How to make glasses more accessible? In many departments, it takes several months to get an appointment with an ophthalmologist. Eco guest of franceinfo Thursday April 21, Benoît Jaubert, the general manager of the Optic 2000 group, wants opticians to play a more important role, in addition to ophthalmologists. The company has over 1,900 stores, including the Optic 2000 and Lissac brands. In 2021, its turnover exceeded 1 billion euros, up 17%.
“We can contribute to screening, renewing prescriptions […] in partnership with ophthalmologists“, believes Benoît Jaubert, while opticians already have a more important role than before. “The ophthalmologist needs to be freed up for more specialized medical time, and the opticians are there, with the orthoptists, to get as close as possible to the French“, he judges, for example to renew a pair of glasses. According to the leader, 9% of French people are not equipped when they should be.
The price of glasses can also be a barrier to equipment. To remedy this, the State has created “100% health”: opticians must systematically offer their customers glasses fully covered by health insurance and complementary health insurance. But the government believes that professionals do not play the game enough. Not at Optic 2000 or at Lissac, assures Benoît Jaubert: “These glasses are well presented in all our stores.“They represent, according to him, about 16% of sales:”We are progressing.“
The company is facing inflation and “pressure on raw materials with some supply tensions“. What to drive up the price of glasses? No, he says: “We try to control these prices.“Benoît Jaubert also believes that competition between brands in the sector will not be based primarily on prices, but on services, for example home service, which Optic 2000 has developed.