Lynx IDG - The UK's leading optical interior specialists

Finally spring is here, winter is behind us and as I write, I have sunshine flooding into my office (yes, here in Manchester!).

Wonderful and on top of this, the slow but significant signs of recovery we were seeing throughout the profession towards the tail end of 2011 are now finally taking root.

It may be a cliché but the green shoots of recovery, now appear to be coming into full bloom, just as the daffodils are in the car park outside.

It has been a long and tough struggle for many of our customers, and more than one or two have unfortunately experienced severe hardship but the news I am getting now (on a daily basis) is that the upturn is finally underway.

This is naturally mirrored in our position and I am pleased to report a healthy order book for the coming months and through to the end of Autumn 2012 – I am sure that other suppliers in the profession will also be experiencing similar trends.

I am sure the renewed optimism has been given a boost by the forthcoming Olympics and a resurgence in the enthusiasm on the high street.

Those of you that have sat tight and weathered the storm – Now is the time to invest in promoting your business and re-engaging with the public and whilst you’re at it think about freshening up your practice interior with a micro / mini makeover!

If you’ve been putting off the essential job of cosmetic improvement – Take a look at my news article on this very subject at http://www.lynxidg.com/the-retro-fit-phenomena.html and see just how quickly, easily and inexpensively you can give your practice that new lease of life.

As I have said before (and no doubt will say again) image is everything in today’s "retail" environment and investment now pays dividends in the future – and that is a fact I will happily prove to you.

Until next time – Enjoy the sun, it won’t be long until the BBQ needs cleaning off.

The Ghost in the Machine.

So here we are at the beginning of February and as I write this piece, we are experiencing this winter’s second spell of heavy snow.

Up and down the land, roads are gridlocked, heating systems are going on the blink and the sledges are out in force.

Don’t get me wrong, I love snow but only on a mountainside with 2 carbon fibre planks strapped to my feet.

Here at home, I like it best if the white stuff stays away. I hate that the whole country comes to a standstill and that most cars (particularly German rear wheeled drive models) are just awful come the first signs of snow.

Sure 4 x 4’s can get pretty much anywhere and small front wheel drive cars can more or less get around but rear wheel, automatic ……………. forget it.

This I do not understand as most of the vehicles originate from a country far more used to this type of weather than we are (BMW’s are made a stone’s throw from the Austrian Alp’s) – so why are they not engineered to deal with such conditions?

It simply does not make any sense to me and in this day and age, I believe we should be able to expect all cars to be able to operate in all but the worst conditions.

The knock on effect to most optical practices is No Shows, cancelled appointments and the resultant downturn in trade.

Not good when everyone is trying to make a good start to the year, just another unwanted obstacle to success.

So, call me a kill joy but I think it would be better all round if snow, sleet and ice were banned by law here in the UK.

We can always look at photographs of snow covered mountains on the internet or if lucky enough, hop on a plane to experience it first hand.

Next time I write, we’ll be heading straight into Spring and with any luck all of this misery brought on by snow will finally be behind us.

Until next time, drive safely and wrap up warm.

The Ghost in The Machine

Happy New Year and welcome to my 1st blog of 2012.

So here is the news – if you hadn’t already heard, the government have decided in their wisdom to reduce the capital allowance tax relief from £100k to £25k on capital purchases as of April this year. This comes barely a year after it was lifted from the previous £50k limit to the all time high at £100k – Unbelievable!! So much for assisting SME’s on the road to recovery.

All is not lost of course, as long as your equipment / shopfittings etc… are in use before the March 31st deadline, you will still qualify for your full allowance – So if you are thinking of making a large capital investment, the message is clear… Do it now, or lose out.

On a brighter note, research group (GFL) have just released the latest findings – Guess what? Niche sales (high value frames / lenses) are seeing a marked increase (frames valued at £250 plus - rising a staggering 26.1% against the same period 12 months ago) while mid / lower value frames are seeing a decline in numbers sold.

It would therefore appear that those amongst you who decided to venture up market in search of the higher value dispense got it right.

I have long advocated this approach (where viable) as the best form of defence (or attack) against online retailers and multiples.

Only independents carry the kudos and weight of experience the high end purchaser needs when purchasing at this level and this is where professionalism and service trump a discounted offer.

This is your natural domain and surely the figures speak for themselves.

My message for 2012 – Up the stakes, take the bull by the horns and ramp up your offer. Be bold, stock higher value, out of the ordinary brands and styles and push those coatings. It is clear there is still a huge market at this end of the scale, so capitalise on it – Or others will do it for you!

Naturally, your practice will need to look the part in order to exploit this position to best effect. Give me a call and I will help you get there.

Until next time – keep positive and here is to an exciting and profitable 2012.

The Ghost in the Machine.

　

　

Following on from my last blog, I thought it would be interesting (and a little light relief) to look beyond the coming events, Christmas, Hanukkah etc.. and to take a peek into 2012.

A massive year for the UK – London Olympics and the continuing struggle to stand clear of the carnage of the Euro Zone! to note but two.

Both will involve determination, commitment and unity and those 3 things are, I believe the core to any successful business - read practice.

It is a given that you will have self belief and confidence in your/your staffs ability but during testing times, it is those 3 qualities which separate the wheat from the chaff.

There are naturally opportunities to be had surrounding the world’s largest sporting event – the public’s raised awareness of sports eyewear and the influx of tourists needing sunglasses/emergency frames/lenses and repairs etc.. and I am confident that those closest to the larger stadiums/arenas are already preparing themselves with extended ranges and furthering their knowledge of sports specific lenses etc..

That said, I am sure we will all step into the next few years with some degree of trepidation but we need to be bold, work together and face the challenges head on.

Nobody (or very few of note) ever achieved anything without a little adversity along the way and if you and your team adopt the principles of determination, commitment and unity, I believe you will be stronger and better prepared to succeed next year, the year after and for many after that.

Keep on keeping on and until next time, I hope you have a very enjoyable festive season (whatever your faiths or beliefs) and here is wishing you a Very Happy New Year.

So Autumn is officially upon us and it is time to embrace the inevitable – leaves will fall, weather will turn cooler and the Christmas decorations will appear in stores up and down the country.

I know there are still over 60 days until Santa visits but the fact is that the show starts here in earnest.

The normal trend (although I do know of several exceptions) is for trade to slow in the optical sector during the lead up to Christmas and New Year, in direct contrast to the rest of the retail world.

What to do with the unwelcome spare time you may find in your practice then? Have a late spring clean? Consider ways of enticing people over your threshold? Re-position stock to better effect? All laudable pursuits and all beneficial but the most effective use of your time will be to take a good long look at the environment in which you spend so much of your day.

View it from your patient’s / prospective customer’s perspective…

Would they want to spend time and money in your practice? Would they feel you have paid sufficient attention to the detail of your offer? Would they prefer to be in the flash new practice just down the road?

Assess your findings and change whatever needs addressing – It is not a frivolous exercise but a necessary evil demanded of any successful retailer (yes I used that phrase deliberately).

Keep moving forward, keep improving your practice’s appearance, keep on top.

This will cost me money I don’t really have / want to spend I hear you cry…

No, not doing the above will cost you more dearly in the long run, believe me.

Successful retailers look successful and naturally the reverse applies and in the current climate, confidence is everything.

You don’t need to sell the family jewels, just take professional advice and a cost effective solution can almost always be achieved.

So, what are you waiting for? Start today and use your downtime to get ready for the upturn in January.

Until next time………………

This month I have mostly been wondering where the summer went…

I have thought long and hard and can only really remember around 2 weeks of "glorious sunshine" – I may be wrong but that’s how it feels.

Oh, so I live in (near) Manchester and therefore most of you will be asking yourselves – What does he expect? However, the reality is that we don’t actually get as much rain as many imagine.

No, the most dramatic thing to have happened over the last 2 months have been at Manchester City F.C – Yet more big spending and finally, some success on the pitch and a shot at the elusive Champion’s league.

To an outsider, it would seem to be an obvious link - spend more - be more successful but that is rarely the case! It (usually) takes a mixture of prudent investment (ok, sometimes this can be viewed as "spending a lot") coupled with a vision for what you want / need to achieve and finished off with a heavy dose of commitment from those you entrust your hard earned cash with and of course, you -the stakeholders.

When all of this comes together, it produces a heady mix which can be intoxicating and when combined with careful "market positioning" or targeting to your preferred demographic – inevitably produces results beyond the wildest of dreams.

I speak from personal experience, both from my own journey with Lynx IDG and on the many occasions I / we have been part of that "mix" with our clients.

The message – Invest wisely, work with experts, take advice from those who’ve "been there and bought the t shirt" and motivate yourself to commit to achieving what in these straightened times, can seem unachievable.

Believe me, get the cocktail right and success will follow – I promise, I have seen it many, many times.

Be warned though, if you get one ingredient wrong, or listen to the wrong people, failure is just as likely.

So don’t sit and worry about the "weather", sit and worry about the "whether"…

Whether to invest your time, energy and resources and reap the rewards that follow or whether to sit back and let the world overtake you…

Thinking done? Yep thought so…

Good luck and I’ll be in touch again soon – Unless you want to contact me first of course, I’m always here.

The Ghost in the Machine.

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So just this week we see the latest iterations of the nations "favourite" reality TV shows – X Factor and Big Brother.

Now don’t get me wrong, I watch the X Factor just like anybody else (mainly because my son and daughter both adore it!) but Big Brother is surely car crash TV? I just don’t get why people would expose themselves to such insane nonsense (apart from the high fee allegedly demanded by Jedward et al).

Surely our own reality is what matters and aside from a passing nod at the screen in the corner of the room these shows should be ignored.

Unfortunately nearly 6 million people disagree with me and it therefore looks set to remain in our lives for the foreseeable future (the advertising revenue alone will see to that).

And there in lies the rub… It does not matter that the vast majority of the population believe, as I do, that these programmes should be resigned to history – what counts is the revenue generated by their existence.

So it follows that in your practice, the advertising spend allocated by the frame and lens suppliers should be channelled to best effect.

After all, the big boys in the world of fashion and therefore frame brands have spent years developing their profiles, not to mention gazillions of pounds, making sure that the public associate / recognise them in a specifically perceived manner.

Use this power, exploit this potential and create a long and mutually beneficial relationship with your suppliers.

We all feed off each other and in the end it is a win win situation.

Advertising works – It is as simple as that and the success of any business will invariably depend on it to some extent.

So this months challenge is to switch off the banal TV offerings and spend the time you would normally be waiting by thinking about honing your "in store", above and below the line (to use retail speak) promotions…. Let’s see which proves more fruitful.

In the meantime, I will only waste 1 hour each week watching wannabe pop stars, Grandma’s and outright fruitcakes embarrass themselves in front of millions of people (I promise) – and try not to get drawn into the trap set by the advertising gurus (no mean feat).

Good luck and see you next time.

The Ghost in the Machine.

Now is the time to be promoting your services and expertise to the young people who will soon reluctantly be leaving their summer holiday behind and returning to school.

Half a million 5 year olds will also be attending for the first time in their lives and the sad news is – only 53% of the UK’s under 16’s have had a full eye examination.


It is estimated that up to 1 million children will be sitting through their lessons with uncorrected vision problems.

So shout about your practice and how you can help your local children prosper at school.

Make sure that your community knows you care and that this service is free and promote the issues on general health that can be detected, not just optical problems.

Who knows, by enticing the parents in via their children – you may emerge with a whole family of new recruits.

Multiply that by the number of children in your area who have never been tested and the potential becomes very exciting.

Remember once they are through the door – your kids frame display area needs to be attractive and tailored specifically to suit the 4 – 11 year olds.

Lynx IDG have an array of child friendly display options designed specifically to show off your kids stock – call for more information or download our brochure

　download our brochure

                                       So here’s the thing – In order, these are my top ten things in the world

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10.   Man City football Club
9.     Watching illusionists spin their stuff
8.     Holidays / Travelling
7.     Cars & Motorcycles
6.     Skiing / Winter Sports
5.     Eating good food / Drinking good wine
4.     Music (playing & listening)
3.     Work and all that is Lynx IDG
2.     Friends (and socialising with)
1.     My family and their love

I am pretty sure that numbers 1 and 2 will be exactly the same for the vast majority of you all.

Numbers 4 and 5 may even ring some bells, number 10 can be replaced my any sporting team of your choice but point 3? – 3 is the big issue…

How many of you would without hesitation make your 3rd favourite thing, your 3rd biggest priority your job or work?

I hope the answer is a resounding yes… We spend at least 1/3 of our waking hours doing what we do for a living (much more in many cases) and therefore, it should be an enjoyable experience. Otherwise we are investing an awful lot of time doing something which we don’t actually like doing!

Surely that is not right?

After all is said and done, if we enjoy our jobs, we fulfil a basic human need to be happy and feel what we do is worthwhile and appreciated.

Naturally their will be days, even weeks where things just don’t work out as planned, or an issue will get you down but that should really be the exception and not the rule.

If the answer to the original question is not 3 but somewhere further down your list – That too is fine – you may have an extremely busy and interesting life – But it should feature somewhere in your top ten in my view.

I love my work, the people I work with and the clients I work for (mostly) and wouldn’t change it for the world – Well, maybe the world (or playing No. 10 for City, or drumming with Rush in place of Neil Peart) but none of these things will ever happen, so I am glad my life choices took me down the route I have walked.

If you do not enjoy your work you are missing a vital part of what your real life is actually about.

My advice – Take a deep breath and try to change whatever it is that is not working to put your work back into your top ten list.

If this doesn’t work – Stop what you are doing and try something else – Extreme? Yes but the alternative doesn’t bare thinking about…does it?

Until next time, when I hope you have all found your happy place.

The Ghost in the Machine

Oh and please feel free to post up your own Top Tens – It may prove a liberating experience and should at the very least make for some interesting reading!