CEO News February 2023

Hello and welcome to my first newsletter as ProVision’s new CEO.

I could not be more pleased to be leading the organisation into its next chapter, as the wider ProVision team seeks to bolster our Mission of making practices more relevant to consumers and more sustainable over time. I see great opportunity ahead, and look forward to working with our team to help position ProVision practices for future strength.

My leadership approach in the year ahead is a simple one: continue to grow Member numbers and build scale, strengthen our value proposition through new products and services, and increase the focus on our Members First ethos. ProVision is here to support your practice with a team that is committed to continually improving both your practice experience and your patient experience each day.

We have a clear strategy in place, a concise execution plan, and a desire to get things done, so we look forward to delivering on that in the period ahead.

Macro-Economic Outlook

I had the privilege of attending the ARA Leader’s Forum last week in Sydney where various speakers presented their views on the economy. The over-riding message was that the general economy is expected to continue slowing through to mid-year, at which point it may stagnate for a period (it was noted that there is always a lag between interest rate hikes and impact on retail, so the biggest effect is still yet to come).

Growth recorded to date this year has been generally driven by price and not volume, so as consumer spending continues to slow, the effects of this will become more prominent. Mastercard also noted that there has been a notable shift towards essentials spend, however, so that should bode well for the optical industry.

The other point of interest (from Morgan Stanley) is that there is definitely a two-lane economy, with 24% of the population happy to continue spending as they have been (they in fact represent 40% of total consumer spending). The reality, however, is that this leaves a great majority who will be more discerning about where they spend their money and on what, so it has never been more critical to be clear about what your value proposition represents to your patients!

On that basis, listed below are some key considerations for you in the months ahead:

There has been a correction back to ‘bricks and mortar’ personal experience versus online purchases (which peaked over the covid years), and the patient expectation is that any interaction with your practice will be a seamless and painless one, so identify your barriers or friction points for patients and fix them fast!

CEO News, February 2023

Diversification and differentiation are key to a unique patient experience – what touch points do you have in your customer journey that surprise and delight? This is again a critical part of positive interaction and positive perception with your patient base.

Your practice staff are part of this seamless experience, so invest in recruiting well and retaining them over time with coaching, mentoring, and development. Having the right people on your team is a real advantage when it comes to patient experience.

What does value and trust mean to your patient base? Trust erosion can do serious damage to your business, so have real clarity around who your patients are and what it is they value the most. By extension, building goodwill in your local community is another way to increase trust.

Results To Date

January numbers recorded a 14.8% increase, which is an outstanding result as we stop comparing this year results with last year lockdown comparisons. Subject to ongoing consumer confidence, the months ahead are expected to remain buoyant before an eventual downturn or stagnation as stated above.

After the first seven months of FY23, members are up by 11.8% (coming off a low base last year in key lockdown states). Whilst there is still some residual impact from key state lockdowns the previous year in 2021, overall, the January result is a strong one nationally. Year-to-date notes a decrease in overall performance since November, but this is primarily a by-product of the correction as we make our way out of lockdown anniversaries

CEO News, February 2023

Purchases have been trending upwards on prior year for the past seven months now, after having declined for almost ten months in succession from July 2021 to May 2022. The last two months have seen a softening against the significant spike noted in November last year, however.

The collective moving annual total purchases depicted in the chart below largely reflects stronger member trading over the past quarter, but the outlook for the period ahead is still expected to be driven by the impact of both inflationary pressures and related consumer confidence as mentioned in the macro-outlook earlier.

CEO News, February 2023

Merchandise Manager Appointment

I’m delighted to announce the appointment of Rob Boelen as ProVision’s new Merchandise Manager, effective 14th February. Whilst Rob will manage relationships with all of ProVision’s Preferred Supplier Partners, his past experience of many years in the optical industry will also ensure he makes a valuable strategic contribution to the wider Leadership Team.

Rob’s background includes over ten years in independent optometry (he originally qualified as an optical mechanic), and he also spent many years in optical support roles within the optical industry - including product, sales, and operations.

I’m excited to see Rob build on the strong relationship ProVision has formed with our Supplier Partners over the past decade, and I look forward to his injection of new ideas and suggested actions that support a better outcome for all of our Members. Suppliers are a key stakeholder in the success of ProVision, so all of his efforts will be focused on building sustainable relationships that directly benefit Members.

Member Webinar Update

A strategic update webinar is to be held for all Members on Tuesday 28th March at 7.00pm AEST. This event will include a performance update, insights into recently commissioned consumer research, feedback from Member surveys conducted late last year, and an overview of key initiatives that ProVision will be focused on in the coming year to help practices grow and prosper in the year ahead. You can register for the zoom webinar at the below link (once registered, you should receive an email with further information, as well as the option to add the event to your calendar). I look forward to you joining me.

Click here to register for the webinar >

If you would like additional information about any of the topics covered in today’s newsletter, please address your questions to tjones@provision.com.au. An appropriate subject matter expert will respond as quickly as possible.

Warm regards,

Tony Jones

ProVision Chief Executive Officer