For surgeons willing to
wait, the refractive
market will rebound—
but probably not for a
few more years
T
he laser vision correction
market—and in particular,
LASIK—saw its heyday in
the late 1990s and early
2000s. Except for a rebound
that was cut short by the financial
crisis of 2008, the LASIK market has
been on a decline. LASIK is in the
category of consumer discretionary
spending; that market has been
severely impacted by the current
economy and employment data.
Consumer confidence rose a bit in
the fourth quarter last year, but
crashed again in the first quarter this
year.
For refractive surgeons, that
doesn't spell good news. Most laser
centers make the majority of their
annual revenue in the first quarter.
And so far, we're not seeing a good
first quarter in 2013. The trend has
always been a strong first quarter,
slower second and third quarters,
and an uptick in the fourth quarter.
To be blunt, I'm not bullish about
recovery this year. We may have had
an extremely robust stock market
over the past few months, but many
financial analysts are predicting a
correction in the market come fall
2013, when the impact of sequestra-
tion on Gross Domestic Product and
consumer confidence will be even
more fully felt.
The traditional LASIK patient is
in his or her late 20s and 30s, and
these are the people who are unem-
ployed or underemployed, who have
crushing debt and limited discre-
tionary income. They simply are not
flocking to our centers for refractive
surgery at this time.
But not all is doom and gloom. I
see a great deal of potential in a few
years as refractive surgeons and the
refractive industry overall transition
into treating more presbyopic
patients, the Echo Boomers (also
known as Generation Y or Millenni-
als) age and become increasingly
contact lens intolerant, and collagen
crosslinking reduces the number of
patients rejected as LASIK candi-
dates.
by Richard L. Lindstrom, MD
Patience is a virtue
"
The tradi-
tional LASIK
patient is in his
or her late 20s
and 30s, and
these are the
people who are
unemployed or
underemployed,
who have
crushing debt
and limited
discretionary
income.
"
Richard L. Lindstrom, MD
Source: MarketScope
8
EW San Francisco 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Millennials (Echo Boomers) at a glance in 2013
• 76 million Millennials (Baby Boomers account for 25.4%)
• 25% of the total population
• 26% of U.S. adults are Millennials 18 years or older (Generation X
accounts for 22%)
• 46.1% of 16- to 24-year-olds were employed in Sept. 2009
(smallest amount on record)
Sources: Pew Research Center (www.pewresearch.org/millennials/, 2010);
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School (J. Brack, Maximizing Millennials in the Workplace, 2012)
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