SIC 5048
OPHTHALMIC GOODS



This category covers establishments primarily engaged in the wholesale distribution of professional equipment and goods used, prescribed, or sold by ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians, including ophthalmic frames, lenses, sunglass lenses, contact lenses, and optometric equipment and supplies.

NAICS Code(s)

421460 (Ophthalmic Goods Wholesalers)

About 740 businesses were engaged in the wholesale distribution of ophthalmic goods in 2003, according to Dun & Bradstreet, representing annual sales of about $1.8 billion and employing some 12,750 workers. The industry remained fairly fragmented in the mid-2000s. By far the largest number of these firms, 323, employed 4 or fewer people. There were 157 units with between 5 and 9 employees; 128 with 10 to 24 employees; and 56 with 25 to 50 employees. Only 25 establishments employed more than 100 workers. In the context of the overall U.S. wholesale market, ophthalmic goods distributors were registering strong performance, though the industry's employment growth remained modest. According to ISO Market Profiler, employment in the industry grew 1.9 percent in the five years ended June 2001.

Background and Development

Some historians believe eyeglasses originated in Europe during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Others attribute them to China, claiming Marco Polo introduced them to Europeans. Following the invention of Gutenberg's press and the ensuing availability of printed material, demand soared.

The subsequently common frame form—with side arms fitting over the ears—was introduced in 1746. Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals in 1752. Contact lenses were first offered in 1888. Other major innovations include the 1959 development of variable strength corrective lenses, and the 1971 availability of "soft" contact lenses.

Current Conditions

The optical industry as a whole registered revenues of about $16 billion in 2003 and was expanding continuously into new market segments in order to bolster an eroding customer base. For example, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, eyeglasses were increasingly consumed as fashion accessories, marking a much-needed relief in sales as consumers purchased new frames with greater regularity to keep pace with changing styles. The fashion market for glasses translated into new client bases for wholesale distributors, as manufacturers of such lenses increasingly included leading clothing designers who fashioned eyeglasses to complement their clothing lines.

With overall demand for eyeglasses slumping, eyeglass manufacturers and sellers were reaching out to new branches of consumers. On the one hand, the elderly found themselves increasingly in need of more specialized vision correction, not only for various vision ailments but also for specific tasks, such as reading and computer use. On the other hand, the market was targeting ever-younger consumers, breaking into the toddler market in the early 2000s.

Perhaps the fastest emerging challenge to the industry came from the booming popularity of laser eye surgery. Between 1995 and 2003, some 3.7 million pairs of eyes underwent these procedures in the United States, over 600,000 of them in 2003 alone, and this trend was expected to increase through the 2000s, encroaching upon the sales of the ophthalmic goods industry.

Contact lens makers, meanwhile, challenged laser eye surgery directly. In 2002, the Food & Drug Administration approved a new breed of contact lenses manufactured by Paragon Vision Sciences called Corneal Refractive Therapy that mold and flatten the user's cornea and refocuses images farther away from the retina, thereby correcting nearsightedness while the user sleeps. Within a year of FDA approval, over 20,000 customers had opted for these vision-correcting contact lenses.

Industry Leaders

Industry leaders included Bolle Inc., of Overland Park, Kansas, and Charmant Inc. USA, of San Ramon, California.

Further Reading

Dun & Bradstreet. "Industry Reports." Waltham, MA: Dun & Bradstreet, 2004. Available from http://www.zapdata.com .

Egan, Mary Ellen. "Vision Quest." Forbes, 15 September 2003.

Jeffrey, Nancy Ann. "Peek-a-Boo, I See You—Clearly: Slumping Eyeglass Business Sets Its Sights on Toddlers." Wall Street Journal, 25 January 2002.

Sutton, Tina. "Spectacles? Spectacular!" CIO, 1 February 2001.

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