MILAN—ANFAO, the Italian Optical Goods Manufacturers’ Association, held its General Meeting here at Palazzo Flangini last week, welcoming member companies to discuss shared objectives and future initiatives. In addition to these forward-looking announcements, ANFAO presented first quarter financial results relevant to the Italian eyewear sector, demonstrating that total Italian eyewear industry exports reached €1.34 billion during the January to March 2026 period, down 6.1 percent compared with the first quarter of 2025. Exports to the U.S. showed the sharpest decline, the group advised.
The overall slowdown across the sector was primarily driven by sunglasses, the group stated, which fell 7.6 percent, while optical frames fell 3.8 percent. The U.S. market, having accounted for nearly 30 percent of the industry’s exports in previous years, represented only approximately 12 percent of total exports in the first quarter of 2026, with optical frame exports down 22.4 percent and the combined optical frames and sunglasses segment down 33.8 percent, ANFAO said.
By contrast, Western Europe continued to perform well, the group noted. France, Germany, Spain and the U.K. continue to be strategic markets, with France remaining the industry’s second-largest export market, while Germany, Spain and the U.K. all posted positive results. In the optical frames and sunglasses segment, exports increased 6.8 percent to Germany, 3.6 percent to Spain and 3.0 percent to the United Kingdom.
Expansion into Central and Eastern Europe was also “compelling,” the group advised, with exports of optical frames and sunglasses to Poland increasing 28.6 percent. Hungary and Croatia likewise recorded positive growth. Outside Europe, Hong Kong showed what the group said was “clear signs of recovery,” with exports of optical frames and sunglasses up 15.0 percent while optical frames alone grew 26.9 percent.
Brazil also posted positive results, the group said, with a 2.5 percent increase in exports of optical frames and sunglasses, confirming continued demand for Made in Italy products across Latin America. The group noted that this was supported in part by the Mercosur partnership, a trade agreement initially reached in December 2024 and further advanced in January of this year between the European Union and Mercosur member countries Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Lorraine Berton.
Looking at the full picture, the group stated, “These figures point to an export landscape that is becoming increasingly diversified.” The group noted that while America remains strategically important for the industry, the downturn in exports to the U.S. “reinforces the need to continue diversifying international markets and strengthening the presence of Italian eyewear in high-potential markets.”
“In a world where change has become the norm, ANFAO’s role is not simply to represent companies, but to help them build the future,” said ANFAO president Lorraine Berton. “Today, competitiveness depends not only on the ability to respond to change, but on the ability to anticipate it—helping companies recognize emerging signals, create new opportunities, and build the conditions that will enable our industry to remain a leading force in international markets.”
