All Article articles – Page 107
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Safilens builds up its European sales network
Safilens, the Italian contact lens company acquired by a pharmaceutical group in Rome two years ago, is working on processes that will allow its lenses to release vitamins and actual drugs into the eye. It is particularly keen on developing a process for the release of a beta blocker that ...
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CVC Capital Partners buys Synsam Nordic
Synsam Nordic A/S, the largest optical retailing group in the Nordic countries, is being acquired by equity funds advised by CVC Capital Partners, the big international investment group based in London. The takeover is subject to the approval of regulatory authorities. Joakim Forsell, who is staying on as chief executive ...
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Safilo will focus on Polaroid, repositioning Carrera
Seriously hurt by the loss of the Armani licenses, Safilo confirmed plans to significantly develop its proprietary brands, which represent about 20 percent of its total sales, but the focus seems to have shifted to the recently acquired Polaroid brand, which benefits from a strong image, from Carrera, which will ...
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Sover’s team makes a comeback under a new name
As we have previously reported, Sover has been insolvent for some time. The Italian company is set to reach an agreement to settle its debts with creditors on April 10. Meanwhile, the Italian producer of prescription frames and sunglasses is returning to the market under a new name, Sover Eyesweb.Its ...
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U.K. optical sector recovers but competition remains intense
Demand for optical goods in the U.K. was up 2.6 percent in 2013 on the previous year despite strong competition between retailers, according to Mintel. In its latest study on optical goods retailing in the U.K., released last month. The British marketing research firm says that U.K. consumers spent £2.82 ...
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CooperVision grows twice as fast as the market
The global market for soft contact lenses grew by 5 percent in constant currencies in 2013, according to the Contact Lens Institute, reaching a level of $7.5 billion. CooperVision rose by 11 percent for the calendar year, driven by its toric and multifocal lines of products and by its Biofinity ...
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Italian start-ups counter the crisis
The recession in Italy is producing more than just bankruptcies and shutdowns. In the eyewear sector, there are some local contract manufacturers that have gone out of business and then come back to the market with new products and new business plans, often using the “made in Italy” label as ...
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Marchon marches on at a double digit
Wearing a Google Glass shield, Claudio Gottardi, president and chief executive of Marchon Eyewear, told a small group of journalists during the Mido show in Milan that the company is expected to raise its sales by between 13 and 14 percent this year, or roughly at the same pace as ...
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Hal’s optical stores raise sales and earnings
Hal Holding, the biggest player in the optical retail sector in Europe, with a presence also in other parts of the world through GrandVision and other operations, announced yesterday a 4.8 percent increase to €2,531 million in the revenues generated in 2013 by the optical retail companies that it controls.Their ...
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Luxottica will work with Google on smart eyewear
Luxottica and Google announced earlier this week a partnership for the design, development and distribution of spectacles for Google Glass that will involve the popular Ray-Ban and Oakley brands, using also Luxottica's retail and wholesale distribution channels once Glass will become more widely available.Google Glass is still in a beta ...
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Silvian Heach launches eyewear outside its fashion stores
This respectable Italian fashion brand launched its first line of eyewear at Mido in Milan, developed in-house, presenting 19 styles of prescription frames and nine sunglasses for women, designed by Paolo Seminara and made in Italy.The brand, founded in 2002 and owned by a Neapolitan group, Arav Fashion, run by ...
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The new face of La/Es: new marketing for laminates
After a long period of relatively quiet management, this Italian specialist for plastic laminates for eyewear has decided to boost its business in the international market. La/Es is regarded as the second-largest producer of laminates for eyewear in the medium and top segments of the market. A spokesman estimates that ...
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Vuarnet pushes its RX program to new heights
Vuarnet has launched a unique polarized mineral sunlens, the Polarlynx PX1000, to go with its sunglasses, including those with a nine-base curve. It is a progressive lens that can be surfaced in the back with free-form technology as part of a new RX program by the French company, which is ...
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At least two high-end readers specialists are doing well
See Concept is a three-year-old French start-up that has chosen to specialize in the development of top-end reading glasses, offering specially designed plastic-injected frames in a variety of bright and visible colors, retailing at between €25 and €30 a pair.In contrast with the readers sold in supermarkets, tobacco stores or ...
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GfK estimates European growth of 0.2% in 2013
Sales of ophthalmic optic products rose by 0.2 percent in 2013 to €15.2 billion in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, according to the research group. The amount is based on retail prices, including value-added tax and discounts.France represented 37.0 percent of the combined four-nation optics market, Germany 33.0 percent, Italy ...
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Essilor’s earnings grow by 1.5%
The stock-market value of Essilor International declined by 3.2 percent after the group reported yesterday an increase in net earnings of 1.6 percent to €593 million in 2013 on 1.5 percent higher revenues of €5,065 million. Earnings per share rose by only 0.6 percent but went up by 3.5 percent ...
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Luxottica sees 15-25% annual sales increase in emerging markets
Luxottica expects its sales to increase by an annual average rate of 15-25 percent over the next three years in emerging markets, where its operating margins are seen improving by about 5.0 percentage points over the period. The number of company-owned stores in these markets should rise to about 2,000 ...
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Luxottica sees 2014 sales up by a high single digit
Luxottica expects 2014 sales to grow at a high single-digit rate at constant currencies, with operating and net income increasing at double the pace of the top line. The group is expected to continue reducing its gearing, which, barring any significant acquisition, will see net debt representing 0.75 times gross ...
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Europe could surprise again in 2014
Luxottica anticipates that its wholesale revenues will rise this year in constant currencies by between 7 and 9 percent in North America, by 4-6 percent in Western Europe and by 16-20 percent in emerging markets. The company's chief executive, Andrea Guerra, stressed that Western Europe “could be another surprise” this ...
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The global eyewear market should grow by 30% in 5 years
The annual volume of the global eyewear market is expected to grow by about 30 percent in the next five years from about 900 million frames currently to 1.2 billion frames, roughly divided between developed and emerging markets, according to data released by Luxottica based on Euromonitor and its own ...
