US optical market up 4% in 2025 despite lower volumes
The US optical market value amounted to $69.5 billion last year, according to the latest Market inSights research by The Vision Council (TVC), the country’s eyewear industry association. The calculated value includes exams, frames, ophthalmic lenses, contact lenses, plano sunglasses and readers and, by TVC’s definition, captures consumer payments plus ...
HOYA eyeglass lens sales up 11% in Q3 despite soft US/Europe performance
HOYA Corporation’s eyeglass lens sales were up by 11 percent year on year in the three months to Dec. 31, 2025, the group announced earlier today. In constant currencies, they increased by 6 percent.
Safilo reports sales slowdown, higher margins for Q4
Safilo Group revenue in Q4 2025 dropped by 4.6 percent year on year to €225.0 million, according to the company’s preliminary results released yesterday. At constant rates, quarterly sales inched up by 0.4 percent versus Q4 2024 but that still marked a slowdown from the previous quarter (+2.3 percent in ...
Italian eyewear exports fall 4% in 2025 as sales to US tumble, industry pivots to other markets
The value of Italian eyewear exports slipped by 3.9 percent to €5.021 billion in 2025, as sales to the US tumbled by 34.0 percent but growth was seen throughout Europe as well as in China and other emerging markets, according to preliminary data released by the Italian eyewear association ANFAO. ...
Meta Reality Labs revenue up only slightly in 2025 despite three-fold jump in wearables sales
Meta Reality Labs division revenue declined by 11.8 percent year on year to $955 million in Q4 2025 due to a drop in VR sales as no new headset was released this year, the group announced yesterday. In the full year, Reality Labs sales, which also includes Ray-Ban Meta smart ...
House of Modo launches $200 smart audio glasses, revs up growth plans with new investors
House of Modo has entered the smart eyewear market with a new brand called EyeFly, which made its debut at the MIDO trade fair with audio-only smart glasses set to come with an average price tag of about $200.
Hong Kong smart eyewear company seeks “billions of dollars” in damages from Meta-Essilux
Solos Technology, a Hong Kong-based smart glasses company, is suing Meta Platforms, Meta Platforms Technologies, Oakley, Luxottica of America and EssilorLuxottica USA for “willful direct and indirect patent infringement” of its own “foundational technologies.” The case was filed with the US District Court of Massachusetts on Jan. 23, 2025, and ...
The European eyecare sector remains an attractive M&A market
There were 28 company transactions – including full takeovers and acquisitions of minority stakes – in the eyecare and eyewear sector in Europe in 2025, according to a recent report by Houlihan Lokey, a global investment bank monitoring the sector and other consumer markets. The company was involved last year ...
Macron’s Davos shades put Henry Jullien in the spotlight
French president Emmanuel Macron did not go unnoticed at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this week. He wore a pair of high-end reflective aviator sunglasses during his speech, indoors. The unusual look was intended to cover a burst blood vessel in his eye, his office explained.
Johnson & Johnson Q4 contact lens sales grow 7.6%
Johnson & Johnson generated sales from its contact lens business of $1,008 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, up by a reported 7.6 percent compared to the year earlier and 5.3 percent higher at constant currency rates. Sales growth was driven by market growth, the continued strong showing of ...
Italy’s eyewear sector ramps up export promotion efforts
Italy’s eyewear industry has ramped up efforts to promote its products overseas, as tariffs, geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty bite, but new markets also provide opportunities.
Opti finds momentum in stubbornly stagnant German optical market
The organizers of the opti trade show have announced that 21,972 trade visitors took part in the 2026 edition that took place from Jan. 16 to 18 in Munich, up by 4 percent from the previous year, confirming positive impressions from exhibitors. Visitors from outside Germany accounted for roughly 20 ...
ZEISS targets cognitive overload with clearer lenses
ZEISS Vision Care is unveiling several novelties at the opti trade show starting today in Munich, Germany, of which the most important is ZEISS NeurOptix, a new lens technology designed to reduce cognitive overload. The technology is at the core of ZEISS ClearMind, a new prescription lens aimed at 35+ ...
Kenyan retail startup aims for scale and impact in East Africa
Backed by Japanese and Indian investors and by a French optical retail veteran, Kenyan optical retail startup Mamy Eyewear plans to grow from five stores in Nairobi to over 100 locations in East Africa within five years, leveraging AI-powered eye exams and affordable pricing to address the region’s critical shortage of eye care services.
Meta and Essilux reported AI glasses capacity doubling no easy task
Meta and EssilorLuxottica are discussing boosting their Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses annual production capacity to 20-30 million units to address growing demand, Bloomberg reported yesterday. The leak came from people familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous, which may also mean that it is a deliberate communication strategy ...