50+ years supplying independent optical practices
Founded in Christchurch in 1972, Optica has spent five decades designing, sourcing, and distributing eyewear accessories across Australia and New Zealand. Still independent-first.
Optica exists to enhance people’s lives by developing quality products with minimal impact on the planet.
We started as a small team in Christchurch designing custom cases and cloths so optometrists could put their name in every patient’s hands. Five decades later, that’s still the job.
We’re not a retailer. We supply independent optical practices across Australia and New Zealand with the branded accessories, retail-ready extras, and workshop equipment they need to run a practice patients trust.
Every decision, from the products we stock to the partners we choose, gets weighed against the same question: does this help an independent practice do its job better, with less waste along the way?
Five decades of independent-first thinking
From a Christchurch workshop to a two-country supply network, the short version.
Founded in Christchurch
The business starts as Waka Agencies, importing optical cloths from England and cutting them on a guillotine that now sits in the Canterbury Museum.
The Optica name is born
Renamed Optica Manufacturing, the company begins screen-printing cleaning cloths for New Zealand opticians.
Manufacturing at scale
Optica makes bespoke cloths for the big names of the day: OPSM, UK Wiseman, Healy’s and Club Optical in Australia, and Standard Optical in New Zealand. Cases go into local production too, including 100,000 for NZ Optical.
The Optica brand launches
A new logo and the first Optica catalogue arrive for New Zealand optometry and pharmacy, and reps begin calling on practices directly.
The range broadens
Optica imports cases from Hong Kong and adds Opti-clip clip-ons, Overspex, and Strike fishing eyewear.
Through the Christchurch earthquakes
The Ferrymead factory is lost. Operations run out of a garage until the team settles into its Moncur Place home in Addington.
Eyeline Optical and Centrostyle
Eyeline joins Optica, adding the tools and equipment practices rely on for in-house adjustments and repairs, and with it the exclusive New Zealand distribution of Centrostyle.
Magnifiers NZ acquired
Optica acquires Magnifiers New Zealand, adding magnifiers and low vision aids to the range.
KE Optical acquired
Optica acquires KE Optical in Melbourne, Australia, adding Australian-made cases, lens spray and cloths.
50+ years, still independent-first
Optica supplies over a thousand independent practices across Australia and New Zealand, from Branded to Workshop.
Three ranges, one job, helping your practice look better and run smoother
Custom-Branded Accessories
Custom-branded cases, lens sprays, microfibre cloths, bags and extras. From low-minimum Logo Luxe runs through to fully Bespoke Branded cases.
Retail-Ready Accessories
Stocked, priced and ready to merchandise on your counter. Cords, chains, fashion cases, lens cleaning kits, readers and sunwear. Core ranges in stock, ships same day.
Workshop Tools & Parts
The bits you reach for every day. Screws, nose pads, silicone push-ons, rimless hardware and the adjustment tools that keep frames in service and patients happy.
The principles behind every order
Six things that guide how we work, who we partner with, and what we stock.
We’re driven by a desire to improve lives beyond our own market.
Global impact matters to us as much as local service.
Social and environmental responsibility is a foundation of our decisions.
It shapes which products we develop and which partners we choose.
We stay nimble, process-driven, and always look to improve.
Fifty years in, we still act like a business that has more to learn.
Integrity sits at the core of everything we do.
With practices, with suppliers, and with each other.
Our vibe is friendly, fun, and upbeat.
Good working relationships make for better service.
We treat different perspectives as an advantage.
Collaboration works better when the team doesn’t think identically.
Lots of happy customers, contact us today to become one.
Wholesale optical accessories for independent practices across Australia and New Zealand. Since 1972.