Essilor unveils its new entity to better answer vision needs in Nigeria

The nation’s health sector has received a major boost, as a world’s leading ophthalmic optics company, Essilor Optical Supply Nigeria (EOSN), has unveiled its new entity to effectively answer the vision needs of consumers and better serve Eye Care Professionals in Nigeria.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony in Lagos, Managing Director, Essilor, East Africa Region, Mr Tamas Toth  said that the company will answer the vision needs of the Nigerian population through their  local sales and marketing office to promote the Essilor Flagship international leading brands of ophthalmic lenses/products which include: Varilux progressive lenses, Crizal antireflective coatings, Xperio polarized sunlenses, EyeZen single vision lenses and Transitions photochromic lenses.

According to him, Essilor Nigeria will be a distribution center to supply Nigerian market with digitally produced Essilor prescription lenses and a wide range of unbranded ophthalmic lenses alongside with a variety of Sunglasses, Frames and Readers.

Toth noted that Essilor Optical Supply Nigeria will also provide help and support to Nigerian Eye Care professionals by selling a comprehensive range of ophthalmic and edging equipment.

‘We aimed at providing a world class state of the art edging facility in Lagos to provide quality edging and mounting locally – extending the Essilor training and education activities to the Optometric fraternity in Nigeria with the establishment of Essilor Academy in Lagos, Toth stated.

He reiterated that proximity to customers and adaptation to local markets are key success factors for the Group, which operates in a hundred different countries. ‘Essilor’s global growth strategy is based on regional market coverage in close contact with its customers. In line with the Group’s mission of improving Lives by Improving Sight, Essilor is committed to providing vision solutions and services to Eye Care Professionals in every geography.

He pointed out that the continent of Africa has 1.2 billion inhabitants, an estimated 500 million of which need vision correction. But four out of five persons needing corrective lenses do not correct their sight. Essilor’s goal is to improve the vision of as many people as possible throughout the world. It is therefore logically positioned in these markets.

He said in line with its global strategy of fighting poor vision through awareness raising events, charity and inclusive business development initiatives, EOSN is partnering with Eye Foundation Hospital in Ikorodu for a first of its kind event in the country: as over 500 people, adults and children were provided with an eye check, and after the screening, people in need of a vision correction could choose corrective lenses, provided by Essilor teams, which were fitted on spot according to their needs.

The world’s leading ophthalmic optics company, Essilor designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of lenses to improve and protect eyesight. Its mission is to improve lives by improving sight. To support this mission, Essilor allocates more than €200 million to research and innovation every year, in a commitment to continuously bring new, more effective products to market.

Essilor reported consolidated revenue of more than €7.1 billion in 2016 and employs 64,000 people worldwide. It markets its products in more than 100 countries and has 33 plants, 490 prescription laboratories and edging facilities, as well as 5 research and development centers around the world.

In his own remarks the CEO, Eye Foundation Hospital Group, Dr Kunle Hassan said that Nigerians will be happy to see a brand that takes care of peoples vision.

According to him, “Vision is important. Without vision, you are nothing. Am happy partnering with them in free eye screening outreach in the country, stressing that provision of effective and accessible eye care services is key for effectively controlling visual impairment including blindness.”