NEW YORK—Registration is now open for the 2022 VM Leadership Summit, due to return live and in-person here in New York for the first time in two years on Wednesday, March 30, just prior to the start of Vision Expo East. Themed "Discover & Recalibrate! Trends, Ideas and Tactics for Confronting Radical Change," the exclusive and influential event will examine the dizzying pace of megatrends, shaped by the global pandemic, that are transforming retail and healthcare right now.

Registration details are posted here.
 
The Summit will return to The Times Center where retail and healthcare experts from outside and from within the business will offer glimpses of the near future, where disruption remains constant, and consumers are one step ahead. Summit attendees will learn about the new purpose of a store, how brands are being built, how the tech titans are targeting vision and innovators are creating new pathways to patient-centric care.

“Our Summit speakers will point the way to actionable insights and strategic tactics that you can share with your optical business and vision care team,” said Marge Axelrad, senior vice president and editorial director at Vision Monday/Jobson Optical Group. “The industry’s can’t-miss event delivers new ideas and tactics to help your practice or business grow and succeed in the face of constant, radical change.”
 
The VM Summit program will examine these megatrends:
 
  • Retail Is the New Media Channel—Social commerce takes on a greater role. Livestreaming emerges. Lines further blur between click and brick. The store emerges as a new media channel. Consumers connect with brands and services via new technologies inside and outside the store. Omnichannel is essential but must be personalized to specific consumers. Examples of how optical is bridging brick and click.
     
  • Brand-Building, Rewired—New brands are springing forth from all directions capturing lucrative sales and passionate fans among traditional consumers and digital natives. Both emerging and legacy brands are propelled by pop culture, sports, designers, entertainers and indie creators and amplified by social media. Influencers are playing an outsized role in building an audience. And artificial intelligence is often powering these changes.

  • Vision-Tech Convergence—Tech titans, such as Apple, Meta, Amazon, Google and Microsoft, are now setting their sights on vision. From increased accessibility to advanced technologies, they are making eyewear and eyecare more central to their platforms.

  • New Access Points and Routes to Care—Driven by a pandemic that reshaped consumer attitudes, powerful retail store drug chains and electronic specialists (Best Buy, CVS, Walmart, Walgreens) are amping up their presence in healthcare, both onsite and via in-home monitoring.
For 15 years, the Vision Monday Global Leadership Summit has attracted senior industry executives, optical retailers, leading eyecare professionals, suppliers and key opinion leaders from the worldwide optical industry. It has become the place for face-to-face networking, a dynamic exchange of ideas and thought-provoking discussion.
 
For the 2022 VM Leadership Summit, Platinum Sponsors include: EssilorLuxottica, HEA + PECAA, VSP Global Premier. Gold Sponsors include Ocuco, Sunbit and The Vision Council.