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!