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Where leaping to conclusions is my primary form of forward motion.
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Something Seriously New In Printing - Bone Grafts
A Clarification on Zounds Sales Strategy and Some Industry Statistics
Something Seriously New In Printing - Bone Grafts
A Clarification on Zounds Sales Strategy and Some Industry Statistics
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Saturday, April 28, 2007
I Stye
A couple of weeks ago I was on a flight from STL to ATL and my left eye was really bothering me - felt like I had something in my eye the whole trip, but I couldn't find it. When we landed I went to the restroom and managed to see that I had what I can only describe as an in-grown eyelash. It was sort of curled back in on itself and part of it was caught under the eyelid causing irritation.
So I managed to get ahold of it and pull it out. Actually, it pretty much fell out when I touched it. And all was right with the world. Until yesterday. My eye got sore yesterday morning. By afternoon I had developed a whopping stye in exactly the same place as that in-grown eyelash. Boy, does that hurt. According to AllAboutVision the best treatment is mostly doing nothing - maybe use a little ointment or eyedrops to increase comfort. I have antibiotic opthalmic ointments and homeopathic eyedrops. Guess that's all I can do for it at the moment. It's a beautiful day for a motorcycle ride, but I'm not sure I want to ride with only one good eye...
Posted by: 
Terry Frazier at 11:59 AM
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Terry Frazier at 11:59 AM
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Thursday, April 26, 2007
Something Seriously New In Printing - Bone Grafts
Recent article in the Daily Mail reports on new use of an inkjet-style printer being used to fashion accurate, biodegradable bone grafts for cosmetic surgery and other uses. Fascinating...Found via FUTUREdition from The Arlington Institute.The artificial bones created from an inkjet
By ELEANOR MAYNE
14th April 2007
Scientists are creating artificial bones using a modified version of an inkjet printer.
The technology creates perfect replicas of bones that have been damaged and these can then be inserted in the body to help it to heal. The process will revolutionise bone graft surgery, which currently relies on either bits of bone taken from other parts of the body or ceramic-like substitutes.
[...]
Posted by: Terry Frazier at 9:11 PM
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Terry Frazier at 9:11 PM
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Monday, April 9, 2007
A Clarification on Zounds Sales Strategy and Some Industry Statistics
A few weeks back I was in the office on Saturday when my phone rang. On the other end was a fellow named Jay Turner, VP of Marketing for Zounds. Like any good marketing VP, Jay had been following web traffic on Zounds and came across my blog entries. As I said previously, I have no direct relationship with the company and no one there knew who I was. Even though I have a small investment, it is as part of a limited partnership and my name appears nowhere in the Zounds' records. So Jay had been looking around my blog trying to figure out who I was and why I was interested.We had a nice conversation and Jay offered some statistics to clarify points raised in the earlier discussion. What follows are quotes from a follow-up e-mail Jay sent me. I have not independently verified these numbers but I have no reason to doubt them. Zounds did extensive market research before launch and has an advisory board that consists of medical professionals from both the ENT and audiologist fields. Further, 2006 sales statistics published in The Hearing Review show 2.37 million hearing aids sold in the US, so Jay's number of 7%=150,000 is conservative.
Per our conversation, industry research indicates 7% of hearing aids in the US (150,000 units annually) are sold through Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) Physicians that employ Audiologists. They buy high-end hearing aids for $1250 wholesale from the Big 6 manufacturers and mark them up to $2500 to $4000 per aid, or 2X to 3X. This same wholesale/retail pricing is used in the independent Audiologist/Hearing Instrument Specialist (HIS) channel.So, my hypothetical assertion of paying a referral fee is misleading. Zounds sells to physicians just as all other major hearing aid suppliers.
Zounds provides excellent patient care through licensed Audiologist/Hearing Instrument Specialists, the best technology, and affordable prices to fixed income seniors through Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) and ENTs. Zounds sells the product and diagnostic/fitting service at wholesale (no referral fee, no Medicare/Medicaid reiumbursement, no Stark law conflicts, etc) and the PCP/ENT marks them up to MSRP $999 per aid, making far less, but for many still appealing, mark-up than the Big 6/ENT/Audiologist/HIS business model. There is nothing illegal or unethical about Zounds distribution strategy. Yes, Zounds technology, distribution, price point, and consumer marketing will be disruptive. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation and emotional reaction to Zounds' business model. Overall, Zounds is trying to provide a better product, service, and price to the millions of people who suffer from hearing loss.
Another point Jay made in our conversation is that 10%-15% of high-end hearing aids are returned. This is not far off the number quoted by Tom Shearman (5%-10%) for all hearing aids. I would expect return rates for $2,000-$4,000 items to be somewhat higher.
And so the experiment continues. I remain a believer in the Zounds technology and approach, but the market will decide if it's ultimately the right approach. The fact that there is a great deal of emotion and misinformation regarding both the company and the product supports my belief that this is a fundamental disruption for an industry that is ripe for change.
Posted by: Terry Frazier at 4:44 PM
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Categories: Business & Finance, Health and Fitness, Technology
Terry Frazier at 4:44 PM
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