Latest News Briefs
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News briefs
Marcolin preliminary annual results show slight revenue hike, margin improvements
Marcolin revenue inched up by 2.0 percent year-on-year to €558 million in 2023, the group announced in a preliminary communication ahead of its shareholder meeting at the end of next week. Based on previously released figures for the first nine months of the year, we understand that sales in Q4 ...
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News briefs
French Optique Lafayette plans to triple retail footprint by 2028
Optique Lafayette, a French optical retail chain with 48 stores at the end of 2023, has announced plans to open 20 new locations this year and grow its network to a total of 150 shops in the next five years. The company is also introducing a teleophthalmology service at its ...
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News briefs
French association releases new poll results on kids eye health
AsnaV, whose acronym stands for “association for eyesight improvement” in French, and research company OpinionWay have published the results on an opinion poll focusing on the eye health of children under 12 years old in France. Based on online questionnaires filled by 1,302 people including 473 parents, the survey showed ...
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News briefs
WCO launches global framework for optometry competencies, partners with Essiluxottica on presbyopia
The World Council of Optometry (WCO) is introducing its Competency Framework for Optometry, a new resource aimed at harmonizing the optometry profession and enhancing optometrics education globally. Aligned on the World Health Organization Eye Care Competency Framework (ECCF), the framework outlines the competencies expected from optometry graduates in five different ...
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News briefs
CECOP expands German footprint
CECOP, the Spanish-based buying group, is expanding its presence in Germany with the acquisition of Macoma, a German buying group boasting over 200 members and headquartered in Bavaria. It is the third acquisition of a German buying group by CECOP in recent years following investments in Optic Society (2022) and ...
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News briefs
Meta, U.S.Vision using Zenni’s IT platform
Zenni Optical has struck deals with Meta, U.S.Vision and PPG to provide “eye care solutions” through its B2B platform, Zenni Business. Zenni has in fact been working with Meta since early 2023, supplying prescription lens inserts for the Meta Quest 3 headset. U.S.Vision is using the platform for e-commerce, so ...
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News briefs
Ray-Ban partners with Lenny Kravitz for Reverse
EssilorLuxottica is partnering with Lenny Kravitz for a capsule collection of sunglasses under the Ray-Ban Reverse brand name. Launched last year by the Italo-French group, Reverse sunglasses have an inverted look, substituting a convex lens shape for the standard concave design. Frames in the capsule collection developed for the rock ...
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News briefs
Vision Expo East bids farewell to NY ahead of Florida move
Vision Expo East organizers, RX and The Vision Council, have expressed both their satisfaction about the 2024 edition of the show and their anticipation at the move of the event to Orlando, Florida, next year. “We could not be happier to close our final show in New York City on ...
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News briefs
Marcolin inaugurates NY showroon
Marcolin officially opened its new showroom in New York on March 14. Located in Manhattan, the showroom was desiged by Milan-based design studio Navone Associati and includes offices and a large space presenting Marcolin’s collections. As was the case when the company opened its showroom in Paris in November 2023, ...
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News briefs
Revo opens first store in the US, has plans for more
Following the opening of a first brick-and-mortar store in Barcelona last year, US-based sunglass brand Revo has opened a second one in New York. Located in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood, the new store displays the complete range of Revo products, also including custom prescription sunglasses, limited edition styles and collector items. ...
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News briefs
Optiswiss enters myopia management category
Optiswiss has announced the launch of SMYLE, its first myopia management lens, which was developed in partnership with Indizen Optical Technologies (IOT), following guidelines and using patents from the Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI) that licensed the technology. According to the Swiss-based lens maker presentation, SMYLE lenses combine a central ...
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News briefs
Menicon to build a new factory in Japan
Japanese-based contact lens maker Menicon has announced the acquisition of a 93,000 square-meter site in Fukui prefecture, Japan. The company will build there what will become its largest domestic production site for contact lenses and lens care products and is also considering the establishme of research and development operations related ...
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News briefs
Safilo Group and Missoni extend eyewear partnership
Safilo Group has announced the renewal until 2029 of its license agreement for the design, production and global distribution of Missoni-branded eyewear. Safilo has been partnering with the women’s luxury fashion brand since 2020 and Angelo Trocchia, CEO of the eyewear group, stressed that the Missoni eyewear collection has been ...
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News briefs
Marcolin negotiations with strategic investors reportedly hit a €1.3 billion snag
According to an article published last Saturday by the Financial Times (FT), EssilorLuxottica, Kering, Safilo and Marchon have all expressed interest in the acquisition of Marcolin, as PAI Partners is looking to sell its majority stake in the company. While EssilorLuxottica and Kering seem to be the most likely candidates ...
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News briefs
Menicon partners with Japanese universities for research on CL materials and recycling
In a double initiative aimed at researching next-generation materials for contact lenses and at recycling plastic waste generated for their distribution, Menicon has announced the creation of the Research Center for Miru Mirai (litterally “see” and “future” in Japanese) in partnership with the Tohoku University. The University of Tokyo will ...
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News briefs
EssilorLuxottica and Dolce&Gabbana eyewear partnership extended to 2039
EssilorLuxottica and Dolce&Gabbana (D&G) have announced the early renewal of their licensing agreement for the design, production and global distribution of D&G-branded prescription frames and sunglasses. Effective since Jan. 1, 2020, the current agreement was set to expire at the end of 2029, but both parties have agreed to replace ...
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News briefs
The Vision Council looks at US glasses wearers’ style preferences
US women are twice as likely as men to choose tortoise (26 percent vs. 12 percent) or multicolor frames (24 percent vs. 10 percent) when they purchase glasses. Conversely, men tend to opt more often than women for metallic frames (34 percent vs. 21 percent). These are some of the ...
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News briefs
Generational change at the helm of Charmant Group
Japanese-based Charmant Group has announced the appointment of Koji Horikawa as its new president and CEO, succeeding his father Kaoru Horikawa, founder of the company. The decision was approved at a shareholder meeting a few days ago. Koji Horikawa started working for Charmant 34 years ago and has since then ...
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News briefs
OBE acquires Italian components manufacturer
OBE Group, the German-based specialist in hinges, has announced the acquisition of OMM, a supplier of made-in-Italy metal components to high-end eyewear manufacturers. Founded in 1978 and located in the Cadore eyewear cluster in Italy, OMM currently employs 40 people. The acquisition enables OBE to add another production facility to ...
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News briefs
Serengeti Eyewear operations return to the U.S.
Bollé Brands has announced that it was moving its global Serengeti Eyewear operations from Lyon, France, to its U.S. headquarters in Carlsbad, California in order to reignite the “American soul” of the brand. The relocated global management positions include brand vision, marketing, creative and product development and will come under ...