Germany: strong growth in eyewear sales in 2003

Because the national health reform law in Germany, which came into effect on January 1, 2004, would greatly reduce refunds on the cost of glasses, many citizens were forced to purchase new glasses before the end of 2003.

Consequently, last year the numbers of glasses sold rose by 15% to 11.6 million pairs and a value of 3.3 billion euros (+12%).

Germany's biggest chain of optical stores, Fielmann, with over 510 branches in the domestic market, increased its sales of glasses by 27% to 5.8 million pairs: at the same time it also increased its market share by 7 percentage points to 50%.

The obvious consequences of the reform have led the sector to forecast that there will be a 20% drop in billings in 2004 and around 1,000 cases of insolvency amongst optical stores, but for some months now, Zva, the central association of German opticians, has been trying to reach an agreement with some private insurance companies for the inclusion of auxiliary sight recovery instruments in supplementary insurance packages.

(Source: Ice)