The Vision Council Concludes Successful 2022 National Sunglasses Day Campaign

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—On June 27, The Vision Council brought the importance of ultraviolet (UV)-protective eyewear to life through a successful National Sunglasses Day campaign. The Vision Council encouraged members and the industry at large to participate by posting on their social media channels using the official hashtags, #NationalSunglassesDay and #SunglassSelfie, and tagging @TheVisionCouncil, @opticalindustry and @VisionOptionsbyTVC. The social media campaign, including the #NationalSunglassesDay hashtag, garnered more than 137 million impressions and more than 146,900 engagements, including posts from Pitbull, Iris Apfel, Paris Hilton, Green Bay Packers, NASA, the US Secret Service, and more.

The National Average for Gross Revenue at ECP Locations Increased for the Week of June 20-26, Jobson’s Latest Practice Performance Tracker Shows

NEW YORK—The national average for gross revenue at ECP locations increased last week, June 20-26, at a rate of 3 index points. That places gross revenue at a level 7 index points above where it was at this point in time, Week 26, when compared with last year, 3 points above Week 26 of 2020, and 9 points above 2019, according to Jobson’s most recent Practice Performance Tracker. All optical sales categories increased last week when compared with the previous week, ranging from 3 index points for gross revenue, exams/refractions and lens pairs to 1 index point for contact lenses.

EssilorLuxottica, Michelin and UN Executives Gather to Support Action for Good Vision on the Road

NEW YORK—Executives from EssilorLuxottica and Michelin North America gathered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City yesterday, June 29, 2022, to discuss the “Action for Good Vision on the Road. Together for Safer Roads” campaign. The conference was opened by Jean Todt, United Nations Secretary General’s special envoy for road safety. Rick Gadd, president of wholesale for EssilorLuxottica Canada; Dave Reaves, vice president of operations for LensCrafters; and Alexis Garcin, president and CEO of Michelin North America also spoke. David Navarro, vice president, vision on the road group plan, EssilorLuxottica, moderated the talk.

Walmart to Acquire AR Optical Tech Company Memomi for Virtual Try-On and Contact-Free Digital Measurements

BENTONVILLE, Ark.—Walmart and Memomi, an AR optical tech company, announced they have entered into an agreement for Walmart to acquire Memomi. This reinforces Walmart’s commitment to frictionless and omnichannel optical care, the company said. Since 2019, Memomi has enabled digital measurements for all Walmart and Sam’s Optical customers, across more than 2,800 Walmart Vision Centers and 550 Sam’s Clubs, and also powers the optical e-commerce experience on SamsClub.com. The announcement said, "Acquiring Memomi, an AR company, is the next step in Walmart’s journey of offering personalized, affordable access to optical care.

VM's 2022 Top 50 U.S. Optical Retailers Report: Recovery and Recalibration

NEW YORK—After the shock of the 2020 pandemic and the slow build back to some semblance of stability by the end of that year, the leading U.S. optical retailers and companies, both national and regional groups, came back in 2021 with a solid mid-to-high double digit performance overall. While the 2020 year was characterized as working past store and office closures to “craft a comeback,” as VM noted in our 2021 Top 50, the 12 months of 2021 were marked by tightening up operations, accelerating new digital technologies to power operations and to demonstrate new ideas to consumers and patients. Companies reconsidered initiatives like more online sales choices or remote eyecare.