Independent Melbourne optometry practice Vision on Koornang has beaten 56 businesses to be named overall winner of Glen Eira City Council’s first annual Business of the Year Awards, as well as taking out the Professions and Service Business category.
Vision on Koornang, in Carnegie, is co-owned by optometrists Mr Daniel Duldig and Ms Clare Campitelli and is part of the ProVision network.
Duldig originally established the practice, then known as Makrai and Duldig Optometrists, in 1989. Eve Makrai left the business in 2003. Optometrist Norm Russo became Duldig’s business partner in 2005 and the practice was rebranded Duldig & Russo Optometry. Campitelli joined the business in the same year. She became co-owner in 2011, and in 2020 the business rebranded to Vision on Koornang – by Daniel and Clare.
Glen Eira City Council’s Business of the Year Awards celebrate local achievements in business performance, innovation, and social responsibility. Businesses were judged against set criteria, including environmental sustainability practices, future plans, diversity and customer service, and manufacturing practices.
Campitelli applied to the awards on behalf of the practice, which also employs a full-time dispenser and two part-time optical assistants.
“Thirty-four years in business is a significant achievement. The practice has such longevity that we now see the children and in some cases grandchildren of some original patients. Vision on Koornang has doubled in turnover in the past 12 years,” Campitelli said.
“We adopt sustainable practices where we can. We have started to stock environmentally sustainable frames and will continue to add more ranges as these become available. We also have a recycling program for soft contact lenses and packaging.
“We have reduced paper usage by 50% over the past five years and plan to be paper neutral in five years’ time. We plan to do this by utilising more technology in the patient care journey so that they receive all communications via digital channels,” she said.
Vision on Koornang has also recently introduced virtual reality software, which tracks a patient’s eye movements to create a customised lens design.
In 2020, Vision on Koornang received a small business COVID-19 recovery grant from Glen Eira Council, which funded short promotional videos the practice featured on its website.
“Since posting the videos we have achieved a 316% increase in website traffic from google searches,” Campitelli said.
Campitelli, who has more than 20 year’s experience in behavioural optometry, is currently completing a certificate in visual rehabilitation for people with mild traumatic brain injuries. She received the Graham Peachy Award in 2019 for outstanding contributions to behavioural optometry education.
She said the business also has plans for future growth.
“We plan to add an additional consultation room to our clinic to provide vision care to more people in need. Our vision therapy sector of the business is small at present, but we are looking to add a vision therapist to our staff in 2024 as we grow this side of the business,” Campitelli said.
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