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Buoyed by SiH technology

Business
In a lacklustre UK economy the optical market is proving resilient and silicone hydrogel dailies are driving growth for contact lens practices. Paul York reports

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David Cameron's exclamation that 'the good news will keep on coming' following the Q312 announcement of GDP growth has been followed more recently with the news that Q412 GDP has slipped back into decline, -0.3 per cent, and that there is a renewed risk of a triple-dip recession in 2013.

The figures for full year 2012 show that economic growth in the UK had been broadly flat, with the growth seen in Q3 offset by smaller declines in the other three quarters.

GB optical practitioners have fared better than the economy as a whole, with total sales value of the product groups tracked by GfK (spectacle frames, contact lenses, care products and sunglasses) up by 1.3 per cent over the year as a whole. These figures highlight that the optical market continues to be resilient over a time where growth has been hard to achieve and within a retail landscape where many high street mainstays have either entered administration or closed their doors for good.

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