After the roaring success of the ‘Vision-X VP Awards’ last year, the organisers are all set to kickstart the next edition scheduled to happen on 6th December, this year. From contact lenses to spectacle frames, sunglasses and even optometry instruments, last year saw leading brands like Hello Kitty, Maui Jim, Essilor and many others walk away with the coveted trophy. Find out what’s in store this year!
A celebration of the excellence in the Middle Eastern optical business organised jointly by VisionPlus magazine and Vision-X, this awards is an initiative to involve opticians in moulding the product offerings made available to them by brands and distributors. A one of its kind initiative hosted in Dubai, the Vision-X VP awards received an overwhelming response in terms of participation from leading brands across the globe, last year. This year too, the stage is set and the organisers are confident of making the award an even bigger and better celebration of the excellence in the optical trade community.
As the region’s most trusted entities for eye-care professionals for keeping abreast with the latest in optical business, both VisionPlus Magazine and Vision-X Dubai have offered distinct platforms for sourcing the latest in eyewear and also sharing information and knowledge to help propagate the growth of the business.
Vision-X VP Awards 2014 ushered a new era in the optical trade giving the industry the first of its kind platform where stalwarts from the optical trade community were appreciated amidst the presence of a global audience. From the best designs to latest in optical care technology, the Vision-X VP awards saw the best of brands get recognised. The awards received an overwhelming response from the audience as leading brands came forward to display their collection.
Talking about the upcoming edition, Siraj Bolar, CEO of FourPlus Media and Editor-in-Chief of VisionPlus Magazine, said “I am extremely delighted to announce the next edition of the Vision-X VP awards. The previous edition was all about bridging the gap and giving the industry a platform where the Eye Care Practitioners could express their voice and this time we are confident of making it a bigger and better event, thanks to the support and appreciation that the concept has received from the industry.”
The night that was!
Fifteen awards and a Special Jury Award were the rightful winners of a gathering never before experienced in the Middle East at the VXVP Awards 2014. A perfect mix of knowledge, discussions, entertainment and above all a prominence to the eyecare industry, the evening saw the creme de la creme of the industry come together to show their solidarity with VisionPlus Magazine and Vision-X.
The glittering night opened to a packed house with renowned opticians, manufacturers, distributors and other big names from the optical industry attending the event at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Hosted as part of the Vision-X exhibition, these awards emerged as a unique platform for the optical industry, introducing them to the latest trends and the best products across multiple categories.
Some of the names that reigned above all were Essilor that took home four awards, whereas Chopard sunglasses won two awards for Best New Sunglass Model in the Luxury and Premium Segments. Surpassing the other nominees that were selected from an overwhelming entries of more than 130 participants, MODO 4046 won the Best New Spectacle Frame (Popular Segment), Montblanc MB 47902858 won the Best New Spectacle Frame (Premium Segment), 1-Day Acuvue Moist for Astigmatism winning the Most Popular Ophthalmic Contact Lens, whereas the Nidek Inc’s LE-700 took away the Best Value Enhancer (Retail) award, apart from other winners who shared the spotlight equally. Another prominent win of the evening was the Sugar Beach Sunglass by Maui Jim that bagged the Best New Sunglass Model (Popular) and also the Special Jury Award.
The industry feedback about the event was extremely positive. Later on, winners also planned their marketing campaigns using the Vision-X VP awards recognition to promote the winning product. The refreshed version of the Vision-X VP awards scheduled to happen this year is all set to be bigger and better in terms of appreciating and celebrating the excellence in the Middle Eastern optical industry.
Everybody is a winner!
For suppliers, brand owners and their distributors Vision-X VP Awards is the perfect opportunity to put forth the best products, get them voted by the opticians and gain recognition and awareness for their achievements.
It is the optician’s coveted vote that the brand owners will strive to achieve in order to make their presence felt at the Vision-X VP awards. As opticians, you would appreciate that the brands making it through the nominations have been the top five products selected by the esteemed jury panel.
Giving a voice to the opticians
Vision-X VP Awards gives opticians across the region a voice by inviting them to vote and be a part of the grand celebration. It gives them an opportunity to vote for products and brands that they feel best reflects the tastes and serves the needs of their customers and delivers for their business. This will help them shape the market trends and subsequently the sales and profitability of their own optical retail business.
Reasons to participate
There are many reasons that make it important for a brand to participate in the Vision-X VP awards. However, above all, this platform is coveted because it gives you a chance to portray your brands on a platform that reaches out to a global audience.
Here are the reasons to participate in the Vision-X VP awards:
Great media exposure for the optical industry: Stay tuned to our magazine, blogs and social media pages to keep yourselves updated with the brands and products that are nominated.
Increased sales: When the opticians are updated with what’s trending and what’s not, they will be able to optimise their profits in a better way.
Brand recognition: Vision-X VP awards is a force to reckon with in the optical trade community. Opticians can use this as a benchmark to recognise the leading brands and their latest offering.
How to participate?
The first step is submitting the entry. In this stage, brands and their distributors are invited to enroll their leading products for any of the 15 distinct categories. The forms can be downloaded from www.vxvp-awards.com and also can be sourced directly from VisionPlus or Vision-X representatives. Each entry has to be submitted at the VisionPlus office along with individually filled forms as well as a physical product to be examined at the nomination stage by the judging panel.
Once the Vision-X VP team receives the brand’s entry, it is forwarded to the nomination stage where our panel of experts will scrutinise every detail, carefully weigh the pros and cons and finally unveil the list of nominees. The nominated products will then be available for online and offline voting starting October 11. The voting lines will close on November 25. All opticians and their staff members are invited to vote. For those who want a reminder for the opportunity to vote, we invite you to register your email id on http://vxvp-awards.com/web/voting.php and set a reminder!
The award ceremony
Following the completion of the voting, the award ceremony is scheduled to be hosted at the World Trade Centre, Dubai on 6th December, this year. Given the buzz that the coveted platform is generating, the creme de la creme of the industry are expected to make their presence felt at the award ceremony. This year’s Vision-X VP Awards is all set to be a bigger celebration of excellence in the optical industry. Prominent names from the industry that have confirmed to be a part of the jury are Saleh Al Shawa from Al Jaber Optical, Kian Sadaat from Hassans, Ali Yateem from Yateem Opticians and Mamdoh Rouhani from the Saudi Optical House as well as others. The latest in the terms of technology, design and trends will be crowned as the winning league of 2015!
