It’s been 12 months since our inaugural survey of optical doors and market share in Australia. Since then the feedback we’ve received from most independents is that (on the whole) they’ve accepted that the market has changed and global franchises are here to stay. But instead of joining the discount war – which has proven to be a downhill spiral that leads to diminished service, lower professional satisfaction and worst of all, poor eye health standards, independent have changed the way they do business.
It’s something we’ve had to do at mivision as well.
When we launched back in April 2007, we published a 44-page magazine. At the time, industry publications primarily covered politics and government regulations. We were a little daunted by the challenge of filling 44 pages with editorial and enough advertising to keep the wolves from our doors, but thought there must be more to the industry than politics.
Now, every issue, we publish a 92-page magazine written by leaders from the optometry and ophthalmology world. With the amount of news and stories that come our way each month, we could easily run to 150 pages but that would necessitate an entirely different print format and change the nature of the magazine.
Over the years, we have had to really step up to meet the needs of our advertisers. We’ve introduced new and exciting ways to communicate, including stick-on newsletters; flysheet wraparounds and in this issue, for the first time in optics – a special “sealed section”. We’ve had to move sections, like the Directory and Diary, to online and re-task the pages to editorial. We’ve introduced our education section which has had an overwhelming response of up to 770 CPD modules completed each month. With the 30 November deadline looming we have another two points available this issue.
Online is another area of our business that we’ve needed to adopt and adapt. We invested heavily in our new website early last year and it has paid dividends. It now receives up to 10,000 unique visitors per month who are attracted to our CPD education, classified ads and daily news updates.
We now send out two email newsletters a month to the eye care sector and more than 30 per cent of recipients visit our site within 24 hours of dispatch. Then, there is our Facebook page which has nearly 22,000 members from the global eye care community primarily made up of members from Australia, Canada, the USA, the UK, Malaysia, Philippines, Egypt, India and Indonesia. There’s also a minor percentage from small developing countries and it’s fantastic to think that our publication is influencing eye care in these communities.
It’s been an exciting ride since our first 44-page magazine in April 2007 and we’d like to thank our advertisers, our contributing writers and, most importantly, our loyal readers for always letting us know what you want in your eye care and eyewear communication.
Enjoy this issue.
Mark Cushway
Contents:
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minews: All the latest news from November 2012. Click here |
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mistory: Shades of Grey The World of Optical Retailing: We took into account various sources – the ODMA Eyewear Report, the Eye Talk Survey. Read more |
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mifeature: Dedicated to Cambodia The Strategic Plan to Restore Sight: How does a group of volunteers from disparate professions and locations deliver cohesive eye care services in a developing country? Read more |
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mioptometry: All the latest optomerty reports from November 2012. Read more |
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miview: Warring Words in the Lucky Country: In a country where our tribal differences are decided on green fields rather than battlefields, we’d have to consider ourselves lucky. Read more |
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mieyecare: That’s Going to Leave a Stain…Or Is It? The debate moves from corneal staining to contact lens–associated infiltrative keratitis. Read more |
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mieyecare: (CPD ARTICLE): When it comes to the eye however, only seven per cent of people associate UVR with eye problems.Eyecare professionals and the optical industry as a whole have an opportunity to educate the public more widely. Read more |
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mifashion: Carrera Eyewear Designed for Speed: The name ‘Carrera’ is Spanish for ‘race’ and around the globe, synonymous with high-speed sport. Read more |
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mifashion: Kids’ Eyewear That’s In Your Face: Kids under the age of five usually won’t complain of vision problems because it’s something they’ve grown up with so they simply think what they’re seeing is normal. Read more |
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mifashionnews: All the latest fashion news from November 2012. Click here |
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mibusiness: Eye Protectors The First Line of Defence: Around 2.25 million people in Australia are employed in the mining, construction and manufacturing industries1 and need protective eyewear due to the high risk of accidental eye injury. Read more |
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miproducts: All the latest products from November 2012. Click here |
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mievents: BIG Business in Beijing: the China International Optics Fair (CIOF) has a scale beyond the wildest dreams of most optical show organisers. Read more |
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miclassifieds: Looking for a job? New practice or equipment? Click here |
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midiary: Look out for all the upcoming events in the world of optometry. Click here |
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