Kentral has arrived, the first optical purchasing center in Italy
On 14 November, in Milan, Salmoiraghi & Viganò and Vision Service Groupset up a limited liability consortium by the name of Kentral 'The Supercentrale for Italian optical distribution'. Kentral will be responsible for managing the two organizations' relations with the industry. The two companies, indeed, have given the new Company full mandate to act on their behalf in negotiating supply agreements.
The decision to set up a joint activity for purchases originates, Mr. Dino Tabacchi President of Salmoiraghi & Viganò claims, because: 'after years of continued growth, the optical products market has started to slow down; the reasons for this are structural, and linked to a general standstill in consumption and less attention to eye care. A phase was triggered in distribution, characterized by an excess of sales points and scarce innovation of the distribution systems, which has accelerated the selection of optical sales points, which I believe is irreversible.'
To be competitive, the larger groups and companies must, on the one hand, guarantee satisfactory development of the sales perimeter and, on the other, increase the efficiency of their commercial action in relations with consumers. To do this, more resources are needed to be reinvested in the chain, both to optimize the logistics processes and innovate the sales outlets and their organization, and in marketing and communication activities to increase the consumption of optical products. Therefore, resources need to be recovered along the whole optical chain, including the part involving relations with the industry.
Salmoiraghi & Viganò and the Vision Service Group - whose Managing Directors Riccardo Perdomi and Marco Procacciante will take on the role of President and Managing Director of Kentral respectively - according to Alberto Isolani, President of the Vision Service Group: 'share the same market vision and operate through optical sales points whose locations and positions are essentially different; therefore, they have decided to work together, keeping their own organizational and commercial autonomy, to optimize and rationalize relations with the industry in search of new opportunities for development, starting with the campaign to renew the supply agreements 2007'.
Kentral, which draws its inspiration from the European purchasing center models, will provide the industry with a varied distribution network throughout the whole of Italy, growing rapidly, made up of 1109 optical sales points, with the two partners' organizational and logistical structures.
Kentral's figures are as follows:
- 325 Optical sales points, direct and in franchising, with the Salmoiraghi & Viganò mark, VistaSì and in the corners of Modern Distribution
- 784 Optical sales points, direct and in affiliation with Vision Service Group
- Euros 310 million turnover in 2006
