NEW YORK—The country’s 50 largest eyewear/eyecare retailers and optometric practices achieved another new high in combined optical sales in 2012, according to Vision Monday’s exclusive and signature ranking and report on the Top 50 U.S. Optical Retailers, available here and in the May 20 print edition of Vision Monday, posted online today.

Vision care products and services sold at U.S. optical retail locations in the U.S. increased 5.8 percent from $28,624 million in 2011 to $30,287 million in 2012, as estimated by The Vision Council’s VisionWatch report, an ongoing consumer survey. Leading those sales were the county’s top 50 retailers, responsible for an aggregate $8,064.9 million portion (26.6 percent) of that total, VM estimated. With many of the Top U.S. optical retailers adding locations and reporting healthy sales increases for the calendar year 2012 and beyond, this upward sales trend promises to continue.

For the 14th consecutive year, Luxottica Retail leads the list with an estimated $2,395 million in 2012 sales for all of its U.S. optical store brands, followed by second-place Wal-Mart Stores with an estimated $1,450.8 million in 2012 sales from its Walmart Vision Centers and Sam’s Club Optical locations. Rounding out the Top 5, in the same positions as last year, are third place Visionworks of America, Inc. (formerly HVHC Retail Group ($760.1 million), fourth place National Vision ($717.5 million, estimated), and fifth place Costco Wholesale’s optical ($696 million).

In addition to ranking the top 50 optical retailers in the country by U.S. sales during calendar year 2012, this special Vision Monday report also includes an overview of these top industry players’ performance in relation to the total U.S. vision care market, snapshots of the Top 10 retailers on the list and an update on what they’re doing this year, and a closer look and ranking of the key mass merchants and warehouse clubs with a presence in the optical business.