Retail optics has changed dramatically in the last 20 years and how it will change in the future continues to be a topic of great interest
Retail optics has changed dramatically in the last 20 years and how it will change in the future continues to be a topic of great interest.
Some of the biggest players in retail optics will be taking part in Question Time at Optrafair next weekend and answering queries from the audience on just that topic. Email chris.bennett@rbi.co.uk if you have a question you would like answered by the panel. It’s amazing to think that the six panellists invited represent nearly 1,800 UK practices between them, and that includes a regional chain and an independent.
Understanding where the market may be going requires knowing where it is now. It is said that information is power and next week Optician publishes its review of the Top 10 chains to provide a picture of the optical landscape.
When the first Optrafair was staged, only the independent and regional chain on our panel would have been operating in its present form and would have had a couple of dozen practices to its name. Many of the famous names from yesteryear, Dollond & Aitchison, Curry and Paxton, Conlons, Batemans, Rayners, no longer exist or live within the big three.
The top 10 includes new businesses, long established chains and some who were simply selling groceries. Perhaps next year’s Top 10 Chains will feature a few more new names.