All Article articles – Page 185

  • Article

    Hoya Posts A 20.1% Operating Margin In Vision Care

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    The high operating margin (Ebit) reached by Hoya's vision care division in the 3rd quarter ended last Dec. 31 compares with a margin of 18.1 percent in the same period a year ago. It came in spite of a 3.5 percent decline in the segment's revenues to 23.8 billion yen ...

  • Article

    Highmark Completes Viva's Acquisition

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    Highmark has completed its acquisition of Viva International Group for an undisclosed amount. Viva International distributes designer eyewear collections including Guess?, Tommy Hilfiger, Gant, Candie's, Harley-Davidson and Catherine Deneuve, and will begin distributing De Rigo's Furla, Fila, Etro, Givenchy, Escada and Ermenegildo Zegna eyewear in North America this year. ...

  • Article

    Alain Afflelou Makes Progress

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    Apax Partners, the investment fund which backed Alain Afflelou's costly acquisition of Carrefour's optical retail operations in France and Spain, has sold a 5.97 percent stake in France's largest franchisor on the open market. Meanwhile, Afflelou reports a 3.0 percent decline to €10.6 million in net profit after goodwill amortization ...

  • Article

    Luxottica Sees Growth Potential Ahead

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    Luxottica is going to produce more outside Italy and explore expansion opportunities in high-growth markets such as China and Russia under the management of Andrea Guerra, the company's new CEO, who addressed analysts a few days ago in presenting excellent results for the company in 2004. However, strong sales growth ...

  • Article

    Moulin's Private Placement Fails, But Ecca's Purchase Should Go Ahead

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    Despite the failure of a HK$520 million (€51.2m-$66.7m) share placement early this month, Moulin International says it can carry out the $450 million purchase of 56 percent of the Eye Care Centers of America retail chain in the USA by using bank borrowings and cash reserves. The deal should be ...

  • Article

    Sola Turns Around, Plans A New Launch

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    Reporting on its quarterly financial performance ahead of a Feb. 28 shareholders' meeting that will decide on its proposed merger with the eyewear division of Carl Zeiss, SOLA International says its sales grew by 2.4 percent to $163.1 million for its 3rd fiscal quarter ended last Dec. 31, 2004, as ...

  • Article

    Bausch & Lomb Improves Results

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    Fourth-quarter sales at Bausch & Lomb were $606.6 million, representing increases over the year-ago period of 10 percent in dollars and 7 percent in local currencies. Gains were reported in every product and geographic market category except for an anticipated decline in sales from refractive surgery products in the Americas. ...

  • Article

    Kaenon Comes To Europe

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    Kaenon Polarized has signed an exclusive sales, marketing and distribution deal with a French company, Akenao, for the countries belonging to the European Union with the exception of the UK which is being handled by a separate distributor. Akenao is a company set up and run by Eric Ly-Ky, who ...

  • Article

    De Rigo's Retail Operations Continue To Develop Well

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    De Rigo has reported net sales of €514.4 million for 2004, an increase of 1.9 percent as compared to the previous year, but they rose by only 1.0 percent in terms of local currencies due to the strength of the British pound sterling. On the other hand, they were up ...

  • Article

    The Marcolin And Della Valle Families Will Not Make A New Tender Offer

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    The tender offer launched for Marcolin SpA at €1.4 a share by the Marcolin and Della Valle families collected only 7,830,550 shares, or 37.2 percent of those available for purchase until the bid's expiry date of Feb. 11, short of the 46 percent quota that is not in their hands. ...

  • Article

    Spy Optic's Distribution Evolves In France And Italy

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    Both markets were previously handled by distributors. Spy Optic, which already had a European sales and distribution center in Italy, set up a sales subsidiary in the country on Jan. 1 to handle directly its sales in Italy as well as France in order to boost sales and add new ...

  • Article

    Good Prelude For Vision Expo East

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    The International Vision Expo fair scheduled for March 10-13 in New York, which will group more than 550 exhibitors from the USA and abroad, is going to take place against the backdrop of an apparent increase in US consumption of sunglasses and other eyewear products, at least in terms of ...

  • Article

    Electronics Lift Oakley's Revenues

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    Oakley has reported net income of $41,550,000 for the 2004 financial year, up 9 percent. Revenues increased by 10.9 percent to $585.47 million. Domestic sales rose by 58 percent to $62.1 million, including a 15 percent increase in sales to Sunglass Hut and a 66 percent increase in sales to ...

  • Article

    Superlight Glasses From Venice

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    A young Italian firm by the name of ArteVedo, established in 2000 by a Venetian optician, Roberto Carlon, is doing extremely well with its concept of superlight eyewear called Micromega, patented for Europe, China and the USA. The glasses are almost entirely handcrafted, with beta titanium frames and no soldering ...

  • Article

    Rodenstock Raises Its Market Share And Launches New Products

    2005-02-21T00:00:00Z

    Rodenstock claims that its market shares increased in both lenses and frames in the depressed German market last year and says its sales rose substantially in all the major foreign markets, particularly in Eastern Europe and the Far East. Total revenues in the core sector of ?spectacles? reached €386 million ...

  • Article

    Essilor's Sales Rose By 10.4% In 2004

    2005-01-27T00:00:00Z

    Essilor International reported yesterday a 6.7 percent increase in consolidated sales for last year to €2,258.6 million, but pointed out that they would have increased by 10.4 percent if the dollar and other currencies had staid the same. That's much better than the 9 percent growth forecast made last March, ...

  • Article

    Management Changes At Cooper After Ocular Merger

    2005-01-27T00:00:00Z

    The world's third largest contact lens group has been created with the acquisition of Ocular Sciences for $1.2 billion by The Cooper Companies, the parent of Cooper Vision, following the long-awaited approval of the transaction by the US Federal Trade Commission. With the completion of the merger deal, which took ...

  • Article

    Strong Growth In Luxottica's Share Price Amid New Rumors On Its Ownership

    2005-01-27T00:00:00Z

    Luxottica has had a decidedly bullish run on the Milan Bourse since the beginning of the year, due in part to the dollar and to a new spate of rumors about the management's future financial role, which has been denied. From the end of 2004 the Italian group's share price ...

  • Article

    Fiorucci Awards A European License To Eyeconcept

    2005-01-27T00:00:00Z

    EyeConcept, the brand division of Hong Kong-based Arts Optical, has obtained the rights to extend its license for Fiorucci eyewear to Europe. It's a significant comeback for the brand, which has been described as the first Italian fashion brand to have signed an eyewear license back in 1978 with Metalflex, ...

  • Article

    Two New Brands For De Rigo: Jean-paul Gaultier And Ermenegildo Zegna

    2005-01-27T00:00:00Z

    De Rigo has come up trumps to replace the Fendi license, which it lost to Marchon when the agreement expired in December 2004. After taking on the important Escada and Chopard licenses, Europe's third largest eyewear producer has signed worldwide licensing agreements with two top names in fashion ? Ermenegildo ...