OPTICALPRISM | COVER STORY
Brewer by Zeal Optics
Cleo by Zeal Optics
YEARS FROM NOW , when analysts examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the eyewear industry , people will probably be amazed at how relatively unscathed it emerged .
There were dark times for sure . Labs were shuttered , supply lines severed and jobs cut .
However , the story that will likely persist generations from now will be about the industry ’ s resiliency in the face of unprecedented circumstances .
Canada is home to some of the world ’ s greatest eyewear and lens manufacturers that never wavered through each wave of the virus . These fearless leaders adapted and worked within local health restrictions to deliver the essential gift of sight to clients and customers .
Optical Prism checked in with connections across the country to get a temperature check on the industry today and where it ’ s headed in a post-pandemic world .
At Plastic Plus in Toronto , Paul Faibish says his lab went from full-stop to full steam ahead just 18 months after he was asking the bank about delaying mortgage and lease payments .
“ Spring of 2020 was the slowest , I can ’ t even describe to you how bad business was . Fast forward and this will be our most profitable fiscal year in 42 years .”
Faibish doesn ’ t expect the demand to go away anytime soon , citing the fact the average consumer buys a pair of glasses every 23 months and COVID-19 widened that gap to 35 or 36 months .
“ It ’ s no question the industry is going to be short probably hundreds of thousands of pairs of glasses , but we added new equipment and we ’ re running the lab 18 hours a day , six days a week .”
That rampant production at Plastic Plus includes turning out the Avulux lens , which provides migraine relief for thousands of Canadians by filtering out as much as 97 per cent of the most painful , headache-triggering light .
In Vancouver , chief designer at Spectacle Eyeworks , Mehran Baghaie laments the early days of the pandemic as well , but he ’ s excited for the future and his latest collection of stainless steel frames .
“ It ’ s a very vintage , ‘ 70s-inspired collection ,” says Baghaie . “ It is eccentric , vintage and loud .”
Those descriptors , in stark contrast to the early months of the pandemic for Baghaie ’ s relatively small operation .
“ It was confusion and uncertainty . We shut down the office and responded to urgent requests only ,” he says . “ We started lowering our overheads and consolidation to achieve sustainability , self-sufficiency , endurance and continuance .”
Maintaining that endurance was adapting to the growing demand for online services . More than at any time in human history , we ’ re ordering things online from burgers and jackets to lumber and bicycles .
At Canadian Optical Supply , president Robert Hoschstadter spearheaded his company ’ s digital growth and ability to adapt to an increasingly virtual marketplace .
“ We will continue to invest in our digital platforms ,” he says . “ And with the help of the B2B platform , our reps
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