About five years ago, the outlook on the optical industry was looking good. In most cases, statistics showed market growth from 1997 to 1998: retail eyewear sales jumped 2.6%, from $15.4 to $15.8 billion; the average price for eyewear rose 7.4%; and sunwear units sold (sunglasses, etc.) rose 8.6%, from 290 million to 315 million. […]

The fashion industry employs about 4.70 million people; 3.6 million in retail sales, 470,000 in textile production and 573,000 in apparel production. New York has been the nations fashion capital, employing an average of 100,000 New Yorkers every year.
The entire retail industry itself is responsible for 11.6 % of all U.S. employment with almost […]