Essilor America has encouraged independent practitioners in the US to increase their revenue through marketing and selling their products and services on the internet.
The company's vice president of customer relations in the US, Howard Purcell, claimed practitioners should 'seize the opportunity to expand their businesses through this new channel', according to American website Vision Monday.
Purcell also revealed that Essilor would be working with 'other industry leaders' to get more independent practitioners involved with online purchasing in a joint initiative with Essilor.
However, Essilor UK could not confirm whether similar encouragement would be made to UK practitioners. Asked about the issue, Marc Tersigni, managing director of Essilor UK, told Optician: 'The subject of internet purchases is one that everyone is talking about and has been a very active trend in particular in the US in the last two years.'
According to Purcell, online selling presented practices with three choices. These were doing nothing and letting things happen, selling online on their own, or finding an industry partner to help them embrace the online market.
Purcell claimed that if practitioners waited too long to become involved with online eyewear sales, they would 'miss the opportunity', adding that 'there is a lot of activity in this area right now'.
'It's going to be challenging to convince the average practitioner that this is an option that's important for the future of their practice.'
Envisaging that internet frame sales would grow from 3 to 6 per cent in the coming year, Purcell stated: 'The question is, can independent practices participate in this in a way that will be viable?'