Steve Barlow, CEO, Avada Audiology & Hearing Care Centers

Avada Audiology & Hearing Care Centers, Louisville, Ky, operating subsidiary of Hearing Healthcare Management Inc, reports continued strong gains in net sales from operations for the year 2008.

"We are very pleased that our Avada Audiology & Hearing Care Centers continue to show strong growth, having reached 100% of our budgeted goals for sales growth in 2008," says Steve Barlow, Avada’s CEO, and chairman of the board of managers of Hearing Healthcare Management.

Avada increased net sales nationwide by 10.8% in 2008, a significant sales boost primarily driven by an organic sales increase. Recent acquisitions helped create a positive impact—Avada opened 45 more locations nationwide in 2008, spurred in part by strategic acquisitions but primarily fueled by core expansions.

Barlow calls the company’s bottom-line performance impressive. "The year 2008 is just one more in a string of profitable years. Active management by our 14 regional directors continues to be a key to our success,” he says, adding that  continuous training and education for all staff personnel plays a key role.

The company’s expansion activities continue according to plan. “We are actively seeking high-quality practice owners whose philosophies and practice standards mirror our own," he says. "We have a variety of scenarios where an existing owner can sell his practice and realize the real equity that has been created.” Opportunities also exist for those who do not necessarily want to sell their practice at this time, but who want to begin to build the practice to its maximum value.

On another front, Avada recently held 2-say meetings with its regional directors and Avada members in Miami.

The sessions were led in part by Barlow. Topics centered around strategic business planning and improving local business skills through Best Practices application, which is expected to lead to improved patient care and satisfaction with products and services provided locally.

A hands-on workshop provided regional directors with an in-depth explanation of the company’s new automated reporting system, Neural Net 2. State-of-the-art proprietary systems that provide relevant data have helped Avada continue its double-digit growth, even in today’s economic climate, the company says.

Mark Walser, marketing director, provided a detailed review of the 2008 yearly marketing results. A look at return on investment on a per-ad basis revealed trends for 2008, and careful monitoring helps to ensure the company stays current with marketing trends to implement effective promotional tools.
 
Detailed discussions on the application of these Best Practices were a constant. “At the end of the day, the successful implementation of the details makes all the difference and determines whether or not you are successful,” Barlow says.

Avada operates more than 280 hearing health care centers nationwide.

[Source: Avada]