Threat or opportunity? China's eyeglasses industry VS economic downturn.

The global economic crisis triggered by the subprime mortgage failure in the United States are still on its way of spreading and deepening. This crisis is affecting China's industries in a an unprecedentedly harmful manner, including China's eyeglasses industry, as 70% of the eyeglasses produced in China are normally for export. Still as what the word "crisis" implies in Chinese language, crisis means both "threat" and "opportunity" which is coexsitent when facing crisis.Here are some examples of how the eyeglasses enterprises in China are reacting in the time of fierce economic slowdown. Based on the poll carried our at the end of 2008, 70% of the eyeglasses companies in China have been impacted by the financial tsunami. Many enterprises are trying to convert the threats to be opportunities. In Yuhuan, a county in Wehzhou city which is famous for its manufacturing of all types of eyeglasses accessories, companies like Dafa and Huaqiang are capitalizing the low price of copper to buy and hold for the future business expanding. In Danyang, as its glasses enterprises' dependency on export is not as heavy as that of Shenzhen's, Danyang companies are penetrating in depth the percentage share of China's local market. In Shenzhen, one company can spend only seventy to eighty thousand RMB to purchase an equipment which normally would cost six hundred thousand to one million. On this point it is a perfect opportunity for those companies that are going to expand in the time of economic meltdown.In Shanghai the Hydron contact lenses company has just spent 60 million RMB setting up another casting assembly of the world's most advance technology. With this new assembly line Hydron's production capacity will be up to 40 million pairs of contact lenses.In Xiamen, Quansheng company just imported machines from Italy to manufacture world's top quality of metal frames.In Wenzhou, the January's export of eyeglasse is about 77 million US dollars which is 20.76% more on the year-on-year basis. It is highly because of the affordable price and fair quality of the Wenzhou eyeglasses. Analysts told reporters that in the time of economic slowdown, consumers in the western countries tends to buy cheap but acceptable quality stuff instead of expensive things. The increase of eyeglasses export in Wenzhou reveals apparently that 2009 is the time of opportunity.

GlassesUSA 与 Lions Club 结成战略合作

眼镜B2C研究日前美国网上眼镜零售商(online eyeglasses retailer) GlassesUSA.com 和 Lions Club 结成战略联盟， 联盟内容包括将二手的眼镜以及客户退货而产生的积压眼镜进行重新处理， 并将这些眼镜捐赠给 Uniontown Lions Club.此次联盟是 GlassesUSA 新的发展计划的一部分， 旨在希望改变人们对眼睛保健和眼镜的看法。视力保健在美国历来被认为是奢侈服务而非必需品。遍布于美国各地的 Lions Club 正派人上街收集废弃的二手的眼镜(recycled glasses)， 并给尚可戴用的镜架配上新的镜片。然后将配制好以后的眼镜捐赠给需要佩戴眼镜而本人又无法买得起新眼镜的人使用。GlassesUSA 作为这项计划的成员， 主要的任务是将客户退货以后而产生的积压眼镜(prescription eyeglasses)统一赠送给 Lions Club。这些眼镜将会被送到加工厂， 由工厂对眼镜架进行回收翻新处理， 并根据受赠者的视力情况配制合适的镜片， 然后再赠送给他们。GlassesUSA 鼓励客户将旧的不用了的眼镜赠送给Lions Club， GlassesUSA 将凭Lions Club 出具给客户的赠送收据给予客户在购买新眼镜的时候享受10%的优惠。眼镜B2C研究

Business Wire：美国National Vision宣布从Vision Care控股公司收购连锁眼镜企业Eyeglass World

来自 眼镜B2C研究据美国商业资讯（Business Wire）报道， 美国著名眼镜零售企业National Vision宣布从Vision Care控股公司收购连锁眼镜企业Eyeglass World。 Eyeglass World位于佛罗里达州的Lake Worth城， 被收购后将在原有品牌下继续运营。 National Vision现为美国第四大眼镜零售商。 有关交易的具体条款没有披露。“对Eyeglass World的收购是一项战略性的计划，对我们公司的发展意义重大，”National Vision公司的CEO Reade Fahs说，“通过增加在公司的连锁经营中增加这一高速增长的品牌， 有助于增加我们公司在美国眼镜零售市场的份额和机会。”Eyeglass World成立于1988年，在美国的23个州经营着64家连锁眼镜店。 该连锁企业提供了众多的国际知名品牌产品供客户选择， 并在店内配备了独立配镜实验室。连锁店内有高达2000个品种的镜架（Eyeglasses Frames）， 太阳镜（sunglasses）和其他各种眼镜（glasses）。National Vision 近年逐步建立起了一套在美国眼镜零售业为客户提供增值服务的商业战略规划。 对Eyeglass World的收购将对National Vision下一步发展提供支持。Online Eyeglasses 研究

Fundamental Facts about China's Eyeglasses Industry

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China has gradually become the largest manufacturing base for eyeglasses frames, spectacle lenses and sunglasses in the past decade. Here are some fundamental facts about China's glasses industry.

1. China's manufacturing of eyeglasses-related products is mainly focused in four major geographic districts which are Shenzhen and Dongguan of Guangdong province, Xiamen of Fujian province, Wenzhou of Zhejiang province and Danyang of Jiangsu province respectively. These four districts produce about 90% of whole volume of China's eyeglasses industry.

Shenzhen and Dongguan are located at southern China's Guangdong province. These two cities are geographically close to Hong Kong, resulting in most of the manufacturers in Shenzhen and Dongguan being invested by HK eyeglasses companies. For this reason, Shenzhen and Dongguan are now the base for making middle- to high-end eyeglasses in China with most of the glasses labelled with world's most fames designers' logo. Shenzhen only has about 500 manufacturers with annual capacity of 200 million pairs of frames, lenses and sunglasses, and 95% of the products are exported to 130 countries, and 70% of European market share is from Shenzhen.Xiamen is located in China's southeastern Fujian province.

Xiamen is just the opposite side of the Taiwan Strait which is very close to Taiwan, therefore most the Xiamen glasses enterprises are Taiwan-mainland joint vetures. Different from other districts in China, Xiamen mainly focuses on the production and marketing of high-end sunglasses.

Wenzhou is in eastern China's Zhejiang province, the famous "Land of Overseas Chinese". Wenzhou's optical companies focus on manufacturing middle- to low-end frames and sunglasses. Its market of sunglasses in the world's market is about 40%. Wenzhou has about 1000 manufacturers in the area of frames, sunglasses and other accessories.

Danyang is in Jiangsu province which is near to Shanghai and Zhejiang province. This is a place where mostly the factories are engaged in the making of all types of middle- to low-end lenses. While Danyang also has some enterprises manufacturing frames, but the quality of the frames is of low end. The annual lenses producing capacity of Danyang is 150-200 million pairs which occupies about 70% of China's total volume and 50% of the whole world's.

2. China's eyeglasses indutry is export-oriented. In 2007, China exported 2.465 billion pairs of eyeglasses frames, lenese and sunglasses, with a total value of 3.344 billion US dollars. Unfortunately the average export price is only USD1.36 per pair. About 60% of China's total production of eyeglasses-related goods is for export, which has a world's low-end market share of 80%. In total China has about 4000 manufacturers in the eyeglasses and relative areas.

3. China is the most populous nation in the world. Out of her 1.35 billion population, about 300 million need some kind of corrective eyeglasses. Adding the consumption of sunglasses for fashion and protection purpose in the summertime, the whole market is immense. Therefore, many world's major chain retailers, such as LensCrafters, are entering and expanding in China's local market in hope of grabbing China's high-end consumers. Presently China has about 20,000 retail optical stores. If you are interested in China's optical and vision eyeglasses industry, you may find the above information useful and helpful.

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