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NEW YORK—A palpable sense of energy and enthusiasm pervaded the exhibit hall on the first and second day of Vision Expo, as both exhibitors and attendees expressed optimism about the industry’s prospects for 2010 and the Expo experience itself. The lighter mood proved a welcome relief to the economic pressures that suppliers, eyecare practitioners and optical retailers have been experiencing for past 18 months.

“Everyone we’ve talked to at this show seems optimistic, and we’re encouraged by how much they like our products,” said Don Howard, president/CEO, Kenmark Optical. “The larger optical retailers seem to have taken the brunt of the downturn initially, but now their comparable-store sales are up. Some retailers even report they’re having record comp sales so far this year—and that’s a good sign for the rest of 2010.”

Many exhibitors were especially pleased with the sales and traffic at their booths on Friday.

“Yesterday was the busiest first day of any show ever for our company. We set a sales record,” Mike Hundert, CEO of REM and Base Curve Eyewear. “There is no gloom and doom, the clouds have been lifted and clearly people are excited and looking at new product again. Inventories have been filtered through the industries’ system and people are looking for new nourishment. In anticipation of that, we developed a lot of new products. Whereas last year we slowed down our product releases, now we’ve really accelerated them and it’s being absorbed really well.”

Frank Rescigna, president and CEO of Viva International Group was also upbeat. “Last year was our best show ever, and our sales for the first day of this show beat all three days of sales last year combined,” Rescigna remarked. “Skechers has been huge for us, and we couldn’t be happier.”

Mike Elton of Hoya Vision Care, North America, agreed that the atmosphere was decidedly more upbeat this year. “This is a vast improvement over last year. We had the best and busiest first day of Expo we ever had. Our new espresso bar attracted a lot of people.”

Among attendees, several reported that business has been picking up again this year. Sandy Hadden of the optometric practice of Drs. Nizewitz and Lake in Middletown, N.Y. noted that customers are spending more freely than they were a few months ago. “People are buying glasses as well as contact lenses, plus separate pairs of plano or prescription sunwear,” she said.

Bonnie Stevenson of Accu-Vision Center in Southington, Conn. measures the uptick in business by the increase in patient visits. “Our appointment book is full and we’ve had less cancellations,” said Stevenson. “Also, we’ve had some high end spending that is not just insurance-related.”

However, patients at some practices are still keeping a careful watch on their wallets.
“People are looking for more deals, even with their insurance. Many patients are keeping their old frames and putting in new lenses,” said Nancy Martinez, Robbins Eye Center, Bridgeport, Conn.

Several retailers said they have a clear direction when investing in specific types of products and equipment for their practice or business.

“We ended 2009 at record sales levels because we focused on two major areas last year: the medical side of our business and managed vision care. We plan to continue investing in those areas—for example, we recently bought seven more digital retinal cameras,” said Al Bernstein, president of Nationwide Vision, which operates 61 stores in Arizona.

“At the show we have increased our purchasing of sports vision/safety frames. We’ve always done some business in this niche but if you don’t have an impressive display to grab the customer’s attention then it doesn’t come across well,” said Karen Koumjiam, OD of Watertown Eye in Watertown, Mass. “I’ve also purchased some new equipment including a new visual field instrument and an auto-refractor/keratometer. I keep investing in my practice. It’s the best investment you can make. The stock market may go down, but my practice won’t.”