The New Zealand Optical Wholesalers Association’s (NZOWA’s) future hangs in the balance after Gary Edgar reluctantly stepped down as president of the 40-year-old organisation with no one named to replace him.
The association currently has 31 members and has been placed in a “holding position”, Edgar said. “Unfortunately, we did not receive any proxy votes or meeting proposals for the office, so I’ll retain a caretaker role along with treasurer Rae Long until further decisions are made. Members don’t wish to disband the organisation which has served the industry for four decades.”
Group benefits include rental car discounts, travel, and courier discounts, which keep costs down for members and are passed on to customers, but times have changed significantly since the association was established, he said. “The days of trade exhibitions are now a thing of the past as there are so many other options now available to optometrists and optical dispensers where they can go to gain their CPD points.”
Referring to the demise of the New Zealand-focused biennial Visionz fair two years ago, Edgar said there is interest in a new model, focused on “the education side of the industry” with training for staff on product sales, but that was still in early discussions. The organisation is still contactable by email and website
