ABB Optical stated, "During Tom Burke's five-year tenure as CEO, ABB has gone from the leading contact lens distributor to a full eyecare solutions platform offering ophthalmic laboratory services and practice optimization software."
By Staff
Friday, January 12, 2024 12:27 AM
SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn.—
Coburn Technologies, Inc., one of the world’s leading providers of ophthalmic lens processing systems and ophthalmic instruments, is celebrating the company’s 70th anniversary as a pioneering force in the optical industry and commemorating the milestone by reflecting on the company's rich history and innovation. For seven decades, since their inception in 1954, Coburn Technologies has been at the forefront of innovation, driving advancements in eyewear technology and shaping the way the world sees, pushing the boundaries of optical solutions and setting new standards in lens processing.
By Staff
Wednesday, January 3, 2024 12:24 AM
DALLAS—The
Optical Women’s Association (OWA) has announced their 2024 OWA award honorees, who will be honored at the OWA’s annual champagne breakfast on Thursday, March 14, 2024, during Vision Expo East. Rebecca Giefer, CEO of
Modo Eyewear, will receive the Pleiades Award. Trudi Charest, president of
Total Focus Consulting and co-founder of
Marketing4ECPs, will be the Pyxis Award honoree. Reagan Colpitts, senior business development manager at
Safilo, will receive the Emerging Leader Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented this year to founding OWA member Marge Axelrad, senior vice president and editorial director for
Vision Monday/VMAIL, part of the Jobson Optical Group.
By Staff
Thursday, December 21, 2023 12:24 AM
NEW YORK—Two experts from the business consulting firm
Deloitte LLP are joining the growing speaker roster of the 2024 Vision Monday Leadership Summit for the upcoming live event in NYC on March 13, which asks, "What's Your AI Acuity? Sharpening a Vision for the Future." Sharing their insights focusing on AI's impact in the health care sector on both physicians and patients as well as on how business leaders can build the best AI teams, will be Bill Fera, MD, a principal at Deloitte LLP and Jim Rowan, a principal and leader of Deloitte's strategy and analytics practice and
Deloitte AI institute.
By Staff
Monday, December 11, 2023 12:24 AM
BOSTON—The
New England College of Optometry (NECO) welcomed renown experts in health equity, public health and the eyecare industry to their Beacon Street campus for the inaugural Vision Health Equity Summit. The event was an opportunity to hear from health equity advocates about the pressing issues of vision health, how vision loss creates disabilities resulting in further societal inequities, and how to create pathways to a more equitable future. Dr. Howard Purcell, NECO president and CEO, thanked attendees for joining the effort to raise awareness and impact policies that address vision health equity. “Vision is critical to our lives and well-being. It is a key-driver of equity, not just health equity.”
By Staff
Tuesday, December 5, 2023 12:24 AM
REDMOND, Wash.—As part of the ongoing celebration of the
International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on Dec. 3,
Microsoft has launched the newest version of its Seeing AI app on Android devices via the Google Play Store, sharing new app features and support in additional languages. The free app, designed for and with the blind and low vision community, uses the latest advances in AI at Microsoft to narrate the world from mobile devices.