All Article articles – Page 198
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Luxottica Takes Over The Prada License
Luxottica has a signed a 10-year licensing deal with the Prada Group for the exclusive production and distribution of frames and sunglasses under the Prada and Miu Miu brand names and bought some assets of Eyewear International Distribution (EID), Prada's 3-year-old joint venture with De Rigo, for €26.5 million, including ...
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Indo Had A Temporary Loss In 2002
INDO suffered a net consolidated loss of €8,001,000 last year, as compared to a net profit of €2,216,000 the year before, due to a variety of factors. Besides extraordinary charges of €12.6 million stemming from a court case over the severance fees of 120 Spanish employees laid off 3 years ...
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Hilco Eyes New Acquisitions Under New Owners
Two New York-based investment companies, ICV Capital Partners and Palladium Equity Partners, have taken over Hilsinger Company (Hilco) together with the management from another investment firm for an undisclosed amount. The takeover should allow the current management, led by Bob Nahmias, top pursue new acquisitions, although nothing specific seems to ...
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Cooper May Make More Acquisitions, Too
The Cooper Companies, which controls CooperVision (CVI), is selling $100 million worth of convertible senior debentures to reduce amounts drawn under its revolving credit facility and for other purposes, including possible future acquisitions. An additional $15 million may be offered if the demand is high. Carrying interest of 2.625 percent, ...
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Alain Afflelou Buys Optique Carrefour
The big French optical retail franchisor is taking over the French and Spanish networks of optical retail stores ? 68 in France and the same in Spain - which have been set up by Carrefour, the large international chain of hypermarkets. Under a deal announced last week, Alain Afflelou also ...
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Permira Takes A Big Stake In Rodenstock Along With The Management
Permira Funds, one of the leading European private equity advisors, is acquiring a 49 percent stake in the 125-year-old German company along with members of its management for a undisclosed amount. Randolf Rodenstock will continue to run and control the German group through his family holding company, Optische Werke, with ...
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Boots Consolidates Its Optical Business, Tries Out The Joint Venture Approach
Boots plc has decided on a variety of measures intended to re-position its optical stores in a higher level of the market, offering more designer frames and high-quality lenses and fewer costly in-house services like new lenses in one hour. These and other measures are expected to improve the operating ...
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Luxottica Makes Good On Loss Of Armani
While going ahead with the planned friendly takeover bid for the Australian OPSM chain for €327 million, which will end up giving Luxottica a total of 3,415 retail outlets around the world, Leonardo Del Vecchio, the group's chairman, told shareholders last week that the revenue shortfall resulting from his split ...
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Marchon Benefits From The Dollar
Growing flexibility in manufacturing and other processes should help Marchon to take better advantage than its Italian competitors from the rapidly declining value of the dollar, especially by making greater use of its new Chinese facilities. On the other hand, improved sales forecasting and production planning, combined with the use ...
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Larry Pollock Will Run Cole National
Larry Pollock has been promoted to become president and CEO of Cole National Corp., the large US optical retailer that owns a stake in Pearle Europe, following the retirement of Jeffrey A. Cole, the group's chairman and CEO. Walter Salmon, a professor of retailing at Harvard University, will become non-executive ...
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Sola Reaches A 14.8% Operating Margin
SOLA International raised its sales by 12.2 percent in North America during the 4th quarter of its fiscal year, which ended on March 31, doing much better than Essilor International in a particularly soft market, but the group's management is not sure that it will be able to keep up ...
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Optic 2000 And Atol Grow Rapidly As Well
The other two major French buying groups performed better than the market last year. Optic 2000 reports sales of e574 million for its affiliated retailers in 2002, up 11 percent from the previous year, generating revenues of e194 million for the cooperative, but the sales increase on a comparable store ...
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Fedon Recovers And Acquires The Other Half Of Its Us Subsidiary
The first quarter of 2003 marked a turnaround for Fedon after the 3.87 percent sales decline suffered in 2002. Its consolidated turnover rose in the latest period by 24.16 percent to e16.1 million compared with the first quarter of last year, confirming the improved order backlog of December 2002. However, ...
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Alain Mikli Boosts Its Management To Keep Up With Its Strong Growth
The brilliant and super-busy French eyewear designer has hired several top-notch professionals over the past few months to help sustain the continued expansion of his business and to improve the bottom line, a bit like Oliver Peoples has already done in the USA (story on this will follow shortly). ...
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Italian Attendance Cut In Half At Mido
Next year, the Milan fair will run on May 7-10. The dates should help avoid a repeat of this year's massive 33.4 percent overall slump in attendance, to a total of 25,500 person, at the world's largest eyewear show. Fear of the SARS epidemic was undoubtedly a major reason for ...
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Essilor Cannot Avoid A Hostile Bid
Essilor International, by far the biggest factor in the optical lens market, should have nothing to fear from a hostile bid on the part of a strategic investor. The only one who may have the financial muscle to attempt such a coup, Leonardo Del Vecchio of Luxottica, has already stated ...
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Safilo Launches A High-yield Bond
Safilo has launched a generous 10-year bond through a private placement to help finance the debt restructuring program decided by the Tabacchi family at the end of last year, after taking the company private. The bond is worth a total of e300 million and carries a yield of 9.6 percent ...
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Fielmann Feels He Can Export His Business Model To The Uk And Other Markets
Whatever the German government decides to do to reduce its vision care subsidies to help balance the federal budget, it should play into Fielmann's favor, leading more German citizens to look for the group's more affordable offerings. With other European governments looking at reducing their health care expenses in view ...
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The French Industry Wants To Stimulate Consumption In A Flat Market
The French market for eyewear products reportedly rose by less than 1 percent in value last year to e3,111 million, according to GFK. After an excellent 2001, sales of sunglasses dropped in France by 10 percent in volume and by 12 percent in value, representing about 7 percent of the ...
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Italy's Production Stagnates And The Sunglass Market Continues To Decline
Italy's sunglass market is still in the doldrums, with some retailers reporting sales down by up to 30 percent for the 1st quarter of the year. Many Italian suppliers and retailers are compensating with stronger efforts in prescription eyewear, which is less fashion-related and less prone to the risks of ...
