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A recent research study has shown that opticians and optical practices around the UK have on average, more patients and consumers than their European counterparts. It is reported that each UK practice has around 9,000 current patients on their books.
With this in mind, and the current economic climate, expert analysts believe that in comparison to our neighbours in Europe, the UK is in a better position than most, financially speaking. With high volumes of patients per clinic, the optical industry in Britain should find itself, as it has done previously, tough enough to work through such recessional times. Estimates put the current UK population requiring vision related corrected surgery or treatment at around the 33 million mark.
However, with such optimistic news also comes a word of caution against complacency with numerous areas highlighted as requiring improvement, if UK optical practices are to make the most of such a financial opportunity. While the estimated turnover of an average practice currently stands at €230,000, there are parts of the market that our friends in Europe are more eager to capitalise upon. One such sector is that of sunglasses sales, with Spain's percentage of optical purchases weighing in at almost 5 times the volume of the UK market. Another with room for improvement is that of contact lenses. Although, the UK shows the highest sales of bifocal lenses across the continent, Germany is reporting much more impressive numbers in regard to AR multi-coated lenses sold in comparison to a weaker performance for UK businesses, with non-coated lenses seemingly much more widely sold, with optional extras and accessory sales clearly a secondary factor.