Judges of the Optician Awards 2021 praised Hoya Lens UK, winner of the Lens Supplier of the Year category, for its ‘excellent active collaboration with independent opticians, support and product innovation’. Dale Hughes, head of marketing at Hoya, says that winning the award is in recognition of the Hoya team’s hard work, commitment and clear direction, particularly during the pandemic. ‘Our motivation is to support our independent customers to drive their own success. Winning such an award helps us to demonstrate and reinforce our commitment in this respect,’ he says. The awards have become a ‘great social event’ in Hoya’s calendar and ‘a great opportunity to meet and entertain customers, as well as providing an opportunity to interact with others in our industry,’ Hughes adds.
Safety and supplies
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Hoya’s priority was to ensure continuity of supply to all its independent business partners while maintaining a safe environment for its teams to continue to work. With this in mind, the company developed a campaign called BounceBack-20. The company quickly adapted its working environment and protocols to keep teams safe while maintaining high service levels.
A customer service team of four (reduced from 20) worked tirelessly to update customers on the progress of their orders and redirect orders to home addresses or alternative practice addresses. They arranged for those orders that could not be delivered to practices to be brought back to Hoya and then contacted each practice to arrange the re-direction of their order. The company also supplied anti-fog cloths to help prevent lenses from steaming up when wearing a mask and distributed more than £20,000 worth of complementary personal protective equipment kits to its customers. During the pandemic, 98% of Rx and edged products were manufactured and dispatched from the UK within 48 hours.
To further support independents, Hoya teamed up with other suppliers to help practitioners create safe and hygienic ways of working, finance options for new equipment and patient communications. This included companies such as Practice Building, Opticommerce, Haag-Streit, Birmingham Optical and Topcon. ‘We work closely with these to share communications,’ says Hughes. Hoya also offers business growth training to its customers. ‘During Covid-19, this was done online but we plan to get back to face-to-face training this September,’ Hughes adds.
Product placement
Hoya created new solutions for its customers by launching new products, such as the Visureal Master, an ‘innovative video centration system that determines all necessary centration data precisely and automatically, while blending seamlessly into a practice’s interior design’. In February 2021, the company released Miyosmart lenses to help slow down myopia progression in children and teenagers using the defocus theory. Miyosmart, which incorporates Defocus Incorporated Multi Segment technology, was found to slow myopia progression by 59% and reduce axial elongation by 60% in a two-year clinical trial. Eye care professionals (ECPs) are required to complete three stages of training to become Miyosmart accredited.
Listening to customers
When the retail market reopened, Hoya commissioned a market research study to discuss the areas independent opticians felt were important. The aim was to optimise its offerings to help them bounce back.
‘We held focus groups with more than 35 ECPs across the UK and Ireland,’ says Hughes. The research revealed that ‘opticians want a business relationship with suppliers’ with a focus on ‘communication and trust’ and the ability to ‘share their views, needs and expectations, not only their problems or to be contacted for new products’.
Hoya has since developed Visionary Alliance, an independent opticians’ partnership programme ‘to strengthen ECPs’ independence and support them to run their business their way’.
Hughes describes the Visionary Alliance as a ‘place for independent eye care professionals to feel connected, so they can be part of a network of knowledge and obtain tools, advice and support’. He adds: ‘Our aim is to offer additional incentives and benefits for working with Hoya and enable business growth through support programmes. An example of this is our Vision Care Consultancy programme, an interactive, fun training programme designed to involve the whole team with ongoing coaching, shadowing and feedback.’
Hughes highlights the company’s overarching aim to evolve its proposition to support its independent customers and their business growth. ‘This year, we are planning a range of improvements across several of our key product categories, including progressives, photochromics and coatings. We are aiming to collaborate with more industry suppliers and launch a new interactive lens consultation tool so watch this space,’ he says.
‘Of course, we continue our mission to curb myopia with our Miyosmart spectacle lenses, working closely with independent practitioners to help as many children as possible. To support this goal, we continue to drive awareness about myopia to parents, grandparents and guardians.’
