More BrandsExisting contact lens wearers and people suffering from astigmatism remain the biggest market for manufacturers, but teenagers and presbyopes provide "massive" opportunities for eye care practitioners.
This is according to Oliver Spandow, UK & Ireland general manager for Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. In an exclusive interview for the Optician journal, Spandow said he wanted to establish partnerships with eye care practices in order to spur growth in the contact lens market and ensure that patients get the best possible wearing experience.
Spandow also pointed out that technological advances had led to a sharp increase in the adoption of multifocal lenses, while greatly improved comfort levels and higher awareness had drawn younger people to contact lenses. However, attitudes change slowly and many patients in their 30s and 40s still assume that their astigmatism makes it impossible for them to wear contact lenses, which is simply not the case. He said eye care professionals should be more proactive and present all modern options to their patients.
A combination of the right products and proactive promotion has the potential to triple the size of the contact lens market, according to Spandow. This can be achieved by getting people to start wearing contacts earlier and prolonging multifocal wear as patients reach presbyopia. But this is quite a difficult task to accomplish, with Spandow likening it to "turning an oil tanker." He went on to add that reducing drop-out rates and getting people to wear contact lenses longer would create huge opportunities for market growth.
