Focusfix began supplying glasses direct from the laboratory in 1994 after a disgruntled laboratory manager of one the high streets leading chains of ophthalmic opticians was forced into redundancy at the young age of 22. His employer had decided to re-centralise its glazing facilities and 'gave up' competing with the new revolution of the so called super-optical. 'Glasses in an hour', Lenscrafters and Vision Express, both launching in the UK around 1990, pre-educated with vast experience from the highly demanding US public, UK opticians chose to return to 'the way it was', after all the UK public were used to waiting a week for their glasses. Its the way it had always been! In 1995 Lenscrafters pulled out of the UK market place, Boots Opticians closed its 'D90' labs, Specsavers continues its one hour service for various glasses at a few locations and Vision Express undoubtedly leads the 'super-optical' market but at a premium, showing the UK public's expectations were far less and would probably take some generations for our nation to reach the same level as the fast, service driven Americans.
Positioned with a firm understanding of the industry, legally, politically and commercially, the disgruntled ex-employee, discussed his future venture with a few opticians and realized the enormity of his quest for educating the nation that, 'you are not obliged to purchase your glasses from the optician who tested your eyes', you can take your prescription to whoever supplies them! Never the less, "Rome wasn't built in a day!" as they say and who better to supply them than the quality craftsmen that opticians use on a B2B level. Answering opticians intriguing question, "how would you market it?" Focusfix was born and began trading from the heart of the infamous Cardiff UK indoor market, customers would obtain their prescription from the high street opticians and enjoy giant savings by bringing it to Focusfix. The more sceptical customers would take their new cut price glasses back to their opticians for checking and self reassurance.
In 1996 Focusfix Ltd's managing director spent four years working in the US and started using the internet to keep in touch with a small number of friends and family who were using this relatively new medium. On returning to the UK a month before the millennium he was convinced the future of many industries would be effected by the internet and sort employment in the IT industry. In 2000 he met his future business partner, a highly competent software developer, whilst working for one of the UK's leading ISP's and questioned if prescription glasses could ever be sold on the internet. Following many years of research the first thing needed was to accelerate the creation of the market place. Focusfix became Limited in 2003, launching www.SpecsOnTheNet.com in the same year making replication imminent.
From the start of this new concept Focusfix have remained firm in the fact that supplying bi-focals and vari-focals remotely can not be made with enough accuracy to ensure glasses are made within British or European standards and have therefore not supplied them. Accurate measurements need to be taken with the customer wearing their desired frame. Other online traders have not been as ethical and continue to supply them, leaving them to 'guess' the correct position for the distant section of vari-focal lenses and 'guess' the correct segment height for bi-focal lenses, resulting in poorly supplied glasses and many returns before getting them correct. Focusfix Ltd are not associated in anyway with these rouge traders and only dealings we have had with them is on a B2B basis promptly refusing to supply them when asked to guess the correct measurements for remote supply of bi-focal or vari-focal glasses.
Buying prescription glasses online is cost effective but leaves the customer wondering if their desired glasses will suit or fit correctly before purchasing. To overcome these predicaments Focusfix Ltd are proud to introduce 'Focusfix VMS' to the world market. Certified by Sun Microsystems, Focusfix VMS is a highly sophisticated virtual modelling suite designed to allow our customers to accurately virtually model our stock range, and enable us to take the precise measurements needed for the correct supply of bi-focal or vari-focal lenses.
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