Courageous consumers

The British public is becoming increasingly courageous with their eyewear, according to director of Coti Vision, Nancy Black.

Speaking to OT at 100% Optical (12–14 January, ExCeL London), Ms Black said that “the gap is getting closer” between Brits and consumers in the rest of Europe.

“In general, I think the British public is becoming much more courageous with their eyewear. They are seeing it as more of a statement, rather than just a functional pair of frames,” she explained.

As Brits moving towards more fashion-orientated frames, Ms Black shared that they are also keeping their frames for a shorter period of time before buying a new pair.

“Previously, people may have just re-glazed their old frame with their current prescription. We find now that they are investing more frequently into updating their look and very often they are buying more than one pair,” she said.

“You don’t wear your gym shoes when you got out to a party, you have a wardrobe of shoes for different occasions. We believe that this is also starting to lend itself to eyewear. People  will have a functional pair of eyewear, but they will also have one or two fashionable pairs to complete their look,” Ms Black added.

When asked about trends, Ms Black highlighted that 2019 will see the return of large, heavy and oversized acetate.

“Metal still seems to be present, but we have seen a very fast switch back to acetate. Our gut feeling is that we will be seeing a lot of acetate again this year,” she told OT.