At Eyes Right Optical, innovation, family business values and industry excellence entwine to create an exciting workplace for employees. PAUL HARRISON and SEAN RAFTERY are among those behind the scenes bringing some of the most fashion-forward, best-selling eyewear to independent optical practices nationwide.
When Mr Sean Raftery, warehouse manager at Eyes Right Optical’s headquarters in Melbourne’s southeast, ran into a customer during an interstate trip and was greeted with nothing but praise, it was a reminder of everything he loves about working for one of Australia’s largest eyewear suppliers to the independent market.
“They said, ‘We love dealing with Eyes Right Optical; you guys are great. You’re always so helpful’,” Raftery says. “Receiving that spontaneous positive feedback was great. The fact that the practices do openly thank you for the work that the team put in – that’s extremely rewarding.”
Raftery is among 33 employees who turn up to work each day at Eyes Right Optical and leave fulfilled knowing they have played an important role in supporting the vital independent optometry market in Australia. The company is the Australian distributor of iconic international brands such as Face a Face, ProDesign Denmark and more recently William Morris and Charles Stone, providing independents with a point-of-difference in the market.
This ethos and culture is something managing director Mr Mark Wymond – who operates the company alongside his sister and national brands manager Ms Lisa Wymond – is proud to continue, after taking the reins in 2018 from their parents Gaye and David Wymond (who established the company in 1992).
“We stand for supporting independent practices to the best of our ability through providing exceptional quality product and customer service that not only makes the practices’ shelves look fantastic, but also makes them look brilliant to their patients,” he says.
Raftery has been the warehouse manager at Eyes Right Optical for two and a half years, overseeing stock control and management while supporting the customer service team. A large aspect of his role is customer facing where he assists with phone orders from practices and other product enquiries.
With more than 30 years in warehousing and logistics, he transferred a host of essential skills to Eyes Right Optical as it has expanded over the years. Although eyewear was a new field for him, the principles of stock management remain the same. While his motivation for a shift to the optical industry was to experience something new, it was the Eyes Right Optical culture that consolidated his decision.
“The working dynamic can be great in family-run businesses like Eyes Right Optical, even though it’s considered a medium to large business, it was very clear when I met with Mark that their family values are very strong,” Raftery says.
“Workplace culture is probably the number one thing for me. Because a stock item is a stock item; it really doesn’t matter what industry it is. But if I hear laughter, then I think it’s a really good place to work. And it is.”
His involvement in the technical side of product management and customer service alleviates the workload on the customer service department. He finds this rewarding as he is not entirely removed from the customer service aspect of the business.
“I love that interaction with the practices and the ability to service their requirements quickly. It’s always refreshing when you get feedback that they’re so happy you’ve got the stock and you can get it out to them today,” Raftery says. “And a lot of the time the practice receives the frame the next day.”
“I find it’s what I enjoy most about the role – you aren’t completely removed from the customer – and the staff and practices are fantastic.”
Raftery is inspired by the leadership of Mark and Lisa. Since taking over the company, he says they have taken it to new heights while maintaining the essence that has made Eyes Right Optical – and the brands it supplies – such a staple among many independents across the country.
And as a family-run business, Raftery enjoys working in a dynamic environment that’s responsive to industry trends. It sets standards and means they can stay ahead of the curve.
“It’s refreshing to be part of a company that is dynamic and is not going to simply repeat what they’ve done for the last 15 years,” Raftery says. “Mark obviously plans very strategically and whenever there’s something new, it’s undoubtedly a success.”
Elevating team expertise
To achieve exceptional customer service, one of Mark’s biggest investments is recruitment. Here, he ensures everyone has niche, specialist knowledge that’s relevant to their department. With this, he can strike a balance between maintaining family business values, while celebrating expertise.
The business has doubled in the last 10 years, which has provided opportunity to expand and offer more specialised in-house services. Today, the company has various departments comprising of IT, customer service, sales, marketing, purchasing, finance and warehousing. Every aspect of the Eyes Right Optical business has someone that is an expert in their field running the day-to-day operations.
“Everybody’s an expert in their respective departments and brings the company to life through their passion and dedication,” he says. “We have trained professionals in those areas, not just somebody that wears six different hats,” he says.
Mark says Eyes Right Optical is quick to respond to and implement industry trends in the Australian market, largely due to having the chosen absence of a strict leadership hierarchy.
“We’re a family business and – as much as we are a larger organisation – we run as if it’s a small nimble organisation; there’s no large, restrictive management structure to go through and get approval if we have a great idea,” he says. “If someone has a great idea, we can basically have a quick team meeting about it and get it going that afternoon. We are a very dynamic company in that way.”
Mark says the eyewear that the company imports from Europe are considered avant-garde and cutting edge. Eyes Right Optical purchases from design-driven and innovative companies and procures the distribution for Australia and New Zealand.
“We treat the brands as our own where we always try and do the right thing and set up the sales and distribution network to ensure the greatest amount of penetration into our market,” Mark says.
“The relationships with all of our suppliers and manufacturers are long-term and exceptional, because they know what we bring to the table, and I know that we outperform per capita against the other countries in the world.”
Customer-centric
Working alongside Raftery is Mr Paul Harrison, head of sales at Eyes Right Optical. He arrived at the company from Bollé Brands in 2020 and brought 12 years of optical industry experience with him.
The company’s willingness to go above and beyond for customers, and to reinforce that with great product, makes his role much easier. After all, relationships and trust are the foundation of a strong sales relationship.
“We do everything we can for the customer, to make sure they are getting as much out of our collections as they need. We also have fantastic brands – worldwide, reputable collections, which are great products to sell,” Harrison says.
Echoing Raftery’s sentiments, he says the culture at Eyes Right Optical is people-oriented and defined by family business values that resonate through the entire company. It’s a lively workplace, without restrictive processes or policies, so things get done.
For Harrison, it’s exciting to be part of an innovative, driven company that he says knows how to stay ahead of the curve. For example, Eyes Right Optical recently launched Project Green – a sustainable eyewear collection – in response greater demand for environmentally conscious eyewear. And on a macro-scale, he says Eyes Right Optical knows how to form and maintain healthy long-term partnerships with brands and manufacturers.
One of his career highlights was Eyes Right Optical recently earning ‘Supplier Partner of the Year’ with independent optometry network Eyecare Plus, which represents 149 practices.
He says that “servicing of the business at all levels” contributed to this recognition and each employee played an important role.
“An excellent, hard working and passionate team combined with innovative business solutions, a friendly culture and willingness to go the extra mile for their customers is what makes Eyes Right Optical so successful.”
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