Slower sunglass sales are blamed on the weather and poor economic climate

Opticial practices across the country have witnessed a decline in sales of sunglasses for the first six months of this year, an Optician poll has revealed.

Practitioners have attributed the slump to poor weather, the credit crunch, internet sales and the popularity of photochromic lenses. Optician findings mirror those of research group GfK's retail sales data revealing that sunglass sales through premium opticians were down 16 per cent in volume in May 2008, compared to May 2007. (Full details to be featured in next week's Optician).

Andrew Roberts, director of Lloyd Roberts in Weybridge, said that sales were better in 2008 than in 2007 due to last summer's terrible weather, but were lower than 2006 and 'not what I'd expect them to be'.