Nvision Laser Eye Centers sees a clear path to growth.
The privately held Newport Beach company offers laser eye surgery for vision correction at 10 centers spread through Orange County and other parts of Southern California.
The centers perform what’s called laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis, or Lasik. The process uses lasers to cut and reshape a patient’s cornea to restore vision.
Nvision doesn’t disclose revenue or profits.
Its current goal is to reach $50 million in annual revenue, ac-cording to Chief Executive Todd Cooper.
It’s banking on an expansion of its current lineup of 10 centers and continued referrals from a network of more than 1,500 eye doctors.
“The majority of our patients come referred from eye doctors versus the typical laser vision correction model (of) direct-to-consumer marketing,” said Thomas Tooma, a refractive surgeon who is Nvision’s founder and medical director.
Nvision has 15 eye surgeons on staff and 130 other employees ranging from nurses to administrative workers.
It keeps its referral network buzzing by offering continuing education programs and updates on new technologies, according to Sandra Sellani, Nvision’s vice president of marketing.
The company also offers information directly to prospective patients through its website.
Nvision is in the process of figuring plans for opening new centers, making acquisitions or striking some strategic alliances next year, Cooper said.
It’s also looking at financing options that range from using its own cash flow to a private equity investor or other outside sources.
“My viewpoint is … you don’t decide the financial engineering you need to grow a business (before) you decide what it is you’re doing,” Cooper said.
But “ultimately, when you look back in a few years’ time, it won’t be a surprise if we made some acquisitions and some strategic alliances with new surgeons to help grow the business,” he said.
Nvision is operating in a segment of healthcare that has faced challenges, most recently when the economic slowdown cut into business, according to Dave Harmon, president of St. Louis-based industry tracker Market Scope.
Market “Flagging”
In an article published in the August edition of trade publication Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today, Harmon said the Lasik market is “flagging” for several reasons, including saturation and “overexposure of Lasik’s complications by the media and government agencies.”
Lasik is generally considered safe despite occasional patient complaints.
The segment had its share of what were known as “discount Lasik” providers prior to the recent recession.
The field has thinned out.
“A lot of the discount laser center providers have gone out of business with the downturn of the economy,” Tooma said. “For a while, I think people looked at laser vision correction as a commodity. But I think the market and a lot of the consumers are aware that surgeon experience is probably the most important (thing) to look for in laser vision correction.”
Tooma said the de-clines were less severe for Nvision centers compared with the overall market. Nvision saw a dip in business of about 20%. The national average fell about 50%, he said.
Tooma said Nvision’s network of referring doctors made the difference.
“It made us much less likely to experience negatively the downturn of the economy,” Tooma said.
Firm on Price
Nvision also held on price throughout the downturn.
Prices generally run from $1,999 to $2,995 per eye, according to its website.
Lasik procedures are generally considered elective surgery and not covered by most insurance plans.
Tooma said an Nvision patient is “not shopping price.”
Instead, he said, they’re looking for experienced eye doctors and quality of technology.
Nvision has its origins in the 1999 establishment of Laser Eye Care of California LLC. It was a partnership between between Tooma and Canada-based TLC Vision Corp., which licensed the TLC Laser Eye Center brand for a national chain.
Tooma approached TLC officials a year ago with a proposal to buy the Southern California centers from the chain.
Free To Grow
“I felt it was best to acquire TLC’s interest in California (to) basically give us the freedom to expand into any territory,” Tooma said.
The deal came about in September 2010, and Tooma launched Nvision with eight locations. He brought on Cooper—previously a general manager with Henry Schein Inc., a Melville, N.Y.-based dental healthcare company with $7.8 billion in revenue—as chief executive.
Cooper also counted a five-year stint as senior vice president of Discus Dental LLC, a Culver City-based company that’s now part of Royal Philips Electronics NV of the Netherlands. Discus Dental’s revenue grew from $60 million to $165 million during the time, he said.
