The U.S. Eyewear Market: Prescription and Nonprescription Lenses, Sunglasses, Contact Lenses, and Frames, 2nd Edition

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Market Insights: A Selection From The Report

Retail is Major Point of Sale

Broadly speaking, eyewear is sold through two different industries. Most product is sold through various retail channels such as optical goods stores, the Internet, and more recently warehouse clubs (i.e. Costco) and supercenter stores (i.e. Wal-Mart). Packaged Facts estimates that in 2008, 71% of all eyewear sold in the United States was bought through some sort of retail outlet. That’s down half a percentage point from 2007, but up significantly from 67% in 2004. The tick down in retail share was due to slower growth on more discretionary eyewear (i.e. sunglasses, extra pairs) sold mostly through retail.

The other 29% of eyewear is sold by health care service providers, primarily optometrists, but also ophthalmologists. A very small, unquantifiable portion of eyewear is also sold through various institutions such as clinics and hospices. Eyewear sold through optometrists and the like consist almost entirely of prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses.

Optical Goods Stores, Supercenters Leading Retail Outlets

In terms of more specific channels, optical goods stores such as Pearl Vision and Sunglass Hut accounted for 44% of the total eyewear market with optometrists, the second largest segment, at 23%. Warehouse clubs such as Costco, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Sam’s Club as well as supercenters such as Wal-Mart and Target Stores accounted for 10%. Ophthalmologists and other health care service providers made up an estimate seven percent. Department stores such as Sears accounted for five percent with health & personal care stores (other than optical goods stores) at four percent. The Internet, clothing stores, sporting goods stores and other miscellaneous outlets each accounted for about two percent of total retail sales.

Top Eyewear Companies Worldwide

On a global wholesale basis, Packaged Facts estimates Italy-based Luxottica ranks as the largest manufacturer of eyewear products by net sales (U.S. dollars) with 15% of the global market. The company holds one of the most extensive house brand sunglass portfolios that include Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Revo, and also has one of the largest licensed brand portfolios.
France-based Essilor holds 13% of the global wholesale market for eyewear and is the world’s largest eyeglass lens manufacturers and marketers. At 10% of the global eyewear market is contact lens manufacturer and marketer U.S.-based Johnson & Johnson Vision Care with its Vistakon unit that manufacturers the Acuvue brand of contact lenses.

Fashionable, Affordable Eyewear Emerges as Ultimate Accessory for Cost-Savvy Consumers

New York, May 26, 2009 - For the foreseeable fashion future, eyewear will emerge as one of the less expensive ways for economical consumers to assert a personal design aesthetic and satisfy the urge for high-end labels, according to The U.S. Eyewear Market: Prescription and Nonprescription Lenses, Sunglasses, Contact Lenses, and Frames, 2nd Edition, the latest report from leading market research publisher Packaged Facts.

“Eyewear is a huge and increasingly diversified business driven by a host of health, demographic, lifestyle and fashion trends,” says Tatjana Meerman, publisher of Packaged Facts. “Sunglasses and other types of eyewear have become viable accessories on par with fashion staples such as handbags.”

The global eyewear market enjoyed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9% for the 2004-2008 period. However, consumer aversion to copious spending on discretionary products caused the market to decline 2% in 2008 and finish below $64 billion compared to more than $65 billion in 2007, when the market gained 15% over the prior-year period.

Packaged Facts forecasts the global eyewear market will rebound by 2010 and grow at a CAGR of 1.4% to exceed $68 billion by 2013. A full return to normalized annual growth rates of between 3% and 6% are forecast to begin during the latter half of the 2008-2013 period.

Technological innovation is crucial to the advent of new eyewear products that will entice consumers. Eyewear made from more flexible, durable, and color-fast high-tech materials such as the lightweight plastic TR 90 or titanium are at the innovation apex. These materials offer consumers eyewear introductions with Bluetooth, MP3 players, or USB keys built into the frames. Other innovations address more serious eyecare concerns such as the problem of computer-related eye strain for heavy users of digital technology.

The U.S. Eyewear Market: Prescription and Nonprescription Lenses, Sunglasses, Contact Lenses, and Frames, 2nd Edition provides insights into the major challenges and trends affecting the eyewear industry, in addition to a comprehensive analysis of consumer usage demographics. The report examines the market size and projections for future growth as well as presenting in-depth competitive comparisons. The analysis, while capturing the performance highlights of major eyewear categories in terms of revenue and share for 2004-2008, also provides projections for the period 2009-2013.

About Packaged Facts - Packaged Facts, a division of Market Research Group, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer industries, including consumer goods and retailing, foods and beverages, demographics, pet, and financial products.  Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services.