FMO gets update on Irish market

An overview of the Irish optical market from Peter Coleman, chief executive of the Association of Optometrists Ireland was the keynote speech at the Federation of Manufacturing Optician's regional meeting at Gloucester Rugby Club on October 14.

Claiming that Tesco is about to join Specsavers and Vision Express in providing competition for Irish independents, Coleman informed the audience of the new EyeZone marketing campaign for independent practices in the country (see lead story). Revealing some of the available data for the optical market in the Republic of Ireland, Coleman detailed how around 55 per cent of the population wore neither contact lenses nor glasses.