EGMA Optical Supplies marks another major milestone with the birth of its newest project, the Eyecon 2013. The Eyecon 2013 was a successful introduction of an industry-related event that consists of exhibition, a high level of networking and educational seminars.
EYECON 2013 was born out of a single idea and Mr. Poya Eghterafi, CEO of EGMA, was honest enough to admit that the build-up was the hardest part. He narrated the inception of EYECON 2013, “It was like an emergency case. We only had two months to build this whole thing from the time we cemented the idea. In the beginning, nobody seem to be excited since our participation at Vision X has always been a solid stand but after long discussions, we all agreed that we should be bold enough to take the steps. And so, we took the steps and we are now here at EYECON 2013.”
Mr. Poya also highlighted the addition of educational seminars and workshops to EYECON 2013. He said, “The seminars are our way of saying thank you to the optical industry in general. We are firm believers that education is always good so to be able to give back for all the support we got during the past 10 years of being in business. Aside from this, we want to infuse education in the show because we believe that we are creating a wonderful model for an exhibition of this scale.” The educational seminars which saw about 1600 people in attendance facilitated seven speakers who discussed around 10 different topics.
Backed by its partners in Rodenstock and elsewhere in the region – from Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and even Sudan – the EYECON 2013 is being seen as a major breakthrough for the industry leader ie EGMA. Mr. Poya concluded, “We are very hopeful with EYECON being a good model where guests at the exhibition are given more quality exhibitors as well as comfort and ease in doing business. The controlled setup in terms of the quality of exhibitors is something we would consider in the future EYECON but definitely we are raising the bar next year. And, yes, there will be a second EYECON, and that’s for sure.”
The success of EYECON 2013 was a collaboration of hard work by Mr. Poya’s dedicated team. From the eyewear to laboratory, the departments of EGMA worked hand in hand for the last two months to ensure that the event would be at par with the company’s philosophy in perfection and quality.
Sharing his department’s bit on EYECON 2013, Mr. Alessandro Pagani, General Manager of EGMA’s eyewear unit, he said, “This is a big step for us, but it is a great step because we did something we truly believe in. To be honest, I was slightly concerned about this event as we are still a family-owned business, we are not the giants yet, but looking at how the appreciation turned out, I am deeply pleased that we took the step ahead. The support of our partners and sister companies plus the presence of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care plus the presence of thousands attendees coming from various parts of the region was tremendous.”
On the other hand, the Instruments Division, under the leadership of Mr. John Tawil, also had a good share of news in EYECON 2013. According to him, “This year, we have the biggest setup of machines and equipment in display to show our customers. I have here at EYECON the latest from Charops, Rodenstock, Indo, View M, Huvitz and Vislo. We have the new LCD which does not need remote control but a prompter device. I also have on display the new auto refractory from Charops. We also have the different versions of edgers and eye test LCDs.”
Aside from this, Mr. Abdullah was also in-charge of the demonstrations using the new impressionists from Rodenstock. He commented, “We are also doing the impressionist, the toolkit used for getting the measurement for impression lenses. We have new developments design of this product that is also being discussed in one of the seminars. Here in the show, we displayed impressionists in three different versions: the stand version, wall version and table top version. Lots of owners they don’t really know the importance of this or how to use this exactly in their shops so I make demos for them to have a look and practice. It helps them a lot because they get to see in live version what was being talked about during the seminar. My whole team as well as our partners from Qatar, Oman and Egypt helped them at any point in any question they have.”
Mr. Feras Dwagy, EGMA’s Marketing Manager, was responsible for providing the marketing communications for EYECON 2013. From conceptualizing to all the marketing collaterals being provided all throughout the three-day gathering, Mr. Feras made sure that everything was in order.
Comments :
Burkhard Treude, speaker for “Selling High End German Brand Lenses with Competence and Enthusiasm”
“Flair is a German renowned brand for couture collection eyewear. We have been with EGMA for about three and half years, and we are hoping to gain more brand awareness through EYECON 2013. In here, we put on display the top of the line pieces from our latest collections which are unique because of the gold plated and jewellery embellished frames. We have the Couture and Art Couture collections that we feel would fit in this market. The Couture collections have one-of-a-kind styles, and are all 22-karat gold plated. The Art Couture collections are 24-karat gold plated and come with box filled with scarf, ring, earring or necklace even. It also has studs of Swarovski crystals and synthetic diamonds. Our booth is bringing in quite a good attention since it is elegantly located at the lobby, and we wish to strengthen our brand beginning this exhibition.”
Gunter Fink, President, Flair
Dr. Aisha Natto
Dr. Mohd. Al Baghdady, “The Management of Poor Accommodation in Children with Down’s Syndrome with Bifocal Spectacles” and “Clinical Communication Skills”
Florian Zwink, “Free Form Technology”
Dr. Nezar Damati, “Using Effective Marketing Mix of Medical Optical Products to Enhance Performance”
“Being here at EYECON 2013, I realized that the professionals are very customer-oriented. They were all concentrated and participative. In my seminar, I aim to give knowledge to the participants regarding the products and how we, at Rodenstock, secure the development of the products special properties and technology. Aside from sharing with them the processes and significance of our developments, I also gain a lot from the discussions I had with the professionals. I heard from them feedback and comments that I can use in our research and development projects. It is a really great to hear them talk and ask questions, and I appreciate that EYECON for adding seminars to this event.”
Dr. Herbert Schuster, “Development of Optical Materials & Coatings”
“We were approached to join EYECON 2013 being the representative of contact lenses in this exhibition. And we’re glad to have participated in this initiative together along with the high-end brands. So far, we are very pleased with the outcome – our seminars were quite full and our booth here inside the show attracted customers which were accommodated by our sales staff. We are happy with our presence here since this is a great venue for our continuous efforts to educate the professionals through our seminars.”
Aida Hamidi, Jr. Product Manager, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care
“The key elements of our topic are all about health and hygiene – the care regimen compliance of patients and customers. In our observation, here in the Middle East, there is a difference in putting highlight on the care practices in terms of contact lenses. So, in our seminar, we put focus on the ways by which these hygienic procedures can be easily communicated to the customers and patients. We discuss what sort of communications you can put forth to customers so they can have healthy practices. We also put highlights on certain practical tips where they can utilize them in day to day practice. And of course, one best tip we share in a market such as Middle East in looking forward to healthy and hygienic requirement is to promote the single-use lenses which are daily, hygienic, healthy, hassle free and convenient. We also present a good amount of information that contact lenses are optical device and are not cosmetic device. Overall, we wish that our seminar would teach and train eye-care professionals on how to deal with customers confidently, and how can they handle and avoid complications with their patients and customers.”
Dr. Pragatti Kadve, “The Importance of Health and Hygiene in Contact Lens Care”