DALLAS, Tx.—Essilor of America, Inc., will embark on an initiative this October to evaluate the emerging internet market place and its potential impact on the eyecare industry.

Jobson Optical Research will conduct the research through a grant from Essilor, to personally work with eyecare professionals to evaluate the current and potential internet market place opportunities, and its current and future impact on ECP practices and the industry as a whole.

“We want to hear from ECPs across the country to closely study the impact and the benefits of this powerful, emerging Internet market place,” said Howard Purcell, O.D., F.A.A.O., Dipl., vice president, customer development for Essilor. “We will use the research results to clearly evaluate and determine how to help ECPs to best utilize its vast resources to apply to their practices to help them grow and prosper.”

As part of the initiative, ECPs will have an opportunity to share key insights and personal perspectives that could prove valuable for Essilor, ECPs and other key industry supporters.

Essilor will also use the research to assess both the potential, as well as the risks, posed by the amazing amount of information sharing and commerce within this market place.
The exclusive research will be available in early November, 2008.

The first communication about the program will appear in a special letter from Dr. Howard Purcell in Vision Monday’s Int’l Vision Expo West Show Daily in Las Vegas, October 3rd through 5th.

“We are pleased to conduct this valuable research on behalf of Essilor,” said Marc Ferrara, president of Jobson Medical Information’s Information Services Group. “We will glean important insights into how the Internet is affecting ECPs’ businesses today, and into the future. We also hope to get a better understanding of how ECPs can employ the interet to their advantage in the years ahead.”