Contact lens sales increase in Asia-Pacific market

Market and consumer information company, GfK, has revealed that overall revenue for contact lens sales reached £491 million (USD652m) in the first eight months of 2017 across five Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries.

Revenue increased by 2.2% compared to the previous year, which GfK said is the highest rate ever monitored in the area.

South Korea holds the biggest market share with 46.6% of all sales, but Taiwan had the biggest upward trend with an 8.9% increase.

Global director for optics and eyewear at GfK, Gianni Cossar, said: “As the socio-economic development in the region continues, APAC consumers’ purchasing power growth also starts impacting their eye health awareness.”

GfK also revealed that the trend toward conventional lenses is down 21.5%, while daily lenses experienced an 8.7% increase.

Mr Cossar added: “This interesting trend is reflected in a growing attention towards daily contact lenses vs reusable, which in the industry often represents a sort of macro-indicator of the increasing sophistication towards optical and eyewear products.

“By looking at the overall competitive environment, this trend is usually triggered by international companies and global brands, even though local regional manufacturers already started looking at the opportunities presented by this market scenario. Indeed, the optics industry in APAC is evolving," he said.

GfK shared its consumer insight, which covers South Korea, China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, at the Hong Kong Optical Fair 2017 on 8–10 November.