Highlighting how frame manufacturers have been forced to 'work much harder' to achieve results in the UK comparable to before the recession, Mathieu Lafont, marketing manager for Lafont eyewear, sees this year's ABDO conference as a valuable opportunity.
Lafont, whose family's brand will be exhibiting for the first time at the Association of British Dispensing Opticians annual conference and exhibition, sees the company's attendance as part of a necessary increase in its efforts to maintain sales in the UK.
Citing the audience of dispensing opticians as a significant attraction, Lafont said that exhibiting at the event in Brighton from October 3-5 would be a useful public relations exercise, helping Lafont's UK profile as well as a good way to discover new customers.
'ABDO's values are very similar to our own, such as helping people to see better and feel good with their frames,' he added. Describing the British market, along with those of Ireland and Spain as 'fairly difficult', Lafont said the economic crisis had caused 'complications' for the Lafont brand.
'Since the end of 2008, sales are much more difficult. Some opticians have more payment difficulties than before, while some have too many frames already in stock,' he said.
'We're not changing the way we're approaching the market. For example, we won't start working with the discount chains because it makes no sense for us. You simply have to try to improve what you're doing, try to be even better organised and efficient, visit more shops and explain the collections in the best way you possibly can.'
He added that the market situation was 'not a catastrophe by any means, but we are simply having to work harder to make sales'.
Lafont said the UK optical market had suffered more difficulties than those of France, Germany and the Benelux countries where early in 2008 frame manufacturers had witnessed a significant decrease in demand which stabilised during the latter part of 2008 and remained consistent.
