Zeiss Vision stays positive on business growth in Chinese market
Zeiss Vision is confident of growing by double digits in China due to the country's unique consumer demographics and rising awareness about eye care, a senior executive of the German manufacturer of eyeglass lenses and ophthalmic instruments said.
The company expects to show robust business growth in China, which has been one of its priority markets and fastest-growing regions, said Sven Hermann, a member of the executive board of the 178-year-old Zeiss Group.
"We've seen double-digit growth rates in the China market for many consecutive years. We are highly attentive to the market demands in China and will continue to increase our investments in this country," said Hermann, who is also head of Zeiss Consumer Markets.
"The company reached more than 10 billion euros ($10.93 billion) in sales in the last fiscal year. We've been adding nearly 1 billion euros in global sales each year in the past years, and China, where the vision care business is doing fairly well, contributed to that," he said during the Shanghai International Optics Fair, which concluded on Wednesday.
During the fair, Zeiss Vision launched a new brand concept, "Nobody sees like you", marking a comprehensive upgrade from concept to products and services.
From providing lens products to complete solutions for consumers of different age groups and scenarios, Zeiss aims to further consolidate the concept of eye health management throughout the life cycle of consumer needs.
Data show that Chinese household expenditures on eye health have been rising.
The optometric business revenue of Shanghai-based Ai'er Ophthalmology, and Huaxia Ophthalmology, based in Xiamen, Fujian province, rose by 30.5 percent and 17.7 percent, respectively, year-on-year in the first half of 2023, according to the company.
Hermann said the age distribution pyramid in China makes the market very important, and that opportunities lie in consumer groups, including children with myopia and the elderly.
"Opportunities also lie in the middle-aged, who include those born in the 1980s and have reached an age range when eye care becomes quite important. We would like to accompany this journey," he said.
According to data released by the National Health Commission in September, there were more than 700 million people with myopia in China. The overall myopia rate among children and adolescents was 52.7 percent, the most in the world.
"In child myopia, China has a higher progression in this area than in other parts of the world. But we see that such a myopia trend will hit other parts of the world. So, all the learnings we have in China will be exported globally later," said Hermann.
A lens product clinically proven to slow down child myopia progression — a research and development result from the company's China R&D center — has been marketed in Europe after its China launch in 2022. Clinical trials are underway worldwide.
"It's a prominent example that products and services currently developed in China are actually for China and beyond. Therefore, our investments are not only in China for China, but in China to serve the world," said Hermann, adding that the company has spent 15 percent of its revenue on R&D each year.
He said investments in China will focus on building more professional manufacturing, and devices or technologies for optometry. He added that the investment amount will be significant.
There have been huge changes in terms of choice of optical lenses and eye care concepts in China, as revealed by the company's sales data.
The market was happy with entry-level products two decades ago, but the most sophisticated ones are quickly catching up these days, said Hermann.
"So, such a consumer campaign launched at the Shanghai fair is important and shows our long-term relationship with Chinese customers. We used to focus on supporting optical retail, and now with the consumer campaign, we want to ensure that we help consumers to better understand the importance of eye care and the difference in eye lenses," he said.
