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NEW YORK—The Top 50 U.S. optical retailers achieved record sales of over $11 billion for calendar year 2014, according to Vision Monday’s estimates. The numbers reflect, in part, a good sales performance for most of the year. The estimates and movements on the VM Top 50 chart also reflect an influx of private equity capital that propelled several leading eyewear and eyecare groups forward either through the facilitation of organic growth or via a new wave of consolidation which propelled the acquisition of multi-location groups and the addition of existing single-location practices.

Many of those in the Top 10 experienced the most substantial growth among those in the Top 50 overall, with Vision Source adding 226 new franchisees/member locations, Wal-Mart Stores expanding by 80 Walmart Vision Centers and 28 Sam’s Club Opticals for a total of 108 new locations, National Vision growing by a total of 47 new locations comprised of 37 America’s Best and 10 Eyeglass Worlds, and Visionworks adding 33 locations, all under one name.

Appearing for the first time in the Top 10 from its spot at number 13 last year, MyEyeDr experienced a dramatic increase in its number of locations, from 64 to 139, adding 75 stores and locations through acquisition. MyEyeDr added 45 locations in North Carolina alone with the acquisitions of 18 corporate Doctors Vision Centers and 27 Eye Care Associates locations.

Among the rest of the Top 50, Luxury Optical Holdings added 10 high-end optical boutiques with the high-profile acquisition of eight Robert Marc Eyewear locations, among others, and Partners in Vision increased its number of leased optical departments in ophthalmology offices by 22 locations.

A couple of companies entered the chart for the first time—HW Holdings at the 33rd spot with $25.5 million in sales and WCE, which bought Co/Op Optical out of bankruptcy in 2012 and appears on the chart this year in 50th place with $6.45 million in sales.

Conspicuously absent from this year’s Top 50 rankings is American Optical Services (AOS), whose infamous bankruptcy last year left the company closing or auctioning off the locations it had been aggressively acquiring over the past few years. Some auctioned locations ended up under the ownership of other optical retailers in this year’s Top 50. For example, 14th place Emerging Vision acquired one The Artful Eye practice in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., and nine The Eye Gallery locations, seven in Atlanta and two in Panama City, Fla. Wisconsin Vision purchased two Indiana-based Optiview locations out of the AOS bankruptcy.

Nationwide Vision, in the 24th position last year and a sizeable player in prior years, left the chart because of its acquisition by Refac Optical Group. Next year, the same will happen to Thoma & Sutton and Eye Care Associates, acquired near the end of 2014 by Clarkson Eyecare and MyEyeDr, respectively.

jsailer@jobson.com