Eyewear turning Japanese at International Optical Fair Tokyo

The three-day IOFT eyewear exhibition at the Tokyo Big Sight building attracts visitors and exhibitors from across the globe. In order to gain a European perspective on the Asian optical industry, I spoke initially with European exhibitors, whose stands did not have a prominent spot but plenty of curious visitors. This was particularly true of Berlin-based ic!berlin, represented by its charismatic founder Ralph Anderl, in typically eye-catching attire: a purple suit and large green hat. He was equally as happy to share his vision of the Asian market as he was to be pictured by admiring visitors.

He explained how the Japanese lover of the fresh and creative was a key driver for ic!berlin’s move into the country’s market with a new collection. ‘In Germany, consumers typically wait for three years or so before they would buy your brand because they are afraid of new things,’ he said. ‘As a newcomer, it takes time to start a collection in Europe. In Japan you can start a collection – the Japanese admire creativity and they love details.’

Anderl’s neighbour at IOFT was Paris Frost, CEO of Frost, also a German firm. Like Anderl, he revelled in the Japanese appreciation for new brands and products. Whereas in European exhibitions Germans would typically visit the stands of brands they already knew, this was definitely not the case for the knowledgeable, brand and trend-aware Japanese consumers, he said.

Both Frost and Anderl said that this as a huge benefit for the Asian optical industry and a major challenge for opticians operating in Japan, where people visit opticians with a clear idea of the market and latest trends. One Japanese visitor at IOFT remarked that her compatriots ‘research the market thoroughly before visiting the optician’. As a result, the optician is incentivised to have the latest products in stock and adapt to the wishes of the customers. This was in reverse to the European customer-optician relationship where opticians were asked for advice by consumers, observed Frost.

Japanese trends

The exhibition showed that in Japan there are no differences when it comes to the shape of frames between men and women. In fact, the Japanese brands’ representatives confirmed there was no division in the market and opticians do not have male and female sections in their stores. For instance, many male customers wear large, round Boston-style frames, which are considered female in Europe.

As well as trends in design and style, IOFT was a showcase for technological advances in eyewear. To explore this area I visite the stand of popular high-quality brand Four Nines. Whereas most stands close on each of the three exhibition days at 5pm, Four Nines is permitted to stay open for a further three hours because of the enormous interest in its products.

Toshiyuki Itabashi is managing director at the company and explained that the biggest change throughout the past 10 years was the materials used for producing glasses. ‘Nowadays, we see more plastic-metal combinations,’ he said. Other than that, the trends were not very different from Europe. In fact, he emphasised how the Japanese followed the European trends. ‘When it comes to functionality and technology Japan is ahead, but for design it’s the reverse,’ he said.

From medical product to comfort and luxury

According to Itabashi, the shift that has been taking place in technology, relates to a changing mindset vis-à-vis eyewear. Comfort has become an increasingly important element of the industry. ‘For 20 years glasses weren’t popular and not comfortable,’ he said.

Itabashi has witnessed the shift in Japan from spectacles being purely medical to a comfort and luxury product. This is reflected by how the optical market is divided up, Itabashi says. ‘The low-quality and high-end markets are relatively small,’ he observed. ‘At a younger age Japanese consumers try low-end products, but then realise they are not satisfied with the comfort. Then they will gradually move toward the high-end market.’ But what makes high-quality brands such as Four Nines so comfortable?

‘The main point of the comfort of glasses is down to the frame, especially the wrap temples around the head. We try not to let the customers feel the weight of the frame, in order to prevent discomfort. Through our production of complicated flexible parts, we can supply this comfort,’ said Itabashi. I put it to him that the high-end market was not doing so well at the moment. Why was this? To this, he posed a counter-question: ‘What is the biggest problem consumers face with eyewear?’ After a few seconds, pause he provided an answer: ‘Glasses tend to slip down as the temples are widened after years of usage.’ He said that eventually consumers of middle-quality glasses would face problems due to discomfort: ‘As this group ages and gains stable incomes, they will be more willing to invest in high-end eyewear.’

Masao Miyachi, president of eyewear manufacturer Charmant, agreed with Four Nines’ standpoint on comfort and added: ‘The biggest complaint is material that is too heavy; the frame slips down and pain is caused by the temples and around the nose.’ He emphasised that these complaints were not typically Japanese but universal. ‘To solve this problem, we have designed ergonomic frames, which are designed to be comfortable for the customer.’ He takes off his spectacles and hands them over – ‘try them on,’ he says. Indeed, you would probably forget you were wearing the spectacles, so light and subtle they proved. At the same time, they are extremely flexible – Miyachi bends the temples to a 90-degree angle.

The secret behind this flexibility is the cooperation between Charmant and one of Japan’s top universities, Tohoku University. Miyachi explained that this partnership had managed to developed memory titanium, which was used for the bendable temples of the eyewear. He added: ‘These materials are traditionally only used in the medical world, but we have introduced them to the optical industry.’

The European brands recognise Japan’s willingness to embrace new materials.

For example, Frost noted that the German optical market was more conservative when it came to technological inventions compared with the Japanese market: ‘People are more open and fascinated by creativity, therefore also open to new technologies and inventions, such as hinge systems and new assembly machines,’ he said.

A different breeze: eco-friendly bamboo frames

If there had been a prize for most original frames at IOFT, the award might well have gone to Yaitopalé. The Kyoto-based company is relatively new to the optical scene, but is ready to take on the bigger firms. Founder Sheyen Ikeda explained that his frames were made with bamboo wood. ‘This is what I call vernacular practise, which means that our products coexist with the natural environment of the land.’

The ideology of the company is to be as eco-friendly as possible so only environmentally sound, recycled materials are used – which at IOFT extended from the company’s actual stand to its business cards.

‘I believe a product is an extension of an idea – most of the companies here produce trash, but we don’t. I believe this will become the norm, because it is eco-friendly.’

Ikeda knows his company is ahead of its time and notices people looking at his stand clearly wondering to themselves ‘what is this guy doing?’ However, he said, ‘it starts with educating our consumers and ourselves: what are we doing to the planet?’