After living in Montreal for 14 years, I experienced first hand that it is difficult to find glasses and (especially) sunglasses that fit well in retail stores. There is still potential to capture the market in which there are Asian consumers still struggling to get what fits them.
Thanks to many Asian entrepreneurs who experienced the same struggle, brands have started brands targeting the problem for Asians, and as of today, yet there is still room to explore in this market.
Since 10 years ago many of our North American customers start to include Asian fit in their existing collections which sales thru is healthy and steady.
Asian Americans recorded the fastest population growth rate among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States between 2000 and 2019. The Asian population in the U.S. grew 81% during that span, from roughly 10.5 million to a record 18.9 million, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau population estimates. Furthermore, by 2060, the number of U.S. Asians is projected to rise to 35.8 million, more than triple their 2000 population.
Afterall, Asians make up 60% of the world population which having asian fit offerings is something considered for now and future plan of expanding into Asian markets as a business opportunity.
Here is a summary on Asian Population composition in US and Europe from Wikipedia
North America:
USA: 20.4 million people of Asian descent, which accounts for 6.2% of the total US population.
Canada: 7.7% of the total Canadian population is of Asian descent.
Europe:
United Kingdom: 3.1% of the total UK population is of Asian descent.
France: Approximately 2.5 million people of Asian descent live in France, which accounts for around 4% of the French population.
Germany: As of 2019, around 2.7 million people of Asian descent live in Germany, which accounts for about 3.3% of the German population.
Netherlands: Around 1.1 million
Our suggestions on developing asian fit design as a business opportunity
#1 Easiest, fastest, proof-of-sales way
Existing best selling shapes + asian fit features
The benefits of using existing best selling shapes is the prove of design success. Sales thru usually is good and it is one of the safest and fastest way to develop this new category.
The disadvantage is, sometimes it is confusing for your sales and your customers to have exactly the same style with different fitting. Extra work on arrangement to avoid confusion is required.
The other problem is not all best selling shapes look good on Asian faces and new designs are inevitable.
#2 Start from scratch approach
New designs, focus 100% on Asian audiences
The biggest advantage of developing a new design or even starting a new collection is creativity. Designers can try new concepts, shapes, colors. We can also focus on Asian fashion which could be very unique.
However, this approach will take more time to find the right path and will require more effort in marketing. Asians culture is relatively diverse and is challenging to find the perfect group of audience.
As for now, we see the fastest result on selecting the existing best selling shapes that look good on Asian faces as a starting point to test the market.
#3 Other solutions for fitting adaptation
Customization
With the latest development of 3D scan and 3D print technology, customization and fabrication is getting more accessible and affordable which completely solves the problem of fitting for any facial feature.
However there are limitations in design because for more complicated designs which involve metal and more complicated components it is challenging for customization.
Highly adjustable construction
D. I. Ware is developing an innovative design to enable customers to fine tune adjustment for their unique facial features which involve creation of new materials and construction.
We aim at not only solving the problem of Asian fit but also offering a product that includes everyone who is not able to find a perfectly fit product because of their unique features.
No matter what approach you are considering in order to capture the increasing demand of the Asian fit eyeglasses and sunglasses market, D. I. Ware Company can provide you with the best manufacturing solutions with the best quality product experience! Let us know your thoughts on capturing the Asian consumers in your market.
Contact us to increase sales from your business through the Asian fit eyeglasses and sunglasses market.