NEW YORK—The year 2021 for the optical sector was not unlike a rollercoaster ride in some ways, with a series of ups and downs and quick turns, as the nation experienced an uneven recovery from COVID-19. But the optical business did bounce back in 2021, and after this second consecutive extraordinary business year, Vision Monday will be publishing its signature Annual Top 50 U.S. Optical Retailers Report in its upcoming June print/digital edition. A link to the survey is posted here.

All survey forms must be submitted no later than Wednesday, May 25, to be considered for the Special Report. The optical industry's leading news platform is kicking off this annual survey among regional and national retailers today for the signature report, which collates and presents sales and operations data for the calendar year ending Dec. 31, 2021.

"The 2022 VM Top 50 U.S. Optical Retailers report will highlight estimated sales in calendar year 2021, when much of the optical business was still emerging from the initial 2020 pandemic closures and a return to more consistent in-person business," said Marge Axelrad, SVP/editorial director of VM.

"Of course, the impact of the pandemic continues to echo throughout the country. Our goal, as always, is for the exclusive VM Top 50 report to help people get a perspective about how those businesses fared 2021 in light of the total U.S. industry's sales—and to help people put that information into context as they plan for this year and the years ahead."

Added Mark Tosh, VM's senior editor, "Once again, Vision Monday is looking forward to compiling the information and data from across the optical industry to put together this much-anticipated annual report. It’s critically important that we collect this information directly from as many optical retailers as possible in order to provide the most comprehensive and accurate report on the current state of optical retail.”

In addition, the 2022 survey has been updated and streamlined to focus in on key business metrics and areas of operations that provide an all-inclusive view of 2021 for optical. We have modified some questions and added new ones, and we believe that this will provide a truer picture of the optical business overall for last year. All of this is important for those companies who rely on and mine the VM Top 50 report as they create a strategy for future years.

Past Top 50 Retailer companies and other retail and professional practice groups around the U.S. are invited to take part in the survey.