Eyewear in France

Growth driven by strong performance of spectacles due to new launches and fashion

In 2019, eyewear saw the strongest current value growth for several years. Although contact lenses and solutions saw a decline, this was offset by the good performance of spectacles, with sunglasses seeing just a slight increase.

Lower reimbursement cap and healthcare reform will affect sales

The eye care reimbursement cap was lowered at the end of the review period, prompting consumers to adjust their spending on eyewear based on the health insurance reimbursement threshold. The rate of replacement of spectacles amongst French consumers is expected to continue to slow down in the next couple of years, and consumers are also expected to spend less when they do purchase spectacles, which could thus affect both value and volume sales in the short-term.

Luxottica France maintains its lead in a fragmented market

Luxottica France continued to lead eyewear in value terms in 2018, although it saw a slight decline in its share. Eyewear is very fragmented, with only one player holding a double-digit value share.

Although optical shops still dominates, internet retailing grows strongly

The distribution of eyewear in France was dominated by optical shops in value terms in 2019. However, the share of this channel declined steadily throughout the review period, as internet retailing boomed and the number of optical shops therefore declined.

Stronger growth expected over the forecast period as more people start using contact lenses and wearing glasses as fashion accessories

In the forecast period, overall eyewear is expected to see current value growth which is higher than that seen in the review period. Although all categories are expected to see growth, sunglasses is expected to see the best performance, due to the launch of new small brands, and investment by large players such as Safilo to address the challenge of the EssilorLuxottica merger.

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