The eyewear industry is old, and current scientific and technological advances have given rise to various functions.
The new type of glasses with multiple attributes is a consumer product that is protective and decorative. The protective function of eyeglasses is mainly reflected in the lenses, which regulate the amount of light entering the eyes, correct vision, and protect eye safety. The decorative function of eyeglasses is mainly reflected in the frame, which not only plays the role of support for glasses but also has a decorative nature. Lenses are a product that combines mathematics, optics, organic chemistry, surface and structural physics, machining, medicine, and other disciplines. The technical content and quality of the lenses are mainly reflected in three aspects: lens material, optical design, and lens coating.
The eyewear industry is ancient, and the modern sense of eyewear emerged in the last century. As science and technology continued to advance, the innovative applications of eyewear became more and more diverse. The modern eyewear concept of the monocle first appeared in the 1700s and became popular in the 19th century as a high-end fashion accessory. It was only in the first two decades of the last century that frames became the cosmetic and anatomical perfection they are today. Later in the last century, science and technology furthered the development of innovations in eyewear/lenses, such as the first idea of progressive multifocal lenses by Owen Aves in 1907 and the discovery of resin lenses by the Columbia Chemical Division of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company in the 1940s. Armorlite became the world patent company for CR39 lenses. Afterward, Essilor and SOLA started to manufacture CR39 lenses. Subsequently, the process and materials were improved in many ways, making the CR30 lens lighter and more light-transmitting, with a hardened surface coating to solve the shortcomings of non-abrasion resistance, an anti-fog and waterproof film, and UV protection added to the material, further satisfying the needs of different levels of consumers. Meet the needs of varying levels of consumers.
The global lens industry market size is expanding steadily, and the resin lens market size may grow to $158.5 billion by 2025
The global eyewear market will expand and reach US$158.5 billion by 2025. According to Statista, the global eyewear market has been growing well since 2012, from US$119.4 billion in 2012 to US$130.2 billion in 2019, with a CAGR of 1.24%, and declining to US$104.3 billion in 2020 due to the impact of the epidemic. The global eyewear market is expected to grow steadily with the further increase in global per capita spending on eyewear and is expected to grow to US$158.5 billion by 2025, with a CAGR of 8.73%. With the continuous development of networking, the sales of cheap glasses online are also on a steep rise, which is expected to affect the sales of offline optical stores.
The total value of global retail sales of resin eyeglass lenses increased from USD 32.4 billion in 2015 to USD 35.8 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 2.0%. The market size is expected to increase to US$46.5 billion, growing at a CAGR of 5.4% from 2020 to 2025.