One Duo – One Vision

Mr. Busch, since August 2020 you have been the second Managing Director alongside Dennis Martens, who founded the company in 2009. What made you switch from working on the agency side to working in-house for a digital company like Edel-Optics?

Michael Busch: The optical industry is a very traditional industry and still has a lot of potential for change in e-commerce; I’m very excited about this. On the agency side, I was always just a consultant – in the middle of things and yet still outside. Now, I’m a co-decision maker for my own products and also bear responsibility for them. Dennis and I are like two fitting pieces of a puzzle: he brings a wealth of technological and professional expertise in the field of optometry to the table, and I develop the strategies to make Edel-Optics even better known and more successful.

I had already worked for clients in the optics sector in previous years, but one thing clearly struck me as positive about Edel-Optics: eyewear is not just seen as a visual aid, it’s also a fashion statement and Edel-Optics’ range is more fashionable and more attractively priced than the competition.

Edel-Optics’ retail concept has already won several awards. What makes your store concept so interesting?

Dennis Martens: The integration and systematic expansion of sales channels are much-discussed topics in the retail sector. What makes the Virtual Merchandise Display so special are the synergy effects we generate from our linking of online and offline sales. Customers in the store get the best of both worlds: The choice, search functions and prices of the Internet, but at the same time the service and advice of a specialist optical store.

We want our customers to feel empowered. The fact is that most people depend on the optician, and three out of five customers choose a pair of glasses recommended by the optician. However, sitting opposite us is a customer who knows exactly what he wants. Transparency is the keyword, which is why at Edel-Optics, through the integration of the online store, our customers are always able to choose from the entire product range, even in the physical store.

Another point is that we as retailers can handle logistics very efficiently and reduce capital lockup because we use our inventory twice. Added to this is our consistent implementation of the concept with the iPad at the centre. When you look at it, you can see very quickly that we’re not running the whole thing half-heartedly.

In the flagship store on Hamburg’s Ballindamm, the complete range is available from the central warehouse of the online stores. Can this concept be transferred to a store network at all?

Dennis Martens: The basic idea is to set up a decentralized storage system via Edel-Optics stores, thereby ensuring that all stores always have a range of glasses that is quickly available, which significantly exceeds the range of a pure chain store – especially regarding brand-name glasses. In addition to our Internet prices, this is an important selling point for Edel-Optics.

How do you see the future of Edel-Optics? Which area will you focus on?

Michael Busch: We are the contender in the eyewear market, and now one of the leading online opticians in Europe. We want to provide new impetus, strengthen the brand and filter out more target groups. In the long term, this also includes opening more brick-and-mortar stores.

Dennis Martens: Online, we want to delve even deeper into the individual international markets. In this context, we will also further expand our unique selling points: extensive availability of the well-known brands, favourable prices, shopping experience through technical added value and service, and of course a distinctive retail brand with a clear profile and high recognition value.