4 With the creation of EssilorLuxottica, what would you recommend for GrandVision’s future strategy? Seeing opportunities Most wearers of prescription eyewear and sunglasses are aware of the large retail brands on their high street and, increasingly online, as well as many of the brand names that they sell. What many are less aware of is the giant companies that operate the manufacturing of the vast majority of the products behind this industry, which was worth $109bn (£82bn/€93bn) in 2018 and is set to grow 7.4 per cent each year until 2023 to around $167bn

(£125bn/€142bn) ( ResearchAndMarkets.com , 2018).

While the continued growth in prescriptive eyewear came about in part due to a rapid worldwide population increase, the number of those requiring corrective prescriptions has also risen dramatically. This may be partially down to wider awareness and eye testing but it is also due to a lack of time spent outdoors, increased use of screens and LED lighting, and, the impact of most populations living longer. Notably, there is a global epidemic of myopia

(short-sightedness), which has increased roughly two-fold in just a couple of decades. Reportedly, in the 1950s in China, around 10 to 20 per cent of the population were short-sighted but this has risen to around 90 per cent. 1 Vision as fashion Up until the 1980s, glasses were largely seen as medical devices with functional designs despite labels such as Christian Dior and Pierre Cardin attempts to bring fashion to the market. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that the global manufacturing giant Luxottica played a large part in bringing fashion to the industry through the licensing of the fashion brand Giorgio Armani, and then Prada, Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Chanel. Other major brand manufacturers have since emerged, including Safilo, the world’s second largest manufacturer of eyewear, which manages rival fashion brands such as Carrera, Dior, Fendi, BOSS, Tommy Hilfiger and Jimmy Choo.