Jo
09-18-2002, 08:52 AM
Next Generation Transition® Fuels Photochromic Market Growth (http://www.optiboard.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5497)
LAS VEGAS, Sept. 12, 2002 – Next Generation Transitions® is providing opportunities for sales growth in the optical industry, even as the overall number of lenses sold remains flat. The number of plastic photochromic lenses sold grew 12 percent June 2002 year-to-date over the same period in 2001, while the number of lenses sold overall declined 1 percent, according to the Vision Council of America’s June 2002 monthly report.
I thought this post to OptiBoards' Optical Industry News Forum (http://www.optiboard.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=31) was quite interesting. I don't doubt that sales in Transitions has increased at all; after reading some of the posts in a couple of the forums on OptiBoard, this comes as no surprise. I was slightly surprised to read that the ophthalmic lens market in general was relatively stagnant.
What was Transitions NG's magic bullet? There have been other new products brought to market but I don't recall folks getting as excited or impressed about anything new in a long time. Many people wore PGX in the past, do Transitions NG just come that close in performance? Was the retail end impressed because you could physically see what was new since the change was in tint density and lightening/darkening time? I don't think there was all that much more new product marketing than normal when NG rolled out. Retaillers just liked the lenses.
Lastly, since Transitions has revived a lens market that many retaillers were starting to pull away from, what is next? Is there new product yet to come? Will we see more Transitions product in the 1.67 Index ranges causing sales to increase even more? Will there be combination materials, Transitions Polarized for example, that make even more lens alternatives available to retaillers? Will Transistions' success cause other manufacturers of different lens material strive to bring us new and innovative products?
LAS VEGAS, Sept. 12, 2002 – Next Generation Transitions® is providing opportunities for sales growth in the optical industry, even as the overall number of lenses sold remains flat. The number of plastic photochromic lenses sold grew 12 percent June 2002 year-to-date over the same period in 2001, while the number of lenses sold overall declined 1 percent, according to the Vision Council of America’s June 2002 monthly report.
I thought this post to OptiBoards' Optical Industry News Forum (http://www.optiboard.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=31) was quite interesting. I don't doubt that sales in Transitions has increased at all; after reading some of the posts in a couple of the forums on OptiBoard, this comes as no surprise. I was slightly surprised to read that the ophthalmic lens market in general was relatively stagnant.
What was Transitions NG's magic bullet? There have been other new products brought to market but I don't recall folks getting as excited or impressed about anything new in a long time. Many people wore PGX in the past, do Transitions NG just come that close in performance? Was the retail end impressed because you could physically see what was new since the change was in tint density and lightening/darkening time? I don't think there was all that much more new product marketing than normal when NG rolled out. Retaillers just liked the lenses.
Lastly, since Transitions has revived a lens market that many retaillers were starting to pull away from, what is next? Is there new product yet to come? Will we see more Transitions product in the 1.67 Index ranges causing sales to increase even more? Will there be combination materials, Transitions Polarized for example, that make even more lens alternatives available to retaillers? Will Transistions' success cause other manufacturers of different lens material strive to bring us new and innovative products?