Rodenstock: optimistic outlook for 2005
Rodenstock, the leading manufacturer of spectacle lenses and spectacle frames in Germany, has an optimistic outlook for 2005 after the success of its measures to improve its competitive position.
Dr Giancarlo Galli, Ceo of the Rodenstock Executive Board, stated: 'The positive signals from the market are increasing in strength for Rodenstock. This is encouraging for the coming months. We have implemented a number of measures to improve our competitive position over the past few months and have achieved, and in some cases surpassed, our targets for 2004. All sectors of the company were in the black in 2004. We have been able to expand our market share on the German market despite the effects of the health reform and are now again the market leader not only in lenses, but also - for the first time in many years - in frames. On the international side, we have laid a solid foundation for sustainable growth in the coming years with substantial market share gains in our focus markets of Eastern Europe and Asia/Pacific and can so enjoy exceptional perspectives for the future'.
Rodenstock plans to continue its strategy of focusing uncompromisingly on international markets 2005. The emphasis will in particular be on the international sales structure introduced at the start of this year with five regional managers experienced in the market and the industry. This structure is designed to allow the company to be even closer to the customer in future, in particular internationally.
Dr Giancarlo Galli added: 'Our international sales structure forms the logical complement to our international production and logistics organisation. If we are to be successful on a 'local' level on global markets, our products and services must be derived from the market and be designed for the market - better than those of our competitors, at competitive prices and just as fast. We have now created the conditions for this'.
The pressure on traditional, independent opticians to provide a greater differentiation and a sharper profile of their range of services will continue to increase, especially in Germany. Rodenstock also assumes that the existing market trend towards a split into a premium segment and a low-price segment will become even more pronounced. Accordingly, the product portfolio has been expanded to include an attractively priced product line for lenses, on the one hand, and a number of innovations in the sector of high-quality spectacles produced individually according to the demands of the wearer, on the other hand.
After 2004 proved to be the difficult year everyone had expected for the German optical industry as a whole, Rodenstock now again anticipates a tangible recovery of the market for 2005. In this respect, Rodenstock is planning to utilise this development in particular with consumer advertising for high-quality lenses and new marketing concepts for the optical professionals.
Dr Giancarlo Galli ended: 'The removal of spectacles from the list of services paid for by the statutory health insurance companies and the increasingly better informed 'responsible' consumer represent the unstoppable change from a medical profession to a consumer goods industry for ophthalmic optics. Only those companies who succeed in differentiating themselves from the competition with a clear performance promise and who subsequently also keep this promise will be among the winners at the end of the day. This applies to our customers, the qualified opticians, and equally to us as manufacturers'.
