Focus on Business Aspiring to greatness BY JUANITA NEVILLE-TE RITO* I recently had an interesting discussion with a crowd of 150 people about why retail in New Zealand is so poor. This conversation took place right after I had expressed my adulation for a craft experiencing a renaissance. Internationally, retail is in a period of renaissance, but if my weekend shopping experience is anything to go by, New Zealand’s customer service alone may be enough to kill any hope of following in our overseas friends’ footsteps. For instance, when a cashier asks you, “Do you have our Health 2000 loyalty card?” and you say, “No I don’t”, and they say, “Ok, then that will be $59.95”, your only response has to be, “Huh?” Many from within and outside of retail have claimed that this fine industry is dying. On its last leg. “Who is going to go shopping when the window to the world is at everyone’s fingertips?” But the cynics are being proven wrong. The only thing they had right was that mediocre retail would die—that trend continues. However, e-commerce has created a catalyst for change and a retail renaissance has emerged. In that light, I was delighted to read on the blog of one of my favourite retail gurus, Jon Bird, a post based on his visit to the recent Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, an annual event that this time around recognised retail as part of its overall creative love fest. If Jon’s observations are anything to go by, retailers globally are aspiring to greatness, and delivering with verve. As Bird notes in his post (http://www.newretailblog.com/ retail-roars-at-the-cannes-lions/), a final awards night recognised five retail/marketing spaces as Lions winners for harnessing the power of retail in a fresh new way. Here’s what Jon Bird wrote: 1. The Gun Shop: created for the States United To Prevent Gun Violence in the US. The concept was to establish a pop-up store selling guns (both in real-life and online). Once a customer had engaged with the sales assistant, the true horrific story behind each weapon was revealed. This case is all about affecting shopper behaviour (and ultimately consumer behaviour), but by de-motivating, rather than motivating, a purchase. I thought it was brilliant. 2. Monty’s Christmas: created for UK department store chain, John Lewis. The annual Christmas commercial for John Lewis is eagerly awaited by the British public. Last holiday season, ‘Monty the Penguin’ was the central character, and he was featured brilliantly, all the way from the heart-warming TV ad to a plush toy for sale on the department store shelf. This is a superbly integrated and original Christmas campaign that had both a strong cultural and sales effect. 3. Rabbit Race: created for Media Markt, Germany’s biggest electronics retailer. How do you get away from the traditional Easter retail symbols of eggs and cuddly rabbits? By turning those rabbits into red-hot racers and staging a bigger live television event than the semi-finals of the soccer World Cup. This is a great promotional spin on a seasonal retail campaign, which raised traffic to stores by more than 18 per cent. 4. Make-Up Genius: created for L’Oreal Paris. Digital both instore and out of store is now an integral part of shopper marketing. This application allowed customers to accurately try on L’Oreal makeup in a “digital mirror” (their smartphone screens), in order to increase trial and generate sales. 5. Emoji Ordering: created for Domino’s. The idea here is to enable customers to order from Domino’s via Twitter by simply using a pizza emoji. Whether it was a legitimate hit with customers or not, I am a big fan of how innovative Domino’s has become over the last few years with ordering via mobile. To read more about the Cannes winner, and to watch videos, see my full blog post called Aspiring to Greatness on http://www.retailgeek.co.nz/. *An Aussie by birth and Kiwi at heart, Juanita is CEO and founder of retail specialist Hotfoot, a smarter, nontraditional advertising and communications agency which helps transform and build NZ retail businesses. Juanita’s insights and expertise from the wonderful world that is retail have been drawn not just from a twenty year career in the industry but also from her personal passion for shopping, to which she applies the same high levels of energy, leadership and intelligence as she does to business. You can follow Juanita on Pinterest (pinterest.com/ hotfootnz/) or Twitter (twitter.com/JuanitaNeville) or through her website www.retailgeek.co.nz. Paragon Care to acquire DFV Melbourne-based Paragon Care has agreed to buy three private companies, including optometry and ophthalmology distributor Designs For Vision (DFV). Paragon, a medical products and services provider, filed documents with the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in mid-August announcing it would raise A$44 million ($49 million) for the acquisitions, valuing the DFV purchase at A$25.5 million ($28.4 million). Paragon expects to finalise the acquisitions by the end of <strong>Sep</strong>tember. The purchase of DFV is intended to “expand Paragon’s customer base by providing access to the ophthalmic market where there will be growth opportunities for some of Paragon’s existing products,” according to the ASX-filing. Based in New South Wales, DFV provides a catalogue of diagnostic equipment, ophthalmic lasers, dry eye treatments, and other products to the Australia and New Zealand markets. The private company has operated since 1978 and currently employs 55 people, including two representatives in NZ. “(Paragon) respect what we have created here in DFV and do not want to see it changed,” says DFV directors Brad Grills and Nikolas Apostolou in a co-authored statement. “The DFV brand will remain. We believe in this business and its people and in part this is why we decided to transfer the shareholding to a stronger balance sheet to build more financial strength into the DFV brand and in turn create more opportunities together for our people.” Grills adds that in NZ Keith Proctor will continue to manage its surgical business and Jared Beetham the diagnostic business. O Record turnover for Specsavers Specsavers broke the £2 billion ($4.75 billion) barrier announcing a record worldwide group revenue of £2.06 billion ($4.89 billion) for the 2014-<strong>2015</strong> financial year, a 9.1 per cent increase on 2013- 2014. New Zealand also broke records, exceeding revenues of $100 million for the first time, with reported revenue across its 52 Kiwi stores of $106 million, up 16.5 per cent from $91 million the previous year. Australian store numbers increased from 292 to 300, with a reported revenue of A$708 million ($791 million), an increase of 12.4 per cent over the previous year’s A$630 million despite the company relocating and refitting more than 50 stores there in the last financial year. In their introduction to Specsavers’ annual review, Specsavers founders and owners Dame Mary and Doug Perkins said the 2014-<strong>2015</strong> revenue was a ‘phenomenal landmark in Specsavers history and a ringing endorsement of the partnership model’. Charles Hornor, Specsavers’ communications director for Australia and New Zealand says the New Zealand revenue increase was ‘significantly’ more than expected, with growth particularly driven by stores which expanded their number of consulting rooms from one or two to three or four in response to demand. “We have been through a big programme of opening stores since 2008, and now we’re into a phase of expanding our current stores…that’s why average store turnover has grown to around $2.1 million per year.” Specsavers has helped drive the overall size of the New Zealand market since opening here in 2008. The average New Zealander now has their eyes tested every two to three years, compared with every five to six years a decade ago, says Hornor. Record results in New Zealand are expected next year as well, boosted by strong early results from Specsavers’ Kids Go Free campaign, launched in June. Since the launch the number of kids having their eyes tested across Specsavers stores has grown by almost 70 per cent to a little over 1,000 eye tests on under 16s each week. The company launched 32 years ago and today counts 31 million customers worldwide, with 2,300 partners and more than 30,000 people working across its 1,767 stores, support offices and supply chain. Highlights in Australia and New Zealand for the year include launching 450 new frame styles, increasing contact lens customers by 50,000, increasing sight tests in Australia by 10 per cent and 14.5 per cent in New Zealand, and despatching a record 3.7 million orders from its Melbourne Glazing Services lab, with only 0.2 per cent returned due to error. Specsavers also installed a self-service contact lens ordering system in its Australian and New Zealand stores, making it easier for customers to order new lenses; and raised A$700,000 ($782,000) for charities including the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust in NZ. “If someone had said in New Zealand in 2008 that come <strong>2015</strong> Specsavers New Zealand partners would collectively be turning over more than $100 million a year, we’d have said that’s very unlikely, but the reason it has happened is because consumers have embraced the whole concept of quality and value and that’s produced a revolution in the market,” says Hornor. Specsavers Gisborne Top Shop Specsavers Gisborne was awarded the Overall Regional Supreme Award for the Central North Island, in the annual Retail NZ Top Shop awards. Mark Johnston, Retail NZ chief executive, says Specsavers Gisborne was selected after three rounds of judging, including two in-store assessments. Speaking at the awards ceremony, Tania Richards, a dispensing optician who runs the store with optometrist Nick Whittingham, says customer service was key to the win. While Whittingham says a focus on training also contributed. “We’ve evolved into a tight-knit group.” O Optrex Actimist coming to NZ optometrists Ernest Tobia at ODMA|<strong>2015</strong> EYELogic, the exclusive distributor of Optrex ActiMist products to optometry practices in Australia received the thumbs up the day before ODMA|<strong>2015</strong> to commence distributing the popular dry eye spray to New Zealand optometrists. Following the successful launch of the Optrex ActiMist range in New Zealand pharmacies, manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser NZ identified a strong desire by optometrists to also stock the product, says Ernest Tobia, founder and managing director of EYELogic. “RB actively pursued a distributor for Optrex to service the New Zealand optometry market, leading to the appointment of EYELogic due to their specialised expertise and extensive experience in the optical industry.” Tobia, an Australian optometrist and current owner of two independent practices has more than 20 years experience as an optical practitioner and practice owner. He launched EYELogic in Australia in May 2014. He has now registered EYELogic NZ, so New Zealand optometrists will soon have the opportunity to sell Optrex ActiMist, instead of referring patients to their local pharmacy, he says. “Eighty per cent of dry eye patients suffer from meibomian gland dysfunction and Optrex is the leading product that fits that space. It’s a liposomal spray, not a drop, so it’s a lot easier for patients to use.” Tobia says he’s already spoken to several Kiwi optometrists who were keen to stock it and he’ll be contacting them following EYELogic NZ’s formal launch next month. “It’s unfortunate New Zealand [optometrists] have had to wait a year longer than Australia, but now we’re here, we’re excited about it.” O Essilor buys US optometry services provider Essilor of America Inc, the American subsidiary of Essilor International, agreed to buy Vision Source, a network of optometrists with nearly 4,000 members across North America. Details of the purchase were not made public, but the acquisition is said to represent a three-fold return on investment for Vision Source’s parent company, Brazos Private Equity, a Texas-based firm that has been shedding its healthcare holdings this year. Vision Source provides glasses, contact lenses, practice management tools, marketing assistance and supply chain programmes to optometrists in its practitioner-network. The announcement came soon after Essilor International reported total revenue of 3.408 billion euros ($5.8 billion) for the first six months of <strong>2015</strong> through June 30, an increase of 22 per cent from 2.780 billion euros ($4.6 billion) reported for the same period the year prior. The company said it was on track for 8 per cent to 11 per cent growth for the full year. Essilor has been on a two-year-long acquisition track in America, spending $3.66 billion in total for polarised glasses maker Costa Inc; photochromic lens producer Transitions Optical; and Coastal Contacts Inc, an online retailer of optical products. Elsewhere in the Americas, Essilor was a sponsor of the first World Congress of Optometry in Medellin, Colombia in mid- August. The congress is the first in a series of biennial global events to encompass all aspects of optometry in order to share research knowledge, explore clinical practice, education development and technological innovations and define an agenda for the future of accessible vision health care, according to a media statement. O 6 NEW ZEALAND OPTICS <strong>Sep</strong>tember <strong>2015</strong>
6 o C UV INDEX 2 07:15AM transitions.com Transitions and the swirl are registered trademarks and Signature is a trademark of Transitions Optical, Inc. ©<strong>2015</strong> Transitions Optical, Inc. Photochromic performance is influenced by temperature, UV exposure and lens material. Celebrate life in the best light REAL PEOPLE. REAL STORIES. Consumer campaign out now! Hear their stories at: transitions.com <strong>Sep</strong>tember <strong>2015</strong> NEW ZEALAND OPTICS 7
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