Euroinsights – OHI Vienna spotlights French Corner

Vienna is a royal city, aglow with Hapsburg history, amazing musicians (Mozart called Vienna home), and magical museums. The city center is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a feast for Baroque palaces and splendid gardens. The annual OHI optical event was held in this genteel setting that included an exposition of frames and lenses, in addition to engaging and informative lectures by accomplished members of the optical world.

Optical boutiques in Vienna are stylish and feature frame selections from Austria, as well as international brands. During the pandemic, optical shops remained open, and clients appreciated the opportunity to shop for new frames or change their lenses.

Opticians and visitors from Vienna and the surrounding regions visited the show to see frames, lenses, and machinery from a variety of suppliers. This year OHI also hosted a French Corner with participants that included Struktur Eyewear who produces in Normandy; Krom Eyewear from the Alsace region; Clipoptic, Sofra Optique from the Haute-Savoie; and Business France. In the general exhibition, participants included Silhouette; Braun Classics; Look Made in Italia; Zeiss; Hoya; and Essilor – among others.

Camaraderie and an upbeat atmosphere were further enlivened with music provided by the highly acclaimed Viennese violinist and singer Barbara Helfgott, who is also well known on the international music circuit.

Struktur President Jean-François Lufeaux observed: “OHI was a unique opportunity to discover the Austrian market. The excellent organization allowed us to contact opticians curious to discover new products. The French Corner space was perfectly supervised by Team Business France, making it possible to highlight French knowhow.”

Harald Belyes at optikum and OHI communication director commented: “The Austrian Ophthalmic Optics and Hearing Aid Convention “OHI UPDATE” took place for the sixth time at SO/Sofitel Vienna. With over 240 conference participants, OHI UPDATE 2021 offered a clear sign of life for the Austrian industry after the break of the last one and a half years caused by COVID-19.

“In addition to six top-class lectures on ophthalmic optics and hearing acoustics, an accompanying industry trade fair with 42 exhibitors and a dedicated French Corner grew about 20% compared to 2019. And at the OHI UPDATE, visitors also placed orders and arranged sales appointments with the industry. This makes the OHI UPDATE in Vienna an important sales venue about which the industry expressed itself positively throughout.”

The next OHI event takes place at SO/Sofitel Vienna on the 10^th of September 2022.