A coffee with… Manuel García – Logistics manager at Opticalia

Logistics & Automation: Tell us about yourself and your job. Tell us about your day-to-day life at Opticalia, what are your duties?

Manuel: My role within the organisation is to manage the logistics department, with the same enthusiasm as when I decided to dedicate myself to this more than 25 years ago.
More than my day-to-day life, I will start by telling you what our day-to-day life is like.

I have always believed, and will continue to believe to this day and age, that successful projects are achieved with a group of people who think and walk in the same direction and where everyone has their place to give their opinion and contribute. Our department is in charge of articulating the processes in the supply chain once the product has been manufactured. This includes everything from imports and exports to the supply to each of our business channels and countries, always seeking the greatest efficiency and optimisation of processes in order to provide robustness to the company’s objectives.

Logistics & Automation: Opticalia is the leading brand in the optical sector. 5 countries and more than 1,000 associated opticians have made it the leading image group in Spain, Portugal and Colombia; it has a presence in Mexico and Morocco and is one of the main groups worldwide. With regard to the latter country (Morocco), last year 2022 you opted for a business development plan there, as published in El Economista: “Cofides lends €750,000 to Opticalia for its consolidation in Morocco”. What kind of advantages or improvements do you think these internationalisation projects bring to the company?

Manuel: The expansion of the company to new countries has always been in our DNA. With our brand OPTICALIA we are achieving a worldwide expansion and positioning, reaching the leadership in all the countries we have consolidated, this generates a lot of synergies.
When landing in a new country everything is easier if the sector welcomes you with open doors. Thanks to the strength achieved by our brand, independent opticians have confidence and feel attracted to our model, and suppliers see us as allies.
On the other hand, the growth of the company helps us to achieve economies of scale, increasing our competitiveness, thus reaching a greater number of opticians’ shops and allowing us to continue to focus on differentiation through our licensed and exclusive brands, such as Mango, Custo, Pull and Bear, etc…

Logistics & Automation: Tell us about other projects you are carrying out in the Health and Sustainability department. What projects are you focusing on at the moment?

Manuel: Sustainability has become an increasingly important issue both in product manufacturing and in relation to the supply chain. Customers are already demanding greener options, such as sustainable packaging, processes and shipments. Therefore, at Opticalia we work every day with this in mind. We understand that doing our bit to curb climate change and its effects on our planet is essential.

We are currently working on incorporating new products made with ecological raw materials and our aim is to continue in this direction. In terms of supply chain processes we are focusing on changing to more sustainable packaging and in terms of transport we are looking for companies that are committed to sustainability.

We have recently signed a contract with Plastic Bank for the recycling of daily contact lenses. The total amount of lenses sold will be calculated and that amount will be translated into plastic collection at sea. Currently the equivalent of 96.5 million bottles have already been collected from the oceans and seas.

In terms of health, according to the WHO, 50% of the population will be short-sighted by 2025. In the same year, it is also estimated that 1 in 4 people will suffer from hearing problems.

At Opticalia we work on myopia control in our centres and we carry out awareness campaigns on the importance of check-ups and follow-ups for children. Similarly, at Audiocalia we do the same with awareness actions about the importance of hearing health and we invite you to check-ups and complete studies in our hearing centres.