Anfao figures for January-September 2004

Official Anfao figures for the nine-month period, January-September 2004, indicate that the eyewear sector is growing versus the same period last year. Exports grew by 1.3% with the overall value of exports exceeding 1,170 million Euros.

Trends were very different in the various segments: sunglasses posted excellent results at +5.42% and exceeded 692 million Euros since the beginning of the year compared with 656 million Euros in 2003.

Exports of frames suffered a setback. After increasing by 0.2% between January and June, the final result was -3.9% versus January-September 2003 settling at 454 million Euros (472 million Euros last year).

Europe remains a leading export market (slightly more than 50% of total exports) with exports rising by +3.7% over the same period in 2003. The best results were posted in France (+14.6% for frames while sunglasses were stable), Greece with +28% for sunglasses and Portugal (+77% for frames and +1.2% for sunglasses). Export figures were not as good for Germany (sunglasses performed well but frames did not) and the UK (-13.5% for sunglasses).

Exports of sunglasses to Russia rose significantly, posting +21%. By contrast, exports to the United States - a leading market for the sector with a share of almost 30% - grew only slightly. The increase was 1.2% versus January-September 2003: noteworthy here is the excellent performance of sunglasses (+17%) which was offset by a similar fall, in percentage terms, in frames.

Imports grew (+6.5%), but at very different rates for sunglasses and frames which are the leading imported items. The most significant increase in imports was from Asia (+32%), whereas imports from Europe fell (-16.5% with a peak of -31% for the 15-member EU).

The eyewear sector is made of very different segments where the results vary significantly even in terms of economic performance. In considering I-Style overall, eyewear is among the most dynamic sectors and one of the few to post an increase in exports (+1.3% overall, as stated above, +5.4% for sunglasses only).