Released on: October 13, 2008, 11:47 pm

Press Release Author: bharatbook

Industry: Healthcare

Press Release Summary: Bharatbook.com launches a new report which provides an
analysis of the opticians and optical goods market, which includes spectacles,
contact lenses and solutions, laser eye treatment, private sight tests and general
ophthalmic services.

Press Release Body: Bharatbook.com added a new report on "Opticians & Optical Goods
- Market Assessment" (http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=83563)

Executive Summary:This Key Note Market Assessment report provides an analysis of the
opticians and optical goods market, which includes spectacles, contact lenses and
solutions, laser eye treatment, private sight tests and general ophthalmic services.
It updates a previous Opticians & Optical Goods Market Assessment report published
in 2006.
The spectacles sector has shown steady growth in value since 2003, due to increases
in the number of sight tests taken and the various sales promotions undertaken.
However, the sector remains highly competitive, and a number of the leading chains
are currently and actively promoting their economically priced range of spectacles.
The leading suppliers of spectacles and frames include: Carl Zeiss/SOLA; Essilor;
Luxottica; Rodenstock; Safilo; Silhouette; and the UK-based Norville.

Changes made in 2005 to the 1989 UK Opticians Act - which allowed contact lenses to
be supplied under the `general direction' of a qualified practitioner, rather than
requiring the `supervision' of sales - continue to have an impact on the market. The
changes opened up the retail market for contact lenses to an extended range of
sellers, including the major supermarket chains and online retailers, for which
price is a major selling point. The supply of contact lenses and solutions continues
to be concentrated in the hands of a few large US multinationals, including Johnson
& Johnson, Bausch & Lomb, CooperVision, Advanced Medical Optics and Alcon
Laboratories. Swiss-owned CIBA VISION is one of Europe's leading suppliers, and
daysoft is one of the leading UK suppliers.

The laser eye-treatment sector received a boost in March 2006 when the National
Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidance that laser eye
surgery was safe enough and sufficiently effective to be carried out on
appropriately selected patients. Since then, the number of clinics offering laser
eye surgery has increased and the three market leaders in the sector - Optical
Express, Optimax and Ultralase - have all announced plans to increase further the
number of clinics they operate.

The retail environment in the opticians market remains highly competitive, and
expansion and consolidation remain key features. For example, Specsavers has
recently opened its 1,000th outlet worldwide; and in May 2008, Vision Express
acquired the GC Bateman Group of opticians (Batemans Opticians). Tesco has announced
plans to double its number of in-store optician practices during 2008, and Black &
Lizars, a Scotland-based optician company, aims to almost treble the number of
stores it operates following its acquisition in April 2008 by a consortium of
European investors.

Almost two-thirds of the world's population are thought to need corrective eyewear,
although little more than a quarter of the global population wear glasses. The
highest wearer rates are in the developed markets of North America, Europe and
Japan, whereas in other parts of the world, including Asia-Pacific, wearer rates are
considerably lower. Much of the future potential for the corrective eyewear industry
lies in developing the markets in Asia-Pacific.

In original consumer research commissioned exclusively by Key Note for this report,
89.6% of adults said that knowledgeable staff and a clean and tidy environment were
important to them in choosing an optician. The survey also found that a substantial
percentage of respondents felt that price was the most important factor when
choosing an optician. An increasing proportion of adults are put off from having
their eyes tested regularly because of the eye-test fee.

The UK opticians and optical goods market is expected to remain highly competitive
over the next 5 years (to 2012), with the impact of the `credit crunch', and its
effects on retail sales in general, expected to have some negative consequences in
the short term. Nevertheless, the value of the sector is projected to show steady
growth over the forecast period from 2008 to 2012 - with further consolidation
within the opticians sector and increasing competition from the multiples and online
eyewear sellers being expected to place more pressure on the smaller optician chains
and the independent opticians.


For more information, kindly visit - http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=83563



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