Optical Success Academy’s (OSA) annual conference took place online with 85 independent practices attending the interactive two-day event.
Its theme was ‘Be World Class’ and featured a session led by retail business consultant Kate Hardcastle, who provided insights into world class retail.
The keynote presentation was delivered by Mark Beaumont, who holds the record for cycling around the world, and he spoke about how to sustain high-level performance in business.
Conor Heaney, founder of OSA, said: ‘Cancelling the event was something I never considered. We’re in the middle of the most challenging business conditions the world has ever seen. Practice owners need more support and inspiration, not less.’
During the virtual event, Summers Opticians was voted by attendees as the 2020 OSA Practice of the Year, which revamped their Gateshead-based practice following OSA’s principles.
Catherine Carr, company secretary at Summers Opticians, said: ‘We are ecstatic to have won OSA practice of the year 2020. Since joining OSA in April 2019 we’ve worked really hard to create a practice that offers not only the best independent eyewear, but a client experience that matches.
‘Being voted practice of the year by the very OSA members that have inspired us is a massive compliment, and a huge boost to our incredibly hard working team who’ve embraced all the changes we’ve made.’