2nd National Eyewear Convention
The next edition of the National Eyewear Convention is due to take place on 25 and 26 February 2007. The Convention is promoted by Assogruppi, organization set up in 2003, which is responsible for six organized groups working in the field of optical retail distribution, numbering over 2,100 outlets throughout the country, with an annual turnover estimated at around almost 500 million euros.
The event will be held in a location of outstanding strategic importance: the Fiera del Levante in Bari. This huge, complex structure, located in a barycentric position in the South of Italy, unique for the size and adaptability of the spaces, and well connected by public transport, represents a natural setting for an event that is set to grow in importance. A significant step towards a complete and radical opening, not only in terms of content, objectives and proposals for comparison, but also in the setting. An extension in a broad sense, conceptually embracing all levels, from the quality of the convention program to the logistical functionality of the location.
The speeches will focus on a contentious subject (which is not new, but nonetheless relevant): the essential role of the optician, a point of reference for end consumers, who turn to him for the right optical solution to problems.
He is the 'name' that users ask for: the guarantee of competence and professionalism, which cannot be overlooked in the choice of eyewear, where the name of the product is playing an increasingly less important role.
This will be the essential core of the report by Enrico Finzi, the chairman of Astra Ricerche, who also attended to the first plenary meeting held in Rome last year. «La crescente domanda all'ottico di divenire 'marca'» (The growing demand for the optician to become a 'name') is the representative title of the latest public opinion poll conducted by Astra Ricerche in 2006 under the supervision of the same Finzi.
After the welcome by the chairman of Assogruppi, Andrea Garagnani, the meeting will also include a presentation by Carlo Abbiati from GFK who will illustrate how new developments in the optical market are changing the face of co-operation.
Besides a number of figures also known to the great public, Cyrille De Montvalon will be there to present the results of the October 2006 campaign on progressive lenses.
Finally, there will be a speech by the Ministry of Health's Advertising Committee on the subject of advertising in the optical sector.
Two round tables, moderated by Enrico Finzi, will conclude the convention. They will focus on current and potential relations between Italian optometrists opticians and the medical class, and relations between industry and distribution.
