eng research report

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGNFOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

PRESENTATION TITLE: THE OPTOMETRISTS

GROUP MEMBERS:

Names Presentation / Research Report Roles.

PANG KHAI SHUEN History of the Optical Trade

TAN JIA YI Bio of Businesses

LEE REN JET Bio of Business

FELIX VONG ZHI WEI Comparative Analysis

NG YI YANG Comparative Analysis

HOR WENG LIM Recommendation

ENGLISH II / ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605 / ENG 0205)

LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA

SUBMISSION & PRESENTATION DATE: 13th JANURAY 2015

Taylor’s University | FNBE April 2014 | English (ELG 30605) | Assignment 2 | Compare and Contrast

“Optometry has been defined as “the art and science of vision care” by Monroe J.

Hirsch and Ralph E. Wick in The Optometric Profession (1968). The American

Optometric Association has stated that “Doctors of Optometry are independent primary

health care providers who specialize in the examination, diagnosis, treatment and

management of diseases and disorders of the visual system.” Optometrists examine eyes

and the visual system. They prescribe spectacles and contact lenses, optimize

binocularity (the manner in which the two eyes work together), and improve visual

function. Optometrists are trained to detect, treat, and manage disorders and diseases of

the eyes and related structures.”


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

SUMMARY 1

A HISTORY OF THE OPTICAL TRADE 2

BRIEF BIODATA OF BUSINESSES

- Mi-Wah Superior Optical Centre Sdn. Bhd.

- Teo Optometry Sdn. Bhd.

- Comparison Table

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BUSINESSES

- Number of competitors

- Brief Biodata of Top 3 Competitors

- Strategies of Businesses

- Obstacles faced by new businesses

- Nature of Markets

- Conclusion

- Comparative Analysis Summary Table

RECOMMENDATIONS


1

SUMMARY

Our task for this assignment is to compare and contrast two businesses of the same

industry, one located in Klang Valley and another one in a different state. After some

discussions, we decided to interview Mi-Wah Superior Optometry Centre in Sri Petaling,

Kuala Lumpur, and Teo Optometry in Pontian, Johor. We chose these two businesses as

some of our members were their customers.

We also chose two businesses in different states because we wanted to show the contrast

of the same business in varying locations. We wanted to see how location affects a

business.

In this report, we try our best to convey our findings in an organised manner in order to

be understood by all readers.


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A HISTORY OF THE OPTICAL TRADE

Glasses, also known as eyeglasses and spectacles, are used for vision correction.

Nowadays, 8 out of 10 people in the world are wearing spectacles. Some wear it for

vision correction, some wear it for fashion purpose.

The history of glasses began when the first vision aid was invented by an

unknown inventor. It was called a reading stone which was a glass sphere on top of the

material. Back then it was only used to magnify letters. In the 13th century, hand-held

magnifying lenses are produced from solid glass and wooden frames. In 1267, an English

monk called Reegan Bake made hand-held spectacles to be used to read the Bible, but it

wasn’t widely applicable yet. Inspired by him, Salvino D’Armate, from Italy, invented the

first wearable glasses in 1284.

However, the Crystal Processing Trade Consortia in Venice had made the

regulations that glass could not be used to make lenses for spectacles as they are

counterfeit of crystal. So when glass was first used in lenses manufacturing, the

spectacles were made under the condition of "spectacles for reading" and marked “made

of glass”. In 1498, Nuremberg started the trading of spectacles and had spread the sales of

spectacles all over Germany and the Europe. A lot of manufacturers had set up branches

in central European cities, and later in the whole world.

The variety of spectacles began when sunglasses were introduced in year 1752 by

James Ayscough. Later on, American scientist Benjamin Franklin, who suffered from


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin

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both myopia and presbyopia, invented bifocals. A few years later, the first lenses for

correcting Astigmatism were designed by British astronomer George Airy. In the 1930s,

sunglasses became widely available and popular in demand. In 1929, Edwin Land

introduced polarizing sunglass lenses. It had polarizing celluloid which reduced light

glare in sunglass lenses. As fashion sense increased throughout the world, doctors and

optical firms in Europe cooperated in developing practical contact lenses in 1940. In

2008, Joshua Silver designed the AdSpecs, which are eyewears with self-adjustable

corrective glasses.

In a nutshell, glasses these days are not only for vision correction., but also a

means of fashion. We might not notice it, but spectacles play a major role in people’s

daily life. We should appreciate this amazing invention.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Silver

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Airy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astigmatism_(eye)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyopia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myopia

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Brief Biodata of Businesses

Mi-Wah Superior Optical Centre Sdn. Bhd.

One of our choices of business for this assignment is Mi-Wah Superior Optical Centre Sd.

Bhd. It is currently located in Lot 2037, 2nd Floor, Endah Parade, Taman Sri Enda, Bandar

Baru Sri Petaling, 57000 Kuala Lumpur. Founded in 1997, this businesses is brought up

single-handedly by Mr. Mah Kin Fatt. Mr. Mah wanted to start this business as there were

few competitors back then and he had the right skills and knowledge to venture into the

optical trade. He also thought that this business is decently profitable.


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This business has no branches as is it only a small-scale family-run business. Mr. Mah

also wants to keep his overheads low in order to stabilize his prices. He has no employees

and therefore the only one working in the shop. Also, Mr. Mah emphases he importance

of keeping his overheads low and also providing a good after-sales service. These aspects

are important to maintain his regular customers.

Mr. Mah’s business focuses on usual glasses, sunglasses, and various other types of eye-

protection. He also provides vision test to his customers. The total number of customers

is about 1000 and a majority of them are regular customers that has been receiving his

service since years ago. He also has customers from all races.

The sales of Mr. Mah’s business is more or less stable, experiencing some peaks during

the emergence of a new product, for instance, Transition lenses. This business has an

annual revenue figure of roughly RM 300 000. Whenever a new product comes by, he

passes it on to his customers whenever they visit his shop. (K.F. Mah, personal

communication, December 30, 2014)


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Teo Optometry Sdn. Bhd.

The next choice of our business is Teo Optometry Sdn Bhd. It is located at 30, Jalan

Bakek Jaya, Taman Bakek Jaya, 82000, Pontian, Johor. The business is owned by Teo

Sock Hoon, and it was founded in year 1997. During early period, the business was not

hard to enter the market as they have less competitors. The motive for starting business is

merely to start her own business and earn more income.

The business doesn’t have any branches currently as the owner considers about


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her children who are still small and need parental care. Hence, she was forced to give up

her idea of planning a new branch of the business. The business has 4 employees include

the owner herself who act as an optometrist as well in the shop.

The main products sold by the business are spectacles, contact lens and

sunglasses. Services such as vision test and dispense contact lenses are provided in the

shop. The business has over thousands customers currently. Its customers are mostly

people who are having short-sightedness. In addition, the business has an annual revenue

figure of RM 720 000. It also releases new product every 2-3 months.

Besides that, the business has brought in Zeiss machine I-terminal progressive

dotting technology recently to offer accuracy and comfort for both the technician and

patient. The machine can help patient to optimize vision, reduce eye strain and have

better fixing lenses by provides all of the data necessary to objectively create lenses for

your unique features. Many details need to be taken into account during the process when

adjusting lenses to frame, such as the distance between eyes and pupils, the proportions

of the face and even posture. Up to 40% of valuable visual activity can be lost without

these accurate measurements. The business hopes to bring in more Zeiss machines in the

future. (S.H. Teo, personal communication, January 2, 2015)


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Comparison Table for Brief Biodata of Businesses

Busines Names Mi-Wah Superior Optical

Centre Sdn. Bhd.

Teo Optometry Sdn. Bhd.

Current Address Lot 2037, 2nd Floor, Endah

Parade, Taman Sri Enda,

Bandar Baru Sri Petaling,

57000 Kuala Lumpur

30, Jalan Bakek Jaya, Taman

Bakek Jaya, 82000, Pontian,

Johor

Number of Branches 0 0Number of Employees 0 3Main Products/

Services Sold

Spectacles Spectacles

Estimated Number of

Customers

~1000 ~4000

When were the

businesses founded:

1997 1997

Who are the founders: Mr. Mah Kin Fatt Ms. Teo Sook HoonMotives for starting the

business:

- Had the experience.

- Thinks it is profitable.

- Wanted to start her own

business.Recent Developments: Not much development. New equipments etc Zeiss

Machine.


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Comparative Analysis of Two Businesses

i) NUMBER OF COMPETITORS

Teo Optometry Sdn. Bhd which is located in Pontian, Johor has only a few

competitors (around 3 to 5) around the area. This is due to the fact that

quantity of demand in the area is low due to the low density of population in

Pontian compared to Klang Valley. Hence, there are not many of same

business in the area.

On the other hand, Mi-Wah Superior Optical Centre Sdn. Bhd faces quite a

few competitors, around 5 to 7. Sri Petaling is a rapidly growing town and

more shop lots are being built. This means the population density is increasing

and therefore more spectacle shops will be joining the market.

ii) BRIEF BIODATAS OF BUSINESSES’ TOP 3 COMPETITORS


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At Johor, there are only 3

main competitors, which are

The Vision Optometry &

Contact Lens Centre, You &

Eyes and Eye Box Eyewear

Sdn. Bhd. These 3 shops are

all located in Billion Mall, Pontian. They are a competition for Teo Optometry

because their location is only within 3km from the business.

The first competitor, The Vision Optometry & Contact Lens Centre, was

founded since year 2007, by Mr. Ng Peng Hua. There are 3 employees in the

shop. The shop in Pontian, Johor is one of the ten branches. The headquarters

of the business is located at Batu Pahat,

Johor.

The second competitor of the business

is You & Eyes which was founded in year 2008 by Irene Tan. There were 5

employees in the shop. The business has 3 branches, and the shop in Pontian

is the headquarters of the business.


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The third competitor of the business is Eye Box Eyewear Sdn.Bhd. This

business was founded since year 2009, by Terence Tan and Grace Tong. There

were 3 employees in the shop. This business does not have any branches.


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At Kuala Lumpur, we found 3 other optical businesses in the same shopping mall,

Endah Parade. There were a few more outside of shopping mall but we decided to

feature these :

Optimal Optical Centre is

owned by Andy. This outlet,

opened 2 years ago in 2012, is

one of the total of 14 branches.

Compared to our target business,

this shop has more variety of products and covers a wider area as it is located at a

newly-renovated area.

1 Optical Point opened up 4

years ago in Endah Parade and


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still does not have any branches. It is located on the ground floor and has a more

open layout to the store.

The only optical centre as

old as Mi-Wah Superior Optical

Centre Sdn. Bhd is Vision

Bright, owned by Mr. David

Chan. This shop opened in 1998,

just one year after Mr. Mah’s business. Today, Vision Bright has already started 4

other branches.

iii) STRATEGIES OF BUSINESS

Teo Optometry Sdn. Bhd does not advertise. However, most of their

customers are regular customers as their business had started since year 1997.

The business also appreciate a lot with customers who recommend their shop

to family and friends. Besides, the business emphases on vision care and has

also brought in high technology machines, such as the Zeiss machine for I-

terminal dotting.


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Similarly, Mi-Wah Superior Optical Centre Sdn. Bhd does not advertise at all.

It depends mostly on regular customers. Mr Mah also emphases the

importance of after-sales service and keeping overheads low. He does not hire

any workers but instead looks after the business himself. This way, he can

keep his prires low and his customers happy.

iv) OBSTACLES FACED BY NEW BUSINESS

One of the obstacles faced by new business to enter the market is the low

quantity of demand due to the low density of population in the area. Another

obstacle is due to the presence of many other businesses providing the same

services and products. Hence, customers will compare the prices of the products.

In addition, the majority of customers are regular customers who tend to visit the

same opticians. This situation is a problem faced by new businesses as the

businesses that has existed for a longer time period has a larger amount of

regular customers. Moreover, the service provided by optical business is more of

less private. For instance, the opticians has a record of all customers and how

their eyesight changes throughout the years. This means that the optician knows

his or her customers well. Lastly, it is difficult for new businesses to achieve

economies of scale, which is defined as the point where the revenue of a

business is the highest as a result of constantly reducing costs. New businesses

do not have the chance to get benefits from suppliers such as discounts.


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v) NATURE OF THE MARKETS

The nature of the market of Teo Optometry Sdn. Bhd is monopolistic

competition, which is a market containing a large number of small firms. This

business has many competitors, but each one sells slightly different products.

Besides, this business also has the characteristic of monopolistic competition,

which each firm makes independent decisions about the price and output, based

on its product, its market, and its costs of production.

vii) CONCLUSION

Based on our analysis, we concluded that Teo Optometry Sdn. Bhd. is more

commercially successful. First of all, this business has more customers compared

to Mi-Wah Superior Optical Centre Sd. Bhd. This contributes to more revenue to

the business. Teo Optometry also had more advanced equipment to provide

better service to it’s customers. Most importantly, customers are willing so visit

the business even though it is hard to reach without automobiles. In our

interview with Ms. Teo, she told us that some customer took a walk from the bus

stop - about 11 minutes of walking from the business.


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Comparative Analysis Summary TableSimilarities:


Competitive Traits Both Businesses1. Number of

Competitors

2 to 10

2. Barrier to Entry (Weak

or Strong? Why?)

Weak. This means that many competitors can enter the market

easily.

-No legal barrier which is regulated by government in optometry

industry, such as patent.

-No strategies barrier because most of the businesses will not

adopt aggressive strategic moves to prevent new competition.

-No “first mover” or ownership in the industry. There are no first

firm that get established or a firm which control majority of

production equipment that are needed to produce a product, so it

is not difficult for new firm to make the same product and

compete in the market.3. Differentiated or

Standardized Products

Differentiated products (Spectacles, contact lens, sunglasses)

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Recommendations


4. Pricing Power (Price

Maker or Taker? Why?)

Low. -According to law of demand, quantity of demand will

decreases when price increases. Customers will switch over to

other spectacle’s shop in case that the business raise the price of

their products. Pricing decision will also be affected by

competitors. So business cannot simply adjust their prices.

-The business has high price elasticity of demand, which means

that a small percentage of price difference will lead to a big

percentage of quantity demanded. In this situation, business has

low pricing power because when the price of their product goes

up, customers will buy a great deal less of it.5. Other Characteristics

(e.g. Any close product

substitutes, mutual

dependence, constant

advertising)

There are not much of substitute goods for their product as people

who has long-sightedness or short-sightedness problems has no

second choice besides wearing spectacles unless they go for laser

eye surgery. However, laser eye surgery has certain risks so

people will not simply make decision to do surgery.6. Verdict (Monopoly?

Oligopoly? Perfect

Competition?)

Monopolistic competition

-Large amount of small firms

-Each selling products that are differentiated from one another.

-Weak barriers to entry

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Our recommendations for the 2 businesses are as follows:

1) Mi-Wah Superior Optical Centre:

a) Move the business to a location more easily accessible by people. Endah Parade

is an old shopping mall with few shops left. It is not a location people would go

for shopping on weekends. Also, the shop is hard to reach as the visitors have to

park in the basement parking before taking the lift. By moving to a place with

more people, the business can acquire new customers and also allow existing

customers to visit the shop more easily.

b) Purchase more advanced equipment. Compared to Teo Optometry Sdn. Bhd.,

Mii-Wah Superior Optical Centre has less advanced equipments, and this may

interfere with the accuracy and effectiveness when testing the vision of its

customers. Advanced equipment can help the business provide better spectacles

to its customer by making precise measurements.

2) Teo Optometry Sdn. Bhd.


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a) Open up more branches. Teo Optometry Sdn. Bhd. has the financial ability to

open up another branch. This does not only increase their sales and also their

number of customers. Some of their existing customers complain about their

location that is difficult to reach without automobiles as it is located in the last

street of shops.

b) Make more advertisements about their new machines. Teo Optometry can

actually provides very good vision tests with their new equipment, but not many

people know about their advanced services. If they advertise, more customers

will be attracted by their service because in Pontian, their competitors do not

have such good machines. They have an edge with their superior equipment.


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Bibliography

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Philosophical Society. Available at: https://books.google.com.my/books?

id=peIL7hVQUmwC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=spectacles%20trade

%20history&source=bl&ots=0nT4mOYvW6&sig=KXJ79-

kcvqEzI8M9gzS7tlO3K1g&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5jupVJ7yDJSRuATqtIDgCQ&ved=0CC4Q6AEw

Aw#v=onepage&q=spectacles%20trade%20history&f=false [Accessed 11 January 2015]

2. Rosenthal, J. W. (1996) Spectacles and Other Vision Aids : A History and Guide to

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[Accessed 11 January 2015]

3. Kvale, S., & Brinkmann, S. (2009). InterViews : learning the craft of qualitative research

interviewing / Steinar Kvale, Svend Brinkmann. Los Angeles, CA : SAGE, c2009.

4. Alvesson, M. (2011). Interpreting interviews / Mats Alvesson. London : SAGE, 2011.

Appendix


https://books.google.com.my/books?id=lp4LAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=spectacles&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y-uxVPflA8K9uASD2oLICw&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=spectacles&f=false



https://books.google.com.my/books?id=peIL7hVQUmwC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=spectacles%20trade%20history&source=bl&ots=0nT4mOYvW6&sig=KXJ79-kcvqEzI8M9gzS7tlO3K1g&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5jupVJ7yDJSRuATqtIDgCQ&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=spectacles%20trade%20history&f=false



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References


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http://www.glasseshistory.com/§ [Accessed 4 January 2015]

3. The College of Optometrists. (n.d.). The Invention of Spectacles. [online] Available at:

http://www.college-

optometrists.org/en/college/museyeum/online_exhibitions/spectacles/invention.cfm§

[Accessed 4 January 2015]

4. What Man Devised That He Might See. (n.d.) [online] Available at:

http://web.archive.org/web/20020201215836/http://www.eye.utmem.edu/history/glass.ht

ml§ [Accessed 4 January 2015]

5. Teo, S.H. (2015, January 2). Personal interview.

6. Mah, K.F. (2014, December 30). Personal interview.

7. Eger, Milton J. “Now It Can and Should Be Told.” Journal of the American Optometric

Association 60, no. 4 (1989): 323–26.

8. Gregg, James R. History of the American Academy of Optometry. Washington, D.C.:

American Academy of Optometry, 1987.

9. Sutton, Amy L., ed. Eye Care Sourcebook: Basic Consumer Health Information About

Eye Care and Eye Disorders. 3d ed. Detroit, Mich.: Omnigraphics, 2008.

10. Millodot, Michel. Dictionary of Optometry and Visual Science. 7th ed. New York:

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11. Weissman, B. P. (2013). Optometry. Magill’S Medical Guide (Online Edition),


http://web.archive.org/web/20020201215836/http://www.eye.utmem.edu/history/glass.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20020201215836/http://www.eye.utmem.edu/history/glass.html

http://www.college-optometrists.org/en/college/museyeum/online_exhibitions/spectacles/invention.cfm

http://www.college-optometrists.org/en/college/museyeum/online_exhibitions/spectacles/invention.cfm

http://www.glasseshistory.com/

http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventions/a/glass_3.htm

eng research report

Education

businesses obstacles

brief biodata of businesses

optical trade glasses

new businesses nature

doctors of optometry

superior optometry centre

teo optometry sdn

handheld spectacles