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The partnerships between wholesale laboratories and eyecare practitioners are among the optical industry’s most fundamental business relationships. Practitioners depend upon their lab to provide expert, up-to-date information on lenses, coatings, frames, contact lenses, as well as guidance on how to market and merchandise these products. They also value the education and training many labs provide. An experienced, capable wholesale lab that meets all of these needs can greatly improve an ECP’s ability to serve their patients and improve the bottom line of their business or practice. In L&T ’s 2006 Lab Usage Survey, we polled 215 independent vision care professionals and optical retailers from around the country to find out their perceptions and attitudes about the wholesale labs they use. Here’s what we learned. Topline Analysis
Methodology The L&T Wholesale Lab Usage Survey 2006 was conducted during the August 29 to September 5, 2006 time period by Jobson Optical Research’s in-house research staff. The sample of 215 independent optical retailers was derived from the proprietary Jobson Optical Research Database. The 2006 survey was conducted via the Internet and respondents who completed the survey were entered in a sweepstakes to win a $200 American Express gift card. Three years of data is shown for trending purposes. The 2004 and 2005 surveys were conducted via telephone. Respondents were asked a series of structured questions and no incentive was offered. For the complete results of L&T’s 2006 Wholesale Lab Usage Survey visit www.2020mag.com. —Jennifer Zupnick and Beth Briggs |
November 2006
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