In 2022, the overall market of the vision and eye health sector grew in euro terms to an all-time record level, but the sales volume declined. The sector’s total turnover was EUR 598.1 million. The increase, compared to the previous year, was 4.0 percent.
The turnover was divided between retail trade in the optics sector (64.8%), wholesale trade in the optics sector (16.6%) and eye health services (18.8%).
The retail trade in the optics sector achieved a turnover of almost 388 million euros. The increase was 2.2 percent. The wholesale trade reached EUR 99.6 million with a growth of 7.4 percent.
The market for private eye health services, for example, ophthalmologist reception services and cataract surgeries, grew by 1.8 percent, ending at EUR 110.8 million.
There are now nearly 700 locations in the optics store network, with the number increasing by eight locations during 2022. A large part of the growth came from the strong development of Synsam’s store network.
“A wide network of optics stores covering the entire country is also of great social importance as our population ages. A prosperous and comprehensive network guarantees the availability and quality of services throughout the entire country and lays a solid foundation for enhancing and improving the population’s eye health care”, says Panu Tast, CEO of Finnish Association of Vision and Eyecare NÄE ry.
Sales volume of the product groups lagged behind
EUR 0.92 million euros of glasses were sold in 2022, the corresponding figure in 2021 was 1.08. The average price of glasses rose in the corresponding period from EUR 120.50 to EUR 134.30.
Sales of contact lenses fell to 20.04 million from 2021’s 24 million. The unit price of contact lenses rose in the corresponding period from EUR 1.29 to EUR 1.50.
Sales of sunglasses also fell from 1.73 million to 1.5 million. The unit price rose from 142.60 euros to 160.90 euros.
“Despite the good growth in retail sales, the development can be considered to be moderate, as a large part of the sector’s growth is due to price increases brought about by inflation. In addition, Finns have also increasingly invested in premium products, which have slowly but surely increased their market share”, comments Tast.
According to Statista, online sales have grown from 8 percent to 15 percent in five years.
“One of the underlying factors behind the growth of online sales is more advanced network technologies, which enable more accurate sizing of glasses over the network. In addition, eye examination and eye health services are being digitized at a breakneck pace and their supply on online platforms is increasing. Yet, in our sector, the basic foundation is exceptionally strong”, says Tast.
“In the future, we can also expect growth in sales volumes, as our aging population needs even more eye health services and vision-related solutions”, says Tast.
The statistics are based Finnish Association of Vision and Eyecare NÄE ry’s sector overview for 2022. The information has been compiled from the publications of Statistics Finland, Statista, Valvira, Kela and THL.
More information:
Panu Tast
CEO, Finnish Association of Vision and Eyecare NÄE ry
+358 40 542 2227, panu.tast@naery.fi
