Marge Axelrad, Sr. VP/Editorial Director
Marge oversees the overall editorial direction of
Vision Monday and its print publication,
VMail, e-newsletters,
VisionMonday.com and special events including
VM Global Leadership Summit.
She is also in charge of general corporate and company news, industry developments and business trends,
financial news. Marge specializes in frame sunwear companies, practice management programs,
spectacle lens and contact lens companies, managed care, wholesale laboratories, research.
She is also the editor of
CLICK, a twice-a-month e-newsletter. Contact Marge at
maxelrad@jobson.com.
By Marge Axelrad
Monday, June 10, 2019 11:12 AM
Today’s optometry college graduates reflect diverse backgrounds and an impressive range of professional and individual achievements. The demands of school curriculums span clinical, practical and research arenas and are accompanied by the strong sense of purpose that drive today’s students to give back and take part in local community and international volunteer work as well.
By Marge Axelrad
Thursday, March 21, 2019 3:43 PM
Some people are, simply, a force. They may not always know it, or see themselves that way, but that’s the impact or influence they have on other people. Al Berg, one of the co-founders of Marchon back in 1983 and then its president and CEO for some 25 years, was the visionary eyewear executive who was one of those forces for me. When I came to this business in 1988 as editor of a then-one-year-old business publication here at Jobson, covering a zooming, complicated business and not knowing a soul, Al was someone I gravitated to. He was quick, funny, a New Yorker like me, observant, driven, brave and passionate about business. He also seemed to ‘get’ me. He understood what we were trying to do, writing about a business that was growing in many directions, in leaps and bounds. He was fascinated by that, he was energized by it, sometimes very pro and sometimes con (!) and, man, did he let me know it.
By Marge Axelrad
Wednesday, March 13, 2019 12:15 PM
NEW YORK—Independent retailers are looking more than ever to differentiate themselves from big box and mass market stores. Ideas for merchandising and presenting product, store layout and colors can come from many sources. One unique example we recently came across is
Design4Retail a retail design agency based in the U.K. Blending concepts for store design, product display, signage and innovative corners and campaigns, the agency’s website is a fount of ideas. By looking at what their clients’ brands and retailers are doing in categories as wide-ranging as beauty and cosmetics, or apparel and accessories, eyewear retailers and smaller optical dispensaries and boutiques can glean a range of adaptable tips and tactics.
By Marge Axelrad
Monday, March 11, 2019 12:30 AM
For many people who work within the optical business, customization has always been part of the history of eyewear, as experienced opticians, knowledgeable doctors, and skilled craftsmen, in factories and laboratories, have long done their part to recommend, suggest and fabricate optical frames and spectacle lenses which are best suited to an individual patients’ vision correction needs and their lifestyle.
By Marge Axelrad
Monday, February 11, 2019 12:30 AM
Few companies have influenced and wowed consumers with intriguing breakthrough concepts for products, a completely new kind of store environment and the introduction of new notions of customer service as have Apple and Tesla. I mention these companies, so closely associated now with “being different,” because these are two of the companies at which George Blankenship, a long-time retail and real estate strategy veteran helped two dynamic and one-of-a-kind leaders like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk hone their visions into such compelling brand realities.
By Marge Axelrad
Monday, January 21, 2019 12:32 AM
Those of you who read this column are vision experts. I’m feeling fairly confident that most of you know how to define “focus” and “acuity” and both near- and distance vision. Well, let’s get out the dictionary or thesaurus because when it comes to anticipating the year ahead, we’re going to need every vision metaphor and definition in the books.
By Marge Axelrad
Monday, December 17, 2018 12:30 AM
It was the traditional end-of-year holiday season that used to bring to the forefront the very legitimate impulse to help those less fortunate, to remember the needy. Indeed, charities and causes have always been true to the heart and close to the passions of most people involved in the eyecare and eyewear arenas. Whether it’s making products and services available to those without means or access or by rallying around sight-threatening issues, giving back has always been an important part of the vision care community.
By Marge Axelrad
Monday, November 12, 2018 12:31 AM
NEW YORK—A number of eyecare retailers, both national chains and independents, along with several major lens, laboratory and frame companies are continuing to bring new ideas to product innovation, diverse lens choices and more streamlined delivery systems to the category of prescription safety eyewear (SRx) to serve the needs of manufacturing and industrial workers and to bring attention to good eye-care and effective vision correction products to themselves and their families
By Marge Axelrad
Monday, November 12, 2018 12:30 AM
How many times a day do you reach for your phone to “show” someone something? To illustrate an idea? To illustrate a look, a technique, a store, a game-day play, a powerful image?
By Marge Axelrad
Monday, October 22, 2018 12:00 AM
There is much that we all know, those of us who live and breathe vision care, about the fragmented and sometimes fractious state of affairs in the complex field of vision care.
By Marge Axelrad
Monday, September 24, 2018 12:05 AM
NEW YORK—With one of the longest histories in the eyewear business, as a frame maker, designer and marketer,
Safilo Group S.p.A.’s new executive leadership has embarked on a different path this year, looking to swiftly readjust Safilo’s service focus for all current and potential optical accounts, amp up support to its sales teams and fine-tune responsiveness to consumer trends. This involves re-emphasizing the global company’s historic strength in product design and development, among its own brands and licensed brands, as well as redirecting its resources to such strategically important markets as North America, where new initiatives will be more “customer-centric and approachable,” executives said.
By Marge Axelrad
Monday, September 17, 2018 12:45 AM
Rx optical laboratories play such a critical role in the ophthalmic business. Ask any ECP or optical retailer and they’ll affirm how strongly they value and rely upon labs to fulfill and deliver on the service expectation of their patients and customers. It’s one of the most critical elements of how their businesses fare.
By Marge Axelrad and Mark Tosh
Monday, August 13, 2018 12:30 AM
NEW YORK – Having the wherewithal to successfully compete as an eyecare professional and a business person can be a daunting challenge, particularly for independents.
By Marge Axelrad and Mark Tosh
Monday, August 13, 2018 12:29 AM
KINGWOOD, Texas—Perhaps lost in the initial response to Vision Source’s launch of its Vision Source Next program was just how broad and comprehensive the program intends to be, and how it has a range of offerings for optometrist practitioners across all stages of their career.
By Marge Axelrad and Mark Tosh
Monday, August 13, 2018 12:28 AM
MADISON, Wis.—Five months into the launch of a new practice ownership structure for independent eyecare professionals, Rev360 executives are pleased with the response the new RevAdvance “partnership model” has received and the operational progress the initial OD practices in the program have experienced.