Pentax 2002 Annual Report Download - page 15

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Health Care
Contact lenses, IOLs and hearing aids are the three main businesses of the Health Care division.
Contact lenses are the division’s principal product, and in this area Hoya has pursued a strate-
gic retail-store expansion strategy, as well as offering products tailored to customers. In recent years,
there has been a trend toward greater use of disposable contact lenses, and Hoya markets lenses that are
optimized for the user’s lifestyle. The Company is promoting its E-System, which offers guarantees
against tearing, loss, changes of eyesight and other contingencies, striving to improve customer satisfac-
tion. High-quality customer service and system products, matched to customer need for high-value-
added products, have fueled the outstanding performance of this division.
Hoya’s marketing strategy has focused on securing store locations on busy streets or in shop-
ping malls while closing stores in upstairs locations, thereby increasing the number of high-performance
stores without increasing the total number of stores. The Company has emphasized favorable terms in
shopping mall locations, making it possible to utilize the drawing power of the Hoya brand name.
Retail sales of bifocal lenses and other products with high function require a sufficient number of
employees who possess a high level of specialized knowledge. The Company, therefore, has established
thorough in-house training. This expansion strategy, together with a service structure that produces a
high degree of customer satisfaction, has resulted both in an increase in same-store sales and in overall
solid sales growth.
IOLs are expected to fuel the Company’s growth in the near future. In October 2001, the
manufacture of the Company’s Acryfold soft IOLs was approved, and sales have commenced. This
product is Hoya’s first foray into the manufacture and sale of soft IOLs, but it was preceded by a years-
long R&D effort designed to produce a high-value-added product suitable for use throughout the
world. Acryfold is receiving high praise from many quarters, and Hoya will be striving to prepare for
the expansion of its presence in the overseas market.
Sales of hearing aids declined slightly because of adverse economic conditions. However,
Hoya persevered in marketing its high-performance products and pushed aggressive advertising cam-
paigns targeted to specific markets.
In the maturing eyeglass lens market, the aging population may bring an increase in demand
over the long term. On the global scale, not only does this market have great potential, but there are
many regions in which Hoya has only a small presence. The Vision Care division’s basic strategy for
achieving growth in profits is to increase its share of the global market for high-value-added products,
with its progressive lenses as the centerpiece of its effort, while at the same time energetically launching
new products in the marketplace.
13
pt.4
Operational Review part 4