SmileDirectClub files for bankruptcy

The aligner industry is a competitive one. Yet, there are a number of players in the market who have done a fantastic job to raise awareness for the product category. One of the largest players in the market, has been struggling, despite an excessive funding of more than a billion USD.

Here is what you need to know:

What does this mean for the market?

The competition will be looking at this very closely. But change is generally a good thing. Those who are able to serve their customers best and have cracked the code on both efficient customer acquisition + stellar partner network management, will continue to strive.

Change in the industry is happening on a broader scale, though. And a full-circle focus on customer satisfaction will be required to make a real difference in the long run.

I'm excited to see how the market will react to the news. As an example: the first reaction from Impress (in Spain) seems to come at the right time, with a broad and strong awareness campaign in the aligner product category.

Background, full disclosure

I have been following the market developments in the dental industry closely for the last couple of years. And have been working closely together with the Straumann and DrSmile group since 2019 (as iCMO and strategic sparring partner to the broader management team).