Scores of optical shops in Jeddah and the rest of the Kingdom are facing a big challenge, as most sales jobs in the field will be reserved for Saudi nationals effective from next week. Optical shops are among the sectors where 70% Saudisation has been made mandatory. There are approximately 6,000 optical shops in the Kingdom, and most of them deal in prescription glasses and contact lenses. When the Saudisation rule takes effect, it will be challenging mainly for the small- and medium-scale shops. In the run-up to the implementation of the Saudisation rule, most of these shops have been selling eyeglasses, notably sunglasses, at discounted prices in order to clear their inventories before possible closure. The Kingdom is the largest optical market in the Middle East. In 2017, Saudi Arabia imported 3.8mn eyeglasses with a total value of over SR152mn.