Eyewear Market in Japan: Key Research Findings 2015
Research Outline
- Research period: January to March, 2015
- Research target: Manufacturers and wholesalers, local subsidiaries of overseas companies, importers/exporters, and retailers in the eyewear business
- Research methodologies: Face-to-face interviews by the expert researchers, surveys via telephone, FAX, mail, and literature research.
<What is the Eyewear Market? >
The domestic eyewear market in this research indicates the following four categories: 1) spectacle frames, 2) spectacle lens, 3) ready-to-wear sunglasses, and 4) ready-to-wear reading glasses. The market size is calculated based on the retail values.
The domestic fashion eyewear market is a part of the domestic eyewear market, where those products are sold as one of fashion items, rather than just a tool to support vision. The research targets the following items: Licensed brands, house brands, functional eyewear, and sports eyewear.
Summary of Research Findings
- With Market Expanded for 4 Consecutive Years, Domestic Eyewear Market Attained 101.7% of Size of Preceding Year to Achieve 479.8 Billion Yen
Size of the domestic eyewear market was 479.8 billion yen in 2014, 101.7% of that in the previous year. The market has been on the rise for four consecutive years since 2011. It mainly stems from the following reasons: Emerge of the brand new, non-vision-support eyewear market, which acquired increasing number of users who do not need to wear glasses to power their visions; restoration of Japanese original brands; and expanding online sales of powered eyewear.
- Domestic Fashion Eyewear Market in 2014 Attained 103.0% of Size of Previous Year, Achieving 362.8 Billion Yen, Expected to Reach 375.9 Billion Yen by 2015
The domestic fashion eyewear products have been sold well not only as functional eyewear but also as one of the fashion accessories, developed by collaboration with famous character brands, or sold in cooperation with apparel brands. While fashion eyewear products appear to be developed as high-end products using advanced technology mostly by the Japanese manufacturers to appeal to wealthy population, they are also likely to be developed for the volume zone, in an attempt to capture customers in a wide range including senior customers.
- With Market Size in 2014 Attained 33.4 Billion Yen, 112.1% of Previous Year, Import Eyewear Market Expected to Achieve 37.0 Billion Yen in 2015
Due to expectation towards rising economy, the relatively expensive imported eyewear products, costing more than 30 thousand yen, sold well. It shows how steady consumer demands are even after the price rise. The weakened yen caused such price rise and also attracted increasing number of tourists from overseas, which led to favorable sales of imported brands from U.S. and Europe. Led by such domestic demands together with active inbound demands the robust market growth seems to continue.
- Figure 1: Transition of Domestic Eyewear Market Size
- Figure 2: Transition of Domestic Fashion Eyewear Market Size
