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Views: 0 Author: Matt Publish Time: 2026-10-17 Origin: Site
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Search for a Chinese glasses company and you will find very different businesses under the same label: nationwide optical chains, century-old shops, global retail groups with branches in China, and factories that supply frames and lenses to others. For wholesalers and optical retailers, understanding which is which is the first step to making sense of the Chinese eyewear market.
This guide introduces ten notable eyewear companies operating in China, explains their main businesses, and then looks at where eyewear is actually manufactured. The list is not a ranking. It is a map of the landscape, based on publicly available information, and details such as store numbers change often.
When people talk about Chinese eyewear brands, they often mean the names on shop signs. But a brand is only one part of the picture. A company may run shops, own several brands, sell other companies' frames, make its own products or do all of these.
Broadly, Chinese eyeglass companies fall into five types:
• Retail chains. They run large networks of optical shops that offer eye testing, fitting and frames. Many own several store brands and sell private-label as well as third-party products.
• Heritage brands. Long-established shops that built trust over generations and later expanded.
• International players. Large foreign eyewear groups and retail brands that operate shops in China.
• Manufacturers. Factories that make frames, lenses or both, often for other brands and retailers.
• Wholesalers and distributors. Companies that distribute frames and lenses to shops.
The ten companies below are mainly retailers and international players. They matter to wholesalers because they show how the Chinese market buys eyewear.
The companies are grouped by type and are not ranked. Facts come from company filings and public profiles, and figures such as store counts are only given where we could verify them.
Domestic optical chains and heritage names
1. Doctor Glasses (Doctorglasses Chain). Founded in 1993 and based in Shenzhen, it listed on the ChiNext board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on March 15, 2017. It is an eyewear retailer selling optical glasses, sunglasses, reading glasses, contact lenses and smart glasses, with eye examination, fitting and after-sales services, online and offline. It operates several retail brands, including President optical and ShiRenGong, and reported 557 stores nationwide at the end of 2024.
2. Baodao Glasses. Baodao is a chain with Taiwan origins, with a brand history dating back to 1972. It began operating in mainland China in 1997 and today forms the retail channel of Star Vision (China) Group. Public profiles describe a chain of around a thousand or more stores across about a hundred cities, though numbers vary by source and date. The brand has talked about shifting toward eye-care health services. Baodao is a frequent search term, and most searchers are looking for the retail chain, not a frame supplier.
3. Daming Glasses. Daming is a long-established optical chain from Beijing, known for its professional fitting reputation. Public profiles describe it as one of China's veteran eyewear retailers. Details such as exact history and store numbers should be confirmed from the company directly.
4. GBV (Daguangming Glasses). Public profiles describe GBV as a large chain operating in China with group management, over five hundred stores and a one-stop fitting service. It is operated by a Zhejiang-based company and was founded in 1986 according to public listings.
5. Wuliangcai Glasses. One of China's best-known heritage optical names, Wuliangcai traces its roots to 1719 and is operated by Shanghai Sanlian Group. Its long history gives it strong name recognition in Shanghai and beyond.
6. Jinggong Glasses. Founded in 1989, Jinggong is a large chain with more than a thousand stores according to public listings. Its model combines optometry, fitting, retail and its own product lines alongside third-party brands.
7. Maochang Glasses. Maochang is a Hong Kong optical chain with stores in busy districts, offering eye care and fitting services. As with other entries, confirm current details directly with the company.
8. Qianye Glasses. Qianye (千叶) is a retail chain founded in 1992, with over three hundred stores according to public listings, focused on professional optometry and fitting. Note that it is sometimes written with a different romanization, which can cause confusion in English-language sources.
International eyewear companies operating in China
9. LensCrafters. LensCrafters is an optical retail chain founded in 1983 in the United States by E. Dean Butler. It is part of EssilorLuxottica, the eyewear group that also owns many well-known eyewear brands. At the end of 2018, Luxottica reported 108 LensCrafters stores across Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and India combined, so it is best seen as part of a wider regional network and not as a large China-only chain.
10. JINS. JINS is a Japanese eyewear retailer and brand with a fashion-oriented, in-house frame range. It operates stores and online channels in China, and its model of designing and selling its own frames is worth watching because it shows how vertically integrated eyewear retail works. Check current store numbers directly with the company.
Retail chains sell glasses. They are not usually the places where glasses are made. Buyers searching for glasses manufacturers in China or eyewear manufacturers in China are usually looking for factories, and those sit in a different part of the industry.
Industry sources describe several production regions. Danyang in Jiangsu is often called a center of Chinese eyewear and is especially associated with lens production, with a full cluster of material suppliers, lens makers and frame makers. Wenzhou in Zhejiang and Shenzhen in Guangdong are also frequently named as important production bases. These are commonly cited rather than exact measurements, and the situation changes over time.
Frame factories in these regions work with materials such as acetate, metal, injection-molded plastic and titanium, and many supply private-label and branded frames to retailers and wholesalers around the world. In practice, the Chinese glasses company that matters to a wholesaler is usually a manufacturer or supplier, not a retail chain.
• Service-led retail. Many Chinese chains combine eye testing, fitting and frames. Customers value the service as much as the product, so frames need to fit well and be easy to adjust.
• Own-label demand. Large chains often sell their own labels alongside third-party brands, which creates demand for consistent, well-made frames from suppliers.
• Mix of price points. Retail chains work across a wide range of price positions. Dependable mid-range frames in classic styles are always needed.
• Omnichannel selling. Online and offline sales run side by side. Frames that photograph well and fit reliably help both.
• Trust and reputation. Heritage names rely on trust built over time. Consistency and after-sales care matter more than novelty.
If you sell to independent shops that compete with these chains, these points suggest where you can differentiate: distinctive styles, reliable sizing, quick replenishment and honest advice.
Many online lists present a Top 10 of Chinese eyewear companies without explaining how the ranking was made. Some rank by store count, some by history, some by brand awareness, and some are simply copied from older pages. Store numbers in particular go out of date quickly, and a company that was one of the largest a few years ago may have changed its model since.
A more useful approach is to read lists as a way to learn names and business types, then check the current situation directly. Look at the company's own filings or website, note the date of any figure and be cautious with claims such as most famous or number one that do not say who decided.
Whether you are looking at a retailer you might supply or a factory you might buy from, a few checks help:
• What does it actually do? Is it a retailer, a brand, a distributor or a manufacturer? Ask directly.
• Material clarity. Does it name materials clearly, such as acetate, TR90, stainless steel or titanium?
• Sample quality. Request samples and check hinge feel, polish and fit.
• Quality control and after-sales. Ask how frames are inspected and how problems are handled.
• Batch consistency. Compare a second batch with the first.
• Verification. Check what you can confirm independently, such as business registration or listings.
Public rankings and lists, including this one, are a starting point. Confirm the details that matter to your order directly with the company.
Retail chains and independent shops all need dependable frames. IU Eyewear supplies glasses frames to wholesalers and optical retailers, and you can judge the range through samples and its catalog. If you are looking for a supplier instead of a retail chain, it is the kind of company that sits on the supply side of the market.
The phrase Chinese glasses company covers retail chains, heritage names, international groups and factories. Knowing which type you are looking at tells you what to expect, who to contact and how to compare. For most wholesalers, the businesses that matter are the suppliers and manufacturers behind the shop signs, and the quality checks that apply to them.
To see what a supplier can offer your shop, explore wholesale glasses frames from IU Eyewear.
To view styles and materials, download our wholesale glasses frames catalog.
For questions about samples or sourcing, contact IU Eyewear and our team will be glad to help.
