Glasses for all

The press regularly writes about the excessively high prices for glasses charged by opticians in France and the protests voiced by health insurance companies to help foot the bill. The twenty-four-year-old, self-taught entrepreneur, Paul Morlet has managed to produce a pair of glasses starting at €9.99 (and €29.99 for progressive lenses) by completely changing the supply chain and the organisation of opticians’ shops. In 80 % of cases, the lenses are cut in the shop and the client can leave ten minutes later with his glasses. Having sold about one hundred pairs every day, his first ‘Lunettes pour tous’ shop broke even in just a few months. However, the structure of healthcare insurance packages means that there is little room for glasses which are much cheaper than the package. Will Paul Morlet manage to become the leader in the French market, or will he have to go and sell his ‘Glasses for all’ in the United States?