Pentax 2008 Annual Report Download - page 20

The global market for eyeglass lenses is still expanding at several
percent per year. During the second half of fiscal 2008, however,
the combination of weakening demand and an influx of
low-priced lenses from Asia slowed the industry’s growth. Amid
this difficult operating environment, Hoya’s Vision Care Business
implemented a number of management initiatives that succeeded
in boosted net sales 5.5%, compared with the preceding term.
Hoya excels by providing high-value-added lenses, produced
using the industry’s most advanced technologies. These include
high index materials; antireflective, scratch-resistant and a variety
of other coatings; and FreeForm design technology*1, which is
used in such applications as double-surface progressive lenses.
The Company is optimizing its global supply chain, providing
custom lenses via its Thai mass-production facilities, processing
labs in countries throughout the world and its Super RX Labs in
Thailand, featuring newly expanded capacity. This system enables
Hoya to provide its customers with customized lenses swiftly and
more efficiently than ever before.
Hoya is also enhancing eyeglass sales to a much broader
customer base. For example, the Company helps retail stores offer
higher-quality services by providing sales support software,
expanding the application of direct ordering systems and other IT
tools, as well as education and training.
Sales of Hoyalux FD Bifocal Eyeglass Lenses Increase
Throughout its long history of operations in Japan, Hoya has used
advanced technologies to design high-value-added lenses that
have earned a solid reputation. In recent years, price competition
has intensified, owing to the proliferation of shops offering
inexpensive eyeglasses. These shops, known as “one-price shops”
and “three-price shops,” are a relatively recent phenomenon.
One-price shops typically offer generic-brand single-focus lenses
in a limited range of frames—all at a single low price. Three-price
shops are similar, but they offer a broader range of options, and
pricing is tiered accordingly. Until now, this price competition has
been limited mainly to single-focus lenses, but in the fiscal year
under review the effects of this trend rippled outward. Prices fell
on the high-end lenses that are Hoya’s mainstay, and shops
offering lower-priced progressive lenses began to emerge,
pushing down prices marketwide.
Operating in this challenging business environment, Hoya has
focused on boosting sales of Hoyalux FD*2 bifocal lenses with a
double-surface progressive lens design. Despite the impact of
these sales, however, revenues
were down slightly year on year as
a result of the overall market
contraction.
Going forward, Hoya will
continue to attract customers with
products that incorporate superior
design and ophthalmic
technologies. We recognize the
diversity of customers’ needs, and
we are implementing a multibrand
strategy targeting a broader range
of customers.
Eye care is growing in importance, particularly in developed countries with aging populations. Hoya meets
this demand around the world in a number of ways: with high-value-added eyeglass lenses; at its Eye City
chain of contact lens specialty stores that adopt a consulting-based sales approach; and through its
intraocular lenses (IOLs), which assist the simple and safe surgical treatment of cataracts. In short, we
provide a myriad of products and services to care for that most important sensory organ—the eye.
Eye Care
Vision Care Division
Eyeglass Lenses
Growing Steadily in a Difficult Environment
by Providing High-Quality Eyeglass Lenses
on a Global Basis
Japan
Ad promoting REMARK, a new-concept lens
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