Comfort is

Comfort must come before cost in order to grow the UK contact lens market says Jack Rawle, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care sales director for the UK and Ireland.
In his speech at the J&J Ultra Comfort evening, which coincided with the British Contact Lens Association conference and exhibition in Brighton, Rawle posed the question: Why are only 10 per cent of vision corrected patients in the UK wearing contact lenses?
'Patients are pretty satisfied with the spectacle market because staff are trained to go to the best product first. But with contact lenses the emphasis is on modality and price,' he said.
'This fixation on price often leads to a poor first experience for new wearers and they drop out.'
In overseas markets where benefits are presented, Rawle said penetration was as high as 25 per cent.
'Last year Japan's was 19 per cent and the US was 25 per cent,' he commented. 'You don't need to sell the same products that everybody else sells at low price points. Talk about patient benefits and offer products that will meet their needs.'
Over 50 delegates attended the Ultra Comfort evening and a similar number arrived for the 'Hands-on fitting and hands-on lunch' on Saturday June 4 to trial the Acuvue Oasys and the new One Day Acuvue Moist lenses, which were launched at the event.
emma.c.white@rbi.co.uk