News
Conclusion of a strategic partnership with Sigo
for selling disposable contact lenses in the Chinese market
(Photo from left) Shunsuke Yamagishi, the General Manager of China Business, Menicon/Kenji Takeshita, the Director of International Business Headquarters, Menicon/Koji Kawaura, the President and COO, Menicon/Harold Liu, the General Manager of Sigo/Jiatao Tang, the Vice General Manager of Sigo/Zhuqing Nie, the Purchasing Director of Sigo
Menicon Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: 21-19, Aoi 3, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Japan; President and COO: Koji Kawaura) announced that on November 6, 2024, it entered into a strategic partnership with Nanjing Sigo Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Building 8, 104, Shimenkan, Qinhuai, Nanjing, China; hereinafter referred to as Sigo) headquartered in Nanjing, China to sell disposable contact lenses in China.
The disposable contact lens-related market in China has continued to grow by approximately 400 billion yen in 2023, or 114% year-on-year. In such market, Sigo is an e-commerce company, established in 2008, that specializes in the sale of contact lens-related products. Their sales have continued to grow by an average of 48% per year over the last five years. As an online distributor specializing in contact lenses, they have achieved the largest sales and have strengths in the customer base they hold and their original marketing know-how.
Sigo, which continues to grow in China, entered into a partnership with Menicon because it appreciates Menicon’s brand image such as Japanese quality, high product development capabilities, and more than 70 years of history.
Menicon has been selling disposable contact lenses through the group company in China using product appeals such as "SMART TOUCH," which enables users to easily and hygienically remove a lens from a case without touching the inner lens surface. With this partnership, we aim to strengthen the online sales capabilities for disposable contact lenses, which has been growing in the Chinese market, by taking advantage of marketing know-how - the strength of Sigo - and the product power - the strength of Menicon.
Menicon has a high market share in orthokeratology lenses and care products in the Chinese contact lenses market. By strengthening the sales capabilities for disposable contact lenses through this partnership, we will not only sell orthokeratology lenses and care products, but also promote the use of disposable contact lenses. When the children using Menicon products start orthokeratology in the future, they will choose familiar Menicon products again. This is what we aim for in making a long-term LTV.
At a ceremony held in Shanghai, China, Menicon and Sigo once again confirmed each other that both companies build a cooperation system toward the realization of Menicon's corporate slogan, "Broadly contribute to society through providing better vision."
In addition to Menicon’s manufacturing bases for disposable contact lenses, such as Kakamigahara Factory and Seki Factory in Japan and the factory in Singapore, we are currently preparing to open a Malaysian factory, which will be the largest factory of Menicon (to be operational in the second half of the fiscal year ending March 2026). With the conclusion of this strategic partnership, we aim for further growth of disposable contact lenses in Menicon’s overseas markets.
■Sigo website: https://www.vsigo.cn/