8 minute read
Company profile
by Vision Now
Stepping up in lockdown
In this special feature, we hear how Eyespace has been navigating the extraordinary challenges of lockdown
A video call with a customer
Britain’s lockdown is generally being discussed as a time of intermittent tedium and anxiety; a nation trapped at home, whilst witnessing the countless tragedies and controversies unfold. For many in the optical industry, it was a time of initial confusion and urgent adaptation. Here, Jayne Abel, co-founder of Eyespace, discusses how the Midlands-based family business successfully evolved while navigating the toughest economic challenges known in modern history.
“I think like all employers we felt an immediate concern for our staff with respect to the new government guidelines announced in late March,” says Jayne. “Almost overnight we closed our headquarters, furloughed our teams and redirected the telephone lines directly to our homes.” But, as a former practising optometrist, Jayne has an inherent insight into the pressures faced by eyecare providers during the height of the pandemic.
Jayne continues: “For many people –particularly during a period of reduced NHS hospital services – High Street opticians represented the first port of call for emergency eyecare, whether to advise on serious and significant problems with vision or replace essential lost or broken glasses.
Social distancing during a sales visit
It was quickly evident that there would be a demand for emergency eyewear, and it was so inspiring to see opticians proactively face these new and uniquely adverse conditions to support their patients, and in turn we wanted to support them.”
Within three days of the office closing, Jayne and co-founder Julie Abel had set up a dispensing service from their homes and were completing daily dispatches for emergency orders from sample cases. Even during the strictest period of lockdown, they were able to operate by using their daily exercise allowance to visit the post box at the end of their roads.
“We found that Royal Mail and courier companies worked through obstacles and, with just a couple of delays, all our deliveries got through successfully,” recalls Jayne. “We even dispensed directly to people’s homes when specifically requested by independent opticians, who were also adapting in every which way they could.”
As demand continued, Jayne and Julie began to work from the company’s headquarters on alternate days to dispatch frames, eventually bringing back a skeleton crew at opposite ends of the building. “We fulfilled all frame orders throughout the lockdown and I think this is one of the things we are most proud of; we didn’t go to ground during what felt like an impossible situation. Instead we adapted and evolved to support our customers and those who needed eyewear the most.”
NEW FRONTIER OF BUSINESS The industry lockdown was simultaneous with a soaring demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), which left many essential key workers unprotected or wearing uncertified, substandard items. As soon as the lockdown was announced, Eyespace obtained what PPE supplies it could and donated them to local GP surgeries and care homes, making doorstep drops of visors, face masks and goggles in the first six weeks.
“People forget how tough those first few weeks were,” Jayne says. “It was a dire situation and it made us realise that our team could do even more to help source supplies – particularly in anticipation of rising infection rates and practices reopening under extremely challenging circumstances.”
And so began Eyespace’s most significant business innovation to date – and the exceptionally rapid diversification it demanded. The painstaking process of introducing potentially life-saving ‘fullycertified’ facial PPE to meet new government standards required procurement from audited, certified factories and rigorous quality control – both at the point of manufacture and upon arrival in the UK, where new customs procedures were proving an additional hurdle.
The in-house product development team rose to the challenge, quickly becoming expert in the stringent auditing procedures required for medical-grade PPE. Discovering within themselves a range of specialisms and transferable skills, they began sourcing new suppliers. Working through the night to match time zones in the Far East and meet tight deadlines, a month-long period of
intense research and development saw the Eyespace team remotely auditing factories.
Already highly conversant with European safety standards and current legislation, they drew on decades of experience to liaise with the relevant industry bodies. Jayne explains: “This journey made us appreciate the talent, calibre and dedication of our team. Every single person upped their game to deliver the new service and help meet demand.”
A GOVERNMENT SUPPLIER Armed with an audited supply chain and certified PPE, Eyespace applied to the government’s Covid Crisis Team to supply the NHS, but the process to secure a government contract proved difficult and convoluted, as the cabinet established new teams, processes and systems at the same time as appointing suppliers.
During the delays at national level, Eyespace began supplying NHS trusts as well as local services, care homes and social housing directly through county councils. Eventually, the company was able to navigate the complex routes and had a breakthrough to work with Lord Deighton’s newly formed PPE team, which was set up to temporarily supply the NHS trusts and social services across the UK; the team has since been disbanded. Eyespace’s first emergency shipment of PPE to the national government was airfreighted into the UK on a convoy of 16 aeroplanes.
KEEPING UP MORALE “We fought the temptation to shut down, and instead reached out to our partner organisations to see how we could face this crisis together,” Jayne says. “It has taken decades to build our network and I honestly think our relationships are stronger now than before the pandemic.”
Keeping in touch, not only with optical practitioners but also brand partners, Eyespace quickly became aware of the challenges faced by the fashion and
Thanking the public via the #EyespaceHeroes campaign automotive industries. “It was important for us to pull together with our brand partners; both Land Rover and Aspinal of London have been highly responsive to the new challenges faced by their followers,” explains Jayne.
“We were particularly inspired by Aspinal Heroes; a lockdown campaign donating the brand’s luxury products to selected nominees on social media. Aspinal very kindly allowed us to continue this idea on our own channel and it was extremely fulfilling to put a smile on the faces of many key workers and those going the extra mile during those challenging weeks.” Each week, the #EyespaceHeroes campaign saw the business gift dozens of sunglasses to patients, volunteers, NHS medical professionals and key workers of the public via social media during the lockdown.
FAST FINANCIAL PLANNING “Like many UK suppliers, as soon as opticians closed their doors, our revenue dropped nearly 95 per cent year-on-year for the first two months, and we furloughed almost 30 team members,” Jayne recalls. “It was a very anxious and uncertain time.” Furthermore, the pandemic had halted manufacturing in Italy, France and the Far East for weeks prior to the UK lockdown, disrupting both existing stock orders and further product development. These dramatic and instant revisions to every aspect of operations demanded the most astute business practices.
Eyespace, which warehouses frames for all its collections at the company’s Midlands headquarters, faced unprecedented challenges with unsold stock running into hundreds of thousands of pounds in value. With cashflow disrupted and season launches put on hold, large orders from factories and suppliers across the world had to be urgently rescheduled. Strong relationships, that have taken the business decades to build, paid off.
“Our accounts department, run by Julie, is highly proficient and we have a history of prompt and reliable payment which allowed us to buy time at this crucial moment,” Jayne adds. Meticulous financial planning and a strong grasp of outgoings proved a saviour, allowing Eyespace to extend flexibility to its customers with negotiated payment plans and promotional offers on new product lines.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Jayne sums up: “In the last three months, we have had to learn at an extraordinary pace under unprecedented pressure; I feel as though we gained three years’
Eyespace’s new Eco Conscious collection
experience in just three months. It is now wonderful to see our teams return from furlough with new enthusiasm and settle back into a newly laid-out office. Orders are regaining momentum, and we are already seeing promising feedback from the industry with average dispensing values actually increasing.”
However, the founders at Eyespace remain mindful of lingering uncertainty and anticipate that trading conditions may take time to recover. New and rapidly introduced specialisms have allowed the business to broaden distribution, making Eyespace well placed to meet the challenges ahead.
“The flexible furlough scheme has also been extremely useful in bringing people back at right time, and members of Eyespace have undertaken external online training to ensure a thorough understanding of Covid safety procedures such as PPE use and advanced cleaning of our workspace and eyewear samples.
“If we could summarise the past few months in one word it would be ‘support’. We’ve both offered and asked for the support of our families, our employees, our suppliers and our customers. The only way we can meet the future is if the industry supports one another, keeps talking, keeps listening and plans one step ahead.
“I strongly believe there is cause for optimism; people will undoubtedly come out of lockdown with a backlog of routine testing and additional eyecare needs. The optical industry has supported the nation over lockdown and is now well prepared to operate under government regulations. So, there has never been a more relevant time to innovate, diversify and focus on positive change.”
