Following the conclusion of the second day of VISION 2016, Alex Shikany, Director of Market Analysis, AIA provided an update on the state of the vision market in North America.
The day before this, on November 8, I had the chance to sit down with Shikany to discuss the market in general, including the most recent AIA report, which indicated that the North American market saw a slight decrease in Q1 of 2016. Shikany responded to my question with optimism.
"Luckily, we’ve already come out of this a bit," he said. "In Q1 and Q2, we saw a downward trend. But when I started looking back, I noticed that this has happened before, as the industry is cyclical. In 2012 it happened, which also happened to be an election year."
He added, "We expect 2018 and 2019 to be very strong years. Q3 is already looking for us, as we are seeing bigger spending from companies like Samsung and Apple, which is a good indicator for us."
Shikany began his presentation by commenting on the results of the recent election in the United States. He noted that the victory for President-elect Donald Trump might bring changes to trade policies in the U.S., but specifics are yet to come. He added that despite any policy changes, the future outlook for the vision industry is strong.
