The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will not intervene in the acquisition of the Kays Optical business by OPSM Group Limited, ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, announced today.OPSM Group, trading under the OPSM, Laubman & Pank and Budget Eyewear (Visions Plus in Western Australia) banners, operates over 400 optical outlets nationally.
Kays Optical (Kays Friendlies Eyecare in Western Australia) trades through 39 outlets located predominantly in New South Wales, but also in Victoria, the ACT and Western Australia.Both OPSM and Kays provide optical dispensing services including the retailing of frames, lenses and contact lenses.
"The ACCC has decided that a substantial lessening of competition would be unlikely, even though when combined, OPSM and Kays are likely to account for about 33 per cent of the national optical dispensing market", Professor Fels said.
"The ACCC considered that the remaining 3,000 independent optometrists and optical dispensers competing around the country are likely to constrain any attempted price increase by OPSM".
Investigations also revealed examples of effective entry into the market in the past and a growing competitive presence by health funds establishing their own eyecare stores.