Information For Consumers

Information For Eye Care Professionals

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In Focus: Summer 2009

In This Issue:

Show Team Update
Training
Vision Expo West Meetings
Public Affairs & Advocacy
Technical News
Member Discounts

Show Team Update

International Vision Expo East Audit
To ensure accurate attendance figures, International Vision Expo conducts a third-party audit after each show. This year, figures from International Vision Expo East show that there was a decrease in attendance by 11 percent compared to 2008. This is slightly ahead of on-site projections, estimated at about 12 percent.

"We are very pleased with our attendance figures for International Vision Expo East," said Tom Loughran, event director for Reed Exhibitions. "We knew that this was going to be a difficult year for the show, but the number of eye care professionals and buyers who attended the show are a testament to the value of International Vision Expo to the optical community."

Buyers (20 percent), optometrists (17 percent) and opticians (14 percent) comprised the largest groups of attendees by job title. The majority of attendees hailed from independent optometric practices (29 percent) followed by independent opticianry chains with one to five locations (12 percent). Additionally, International Vision Expo East welcomed nearly 2,300 international attendees.

"We know that over 80 percent of exhibition attendees have an influence on purchasing decisions at show and 55 percent have buying plans as a result of attending," said Loughran. "For our exhibitors, event marketing is the discipline that best accelerates and deepens engagement with their target audiences."

To learn more about the audit, contact Danielle Fralen, The Vision Council show program coordinator, at dfralen@thevisioncouncil.org or 703-740-0627.

International Optical Fair Tokyo
The Vision Council understands the economic severity and uncertainly associated with these unusual times. It is in these challenging times that organizations should make a concerted effort to expand into new markets of distribution. Exhibiting at the International Optical Fair Tokyo (IOFT) offers the most effective entry into Asia's largest optical market - Japan. The increasing trend for fashion eyewear in Japan has resulted in a boost for eyewear consumption. Many Japanese own more than two pairs of eyeglasses and imports of unique foreign eyewear are on the rise.

IOFT is organized by Reed Exhibitions, who can help you maximize your investment in the show. Reed can provide your company with:

• Pre-show marketing support free of charge
• Turn-key booth options as a cost effective solution for exhibiting internationally
• Local support throughout the exhibiting experience to help prepare you for your trip and overcome cultural barriers

This year's exhibition will take place October 27-29, 2009, at Tokyo Big Sight, Japan. Please visit the IOFT website at www.ioft.jp/english or contact Beth Casson with Reed Exhibitions at bcasson@reedexpo.com or at (203) 840-5308 to learn more about this exciting and unique opportunity.

International Vision Expo West ECP Programs
International Vision Expo West is taking steps to encourage eye care professionals to make the trip to Las Vegas, including several new courses and free keynote speakers.

Back by popular demand, International Vision Expo West will host 23 hours of economy-based programs with a focus on strong business principles. The courses will include will deliver actionable strategies to help eye care professionals identify business opportunities, increase efficiencies and build loyalty among their practice base. As part of the Visionomics program, a free keynote speech by Paul Tiffany of the Haas School of the University of California, Berkeley will be held in the Medical and Scientific Theatre on Thursday, October 1 at 12:00 p.m.

Additionally, and in light of the current health care reform, a keynote presentation will be held to discuss how the Obama White House and Department of Health and Human Services plan will directly affect the eye care industry. This optical-specific presentation will occur on Friday, October 2 at 5:00 p.m. in the Medical and Scientific Theatre.

Join The Vision Council at TS2
Education and communication are fundamental in creating a profitable exhibition and event. With a strong understanding of the industry's current trends and skills, your participation at International Vision Expo will prove to be a resounding success.
The Vision Council is pleased to continue our partnership with TS2, total solutions marketing for the exhibit and event professional, by supporting their platform for professional growth in the tradeshow industry. This year's TS2 summit takes place July 20-23, 2009, in Chicago, Illinois.

By attending TS2 2009 you will:

• Find the latest tools, technologies and services that can increase you ROI and improve your direct marketing efforts
• Find everything you need to make the most of your face-to-face marketing program
• Learn about the latest technologies for event and exhibitions and how to successfully integrate these technologies into your marketing program, including social media, Web 2.0, digital and interactive technologies and much more.

The Vision Council Member Benefits:

• As part of the TS2 2009 Preferred Partner Program, all International Vision Expo Exhibitors receive the TS2 Unlimited Conference Package FREE. Click here to register today--and remember to enter PRIORITY CODE: VISION, when prompted during the registration process, to automatically receive your discount.
• Show team staff from The Vision Council will be in attendance at TS2 and invite you for cocktails and dinner on Monday evening, July 20. Location and time to be determined.

For more information or questions, please contact Danielle Fralen, The Vision Council show program coordinator, at dfralen@thevisioncouncil.org or 703-548-0627.

Training

Free "On the Road Sales Coach" Training
In March, The Vision Council launched a series of free sales training sessions for members. The quarterly sessions, called "On the Road Sales Coach," are conducted as facilitated conference calls and cover topics of interest to sales professionals, including how to sustain business growth in a tough economy, cold calling and time management.
The sales training is led by industry experts and serves as an open forum for sales professionals to brainstorm and share best practices. Participants are able to submit questions prior to each training.

"The 'On the Road Sales Coach' training is a great way to enrich the skills of sales teams by providing quality content that is up to the minute" said Rene Soltis, The Vision Council director of education and training. "The distance learning format allows companies to control training costs by having their sales team participate in training that is accessible from any geographic region."

The remaining "On the Road Sales Coach" sessions for 2009 include:

• Wednesday, September 2: "Time and Territory Management"
• Wednesday, December 2: "Annual Report Cards: Obtaining and Embracing Feedback"

The one-hour sessions are held at 8:00 a.m. EST and 11:00 a.m. EST to allow sales professionals on both the east and west coasts to participate before they begin their day of sales calls. Attendees will be provided with electronic session outlines and summary reports of each call.

To register for the free sales training courses, please contact Amber Robinson, The Vision Council member services coordinator, at (703)740-1094 or arobinson@thevisioncouncil.org . An agenda and dial-in information will be provided upon registration.

Vision Expo West Meeting Schedule

The Vision Council Meetings at International Vision Expo West 2009
International Vision Expo West will be held October 1-3, at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas. The Vision Council will host several meetings around the show. All meetings will be held at the Venetian unless otherwise noted. Room numbers will be added closer to the event date. We look forward to seeing you there!

Tuesday, September 29
Data Communication Standard/Direct Surfacing Task Force Meeting
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

AR Steering Committee Working Lunch
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 30
Lens Processing & Technology Division Meeting
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Statistics Committee Meeting
10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Eyewear & Accessories Division Meeting
12:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Lens Division Meeting
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

The Vision Council Board of Directors 
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, October 1
Public Affairs Committee Meeting
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Better Vision Institute (BVI) Dinner
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Restaurant TBD

Saturday, October 3
Sunglass & Reader Division Reception
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 4
Sunglass & Reader Steering Committee
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Sunglass & Reader Division
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Public Affairs & Advocacy

Better Vision Institute Holds Vision Summit
At the Vision Summit, held May 28-29, the Better Vision Institute welcomed experts from across America in the fields of home, work, UV and sports eye protection to the National Press Club in downtown Washington, DC. Attendees recognize Paul Berman, O.D., FAAO for the 2009 Visionary Award for his lifelong dedication to promoting sports eye protection. The Summit also welcomed a new spokesman for eye protection: NBA Rookie of the Year, 4-time NBA All-Star and Olympic medalist Amar'e Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns. Stoudemire, who suffered a season ending detached retina, has vowed to wear eye protection for the rest of his career and used this year's Summit to spread his message of safety to America.

Legislative and Regulatory Update
The Public Affairs and Advocacy (PAA) Department has continued its ongoing efforts on Capitol Hill regarding legislative and regulatory issues. As the summer builds toward a massive overhaul of the health care system, The Vision Council will have an active role in the debate in health care reform.

Looking to regulatory issues, both domestic and abroad, the PAA Department has been monitoring a wide variety of matters of concern to our members. The PAA is pleased to inform members that the European Commission has voted to indefinitely extend the use of both metric and non-metric measurements on goods sold throughout the EU. The new ruling will go into effect January 1, 2010, and will allow American companies to distribute products in the EU without changing over metrics.

Also in European regulatory matters, the Public Affairs and Advocacy department has been monitoring the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) standards as their implementation occurs. The goal of the standards is to regulate European companies that deal with chemicals in their products. For those members who require further information on product registration under REACH standards, please contact the PAA department and we will provide you with a thorough description of what will fall under the umbrella of REACH standards.

As the new presidential administration continues to take shape the PAA Department is following the Senate confirmation of Inez Tenenbaum to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Nominated by President Obama, Tenenbaum will be part of the commission in charge of implementing the CPSIA which deals directly with lead and phthalate levels in many consumer products. All members should be aware that on August 14, 2009, portions of the CPSIA are set to be implemented. These requirements deal with lead levels in children's (ages 12 and under) toys as well as lead paint levels. It also has implementations dealing with packaging and tracking of children's products.

Technical News

The Vision Council Members Go East
ISO TC712/SC7 Meets in Berlin, U.S. Experts in Attendance

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) TC172/SC7 recently completed a five day series of meetings in the German capitol. The meetings ran Monday through Friday, May 25-29, and were hosted by the German group Deutsche Industry Normen (DIN) in their headquarters. DIN is the German analog to the U.S. group ANSI.

TC172/SC7 is the controlling organization for the international management of standards for ophthalmic optics and instruments. SC7 is divided in ten major working groups, each with various numbers of reporting subcommittees and project groups, the members of which conduct the standards writing work.

In total, TC172/SC7 handles the standards that cover the majority of ophthalmic products and procedures, including lenses, frames, completed prescription eyewear, over the counter reading glasses and instrumentation, as well as contact lenses, intraocular lenses, cases and solutions.

The meeting, attended by invitation only, consisted of 170 participants representing 15 member countries. The U.S. delegation experts, who participate on behalf of industry within ANSI ASC Z80, included some well known figures in the American ophthalmic community, including Nick Mileti of Luxottica, Neil Roche of Essilor, Dan Torgersen of Walman Optical, Dr. Thomas White, Dr. William Brown and U.S. delegation leader Charles Campbell, an expert in instrumentation. Staff participation for The Vision Council included ASC Z80 Secretary Ken Wood, Sunglass & Reader Division liaison Ken Frederick and technical director Jeff Endres.

The group TC172/SC7 has regular meetings on an 18-month cycle, rotating among the member bodies who act as host and systematically alternating between the Europe, Asia and North America. The next meeting is scheduled to take place in the U.S. in the fall of 2010. As Secretariat for ANSI ASC Z80, The Vision Council will provide the management services for this event at the direction of Ken Wood, industry veteran, liaison to The Vision Council LPT Division and the ASC Z80 Secretary.

For more information contact Jeff Endres at jendres@thevisioncouncil.org.

NSL Analytical Named Preferred Testing Lab of The Vision Council
During 2008, The Vision Council Membership Oversight Committee recommended that the organization seek a professionally accredited scien¬tific testing laboratory to allow member companies options for testing. After a lengthy search process and several site visits, NSL Analytical has been selected as the preferred testing lab of The Vision Council.

Upon selection as the preferred vendor, NSL staff - under the direction of president Larry Somrack - took several steps to fully understand the types of testing conducted in the optical field. NSL visited a testing facility at Essilor and several production facilities, as well as interviewed multiple member companies. Based on their research, NSL has expanded their testing menu to provide the tests needed for optical manufacturers.

In June, optical veteran, Steve Ross joined NSL Analytical as a manufacturer representative to the optical industry. Ross is the former owner of Midwest Optical Laboratories in Ohio and a past-president of the Optical Laboratories Association.

As a member of The Vision Council, your company receives preferred pricing from NSL for their services. To learn more information about NSL, please contact NSL at (800) 497-6752.

ISO/CEN Nickel Release Task Force
The recent revision of EN 1811 (nickel release test) has brought the issue of nickel release to the forefront again. The proposed test EU procedures would cause the majority of metal frames used for optical products to fail. While this is a standard for Europe, the revision impacts everyone as the markets for optical products have become a worldwide enterprise. The concern over nickel release has intensified within the European community more rapidly than the rest of the world, but due to the influence they have on the world's producers, industry needs to work to develop an acceptable alternative method.

During the May ISO frame meeting in Berlin, a project team was selected to develop an alternative test and work with CEN, the European standards body to allow this in place of the revised EN 1811 method. The project team is composed of members from Germany, UK, France, Italy, China, Japan, and the US, represented by Mr. Ken Frederick. As the timing is critical, the group agreed to accelerate the work and via teleconferences and emails, along with agreeing to meet face to face a regular basis (at least the first year) to resolve the issues.

The first task was to present a proposal to CEN and gain their approval in delaying the implementation of the revision for spectacle frames long enough for the group to develop acceptable alternatives. During June, the project team was successful in gaining preliminary approval on a mandate from the European Commission on our project. The next step is to present a plan, a budget, and a time table, hopefully completing this by mid September, the target date for final approval from the EC.

The group last met in London on July 16^th and 17^th and outlined 5 potential test methods which we will investigate and report back on in late September. They also outlined the next steps: to go before CEN through a Business plan:

Purpose - to develop a test method to determine Nickel Release for spectacle frames and frames for sunglasses in accordance with the Mandate from the EU.

Method: To investigate different approaches to determine cost effective test methods - three look promising.  These are X-ray methods, conductivity, and developments of DMG.  To save time, these will be developed in parallel, should one or other of the methods prove less effective. This will need a short description of each test method.

Timetable
Timetable for CEN Standards
15 months from issue of mandate to issue of draft to enquiry
6 month vote
6 months to prepare draft for final vote - prEN
3 months vote
3 months for consolidation of comments on final vote
can apply for 9 month extension. 

Budget -the taskforce is asking for financial contributions to support its work. On the table is a proposal for the European members (Germany, Italy, France, & the UK) involved to contribute 30,000 Euros each over the project timeframe (3 years) and for China, Japan, and the US to contribute 10,000 Euros each.

The impact on metal frames should EN 1811 be implemented in its current form would be devastating as very few of the frames currently on the market would pass. Due to prior issues with the way in which nickel release was handled in Europe by those involved with EU standards, there has been considerable attention drawn to frames and they are likely to be more intensely scrutinized than other products. 

The need to develop and implement a realistic test is critical. The project group has been able to work with the European Commission and gain their support for our project, and now must work quickly to find a solution. 

The next meeting is scheduled for late September in Copenhagen.

Member Discounts

ParcelSmart
We are pleased to offer members of The Vision Council with an exclusive benefit that will help you save time and money on your parcel shipments. ParcelSmart is the leading provider of contingency-based parcel auditing services. Working with DHL, FedEx and UPS carriers, ParcelSmart helps you find shipping errors and receive credits to your account. Typically, 3-8 percent of the charges on your shipping invoices are made in error. ParcelSmart works to identify and correct these errors.

Run on a contingency-based program, if no errors are found, no fees will be collected. You can also receive a free carrier contract review to assure your carrier is in compliance with your agreement. Take charge of your shipping bills and get the credit you deserve.

Contact Amber Robinson, The Vision Council member services coordinator, at arobinson@thevisioncouncil.org to learn more.

Do You Need Help Promoting Your Company?
The Vision Council is pleased to introduce Advent Packaging and Promotions, a fellow member of The Vision Council, as a trusted resource for your tradeshow gift and advertising specialty requirements. With over 20 years in the printing and promotional business, Advent has a proven track record of providing clients with creative and innovative ideas that are used to create an ideal promotional strategy when you have a niche product or need to attract a specific target audience.

With Advent, you're their client and they are your own personal shopper, providing service along with ideas and prices. When you order online, Advent has your interests in mind, monitoring your order and your deadline. Seldom will you receive that kind of personalized, "hand-holding" customer service from on-line company. Let Advent show you what they can do!

For more information, please contact Amber Robinson, member services coordinator, at arobinson@thevisioncouncil.org.

Become Our Fan on Facebook
The Vision Council is now on Facebook! We have created fan pages that anyone can join. If you use Facebook please show your support for The Vision Council and Eyecessorize and become a fan of our pages!