NEW YORK—The country’s 50 largest eyewear/eyecare retailers and optometric practices achieved another new high in combined optical sales in 2011, according to Vision Monday’s exclusive listing of the Top 50 U.S. Optical Retailers, available here and in the May 14 print edition of Vision Monday, posted online today. Together, this year’s top 50 retailers generated estimated sales of $7,939.1 million in calendar year 2011, representing 27.9 percent of last year’s total $28,430 million U.S. vision care market revenues through optical channels, as estimated by The Vision Council’s VisionWatch, an ongoing consumer survey.

For the 13th consecutive year, Luxottica Retail leads the list with an estimated $2,520 million in 2011 sales, followed by second-place Wal-Mart Stores with an estimated $1,506.7 million in 2011 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 HVHC Retail Group ($729.2 million), fourth place National Vision ($685 million, estimated), and fifth place Costco Wholesale ($628 million). The only newcomer to the Top 10 is Texas State Optical, whose “independent network affiliates” generated an estimated $98.3 million in sales for 2011. The report ranks company’s U.S.-only revenues.

In addition to ranking the top 50 optical retailers in the country by U.S. sales during calendar year 2011, 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.