retail
Optiker chain Eyes and more plans 150 new branches by 2029
Many retailers in Germany reduce their branch networks in the city centers. Meanwhile, the large optic chains are based on expansion. An expert explains what you benefit from.
The Eyes and More optician chain would like to open 150 new branches in Germany in the next four years. This was said by the managing director of the Dutch parent company Nexeye, Bart van den Nieuwenhof, the German press agency. By 2029, more than 700 new employees are to be hired. You are looking for suitable areas for renting downtown sites, it said. Only up to five branches will close in the coming years.
Eyes and more opened the first business in this country in Lübeck in 2006. According to their own statements, there are 224 locations with 1,500 employees. The chain is also represented in the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Sweden. In Germany it is one of the largest in the industry. According to a survey by the dpa, other branchists such as Apollo Optik, Fielmann and Mister Spex are also pursuing expansion plans. The companies did not name numbers on request.
“The large chain stores calculate good opportunities to capture market potential. The population is getting older, which has a positive effect on the health market and is reflected in the products purchased,” said expert Marco Atzberger from the EHI trade research institute. In addition to opticians, hearing acoustics and pharmacies also benefited.
Customers buy more expensive glasses frames
The number of inpatient eye -optic specialist shops in Germany is declining. This emerges from the latest industry report by the Central Association of Opticians (ZVA). At the end of 2023 there were still 11,000. However, industry sales have increased. Experts observe an increasing concentration of the market.
The ten largest companies in sales record an increasing number of shops and a growing share of the revenues. A good half of them are no longer necessary. Apollo-optics have the most branches with around 900, behind it is Fielmann with more than 600. According to the association, customers buy glasses more often for more than 250 euros. Glasses are increasingly fashionable accessories, says Atzberger. The trend would go to two or third-party glasses that people grew.
Many retail chains have reduced their branch networks in Germany in recent years. Only a few grow. The Thalia book trade chain has expanded its presence in the city centers. Most recently, the sporting goods dealer Decathlon and the discounter action announced that they wanted to open a larger number of new business.
dpa
Source: Stern
