All Article articles – Page 2
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ArticleRokid’s new AR glasses incorporate a payment system
On June 17, Rokid released its Rokid Glasses, the augmented-reality (AR) smart glasses we covered back in January, but the company has added a feature for customers in China: a payment system. The roll-out is scheduled for June, and more than 250,000 units are on order. The manufacturer’s suggested retail ...
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ArticleAfflelou Group Q3 sales up 5.7%, driven by France
Afflelou Group external sales rose by 5.7 percent year-on-year to €242.4 million in Q3, accelerating from the previous quarter (+3.3 percent), with the group’s French business accounting for approximately three-fourths of additional sales. On a like-for-like basis, total Q3 external sales were up by 3.8 percent versus 2023. For the ...
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ArticleE-commerce software group enters the DACH optical retail market
The Platform Group (TPG), a stock-listed software company based in Düsseldorf, Germany, has announced its entry into the optical and hearing aid market with the acquisition of two local optical retail groups. The investment is the first step in TPG’s long-term strategy to build an omnichannel business in the German-speaking ...
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ArticleArts Optical reports flattish ODM sales in H2, expects 'very tough' US business in 2025
Eyewear manufacturer Arts Optical has reported a 7.2 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to 1,282 million Hong Kong dollars (€143m) in fiscal 2024, in line with its H1 sales performance. As shown in the table below, sales of the company’s ODM division, which accounts for 68 percent of total revenue, ...
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ArticleSnap to make second entry into consumer market for smart glasses
Snap has a new pair of smart glasses, called Specs, designed for street use and slated for release next year. CEO Evan Spiegel spoke of it, as TechCrunch reports, at the latest edition of the Augmented World Expo (AWE), held on June 10-12 in Long Beach, California. Spiegel neither showed ...
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ArticleGerman optical market up on sales mix and inflation as volumes inch further down
The value of the German optical market grew by 3.0 percent year on year to €6,975 million including VAT in 2024, according to the annual report of the Zentralverband der Augenoptiker und Optometristen (ZVA), the German association of opticians and optometrists. We are covering in this article some selected data ...
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ArticleKering Eyewear acquires Lenti from Safilo
Kering Eyewear is adding another layer to its vertical integration with the acquisition of Lenti, the Italian manufacturer of sunglass lenses that has been part of the Safilo Group since 1996. The companies did not disclose financial details about the agreement. Employing approximately 100 people and located in Bergamo, Italy, ...
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ArticleDEG takes over MENRAD’s house brand and three license deals
Design Eyewear Group is acquiring the MENRAD brand as part of the German eyewear group’s “unfortunate insolvency,” announced at the end of last month. The Danish-based group is also taking over three license agreements that MENRAD had with the Jaguar, JOOP! and Morgan brands. The four brands, for ...
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ArticleEssilorLuxottica keeps retail expansion focus on APAC with new acquisition
Malaysian acquisition to add 90 stores to regional retail footprint. Asia-Pacific accounted for 80 percent of new store openings by the group in the last two years.
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ArticleZEISS Vision Care enters ortho-k category with acquisition in Asia
ZEISS Vision Care has announced that it has agreed to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Brigthen Optix, a Taiwanese-based contact lens manufacturer listed on the Taipei stock exchange and focusing on orthekeratology contact lenses. ZEISS said that the acquisition, which is expected to be completed in early 2026, ...
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ArticleAn advance in electric contact lenses?
Xpanceo presented two prototypes for electronic contact lenses at the latest GITEX Asia show, held in Singapore on April 23-25, where the tech firm was making its debut. One was a charging system, whose wireless power transfer (WPT) delivers “twice the range of existing solutions of similar size,” according to ...
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ArticleAKN Group acquires Götti and Eyetech
AKN Group, formerly known as Akoni Group, has announced the acquisition of eyewear designer brand Götti. This investment, which also encompasses Eyetech, a Swiss-based lens maker, marks the first M&A operation for the luxury eyewear group whose portfolio already includes Akoni, a house brand made in Japan, and Valentino and ...
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ArticleEssilorLuxottica enters eye surgery field with new med-tech acquisition
EssilorLuxottica has announced the acquisition of Optegra, an international group supplying eye surgeries and other eye care treatments, from MidEuropa, a private equity firm that acquired the business at the end of 2022. The announcement follows a comment made a few weeks ago at EssilorLuxottica’s annual general assembly by Francesco ...
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ArticleAerial Vision invests in 'plug-and-play' eyewear e-commerce startup
GoHub, an Israeli-based tech startup aiming to open the online optical market to more retail players, is joining forces with AVI. The tech-and-logistics partnership is boosting GoHub’s offering and reach.
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ArticleCooperVision downgrades revenue outlook for fiscal 2025 as CL market slows down
CooperCompanies has downgraded its revenue forecast for its CooperVision (CVI) unit in its current fiscal year ending Oct. 31, adjusting to the deceleration of the global contact lens market. Contact lens sales for the full year are now forecast to grow by between 6 percent and 7 percent organically to ...
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ArticleMenrad Germany to close after over 125 years of business
Insolvency proceedings for the assets of Ferdinand Menrad GmbH + Go. KG started at the end of May, appointed administrator PLUTA Rechtanwalts announced in a press release yesterday, adding that it was currently in negotiations with several companies that have expressed interest in Menrad’s trademark rights and, in one case, ...
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ArticleMitsui: firm demand for high-index lens material to keep driving vision care sales in FY25/26
Mitsui Chemicals has reported an 8.8 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to 295.8 billion Japanese yen (€1.8bn) at its Life & Healthcare division for the 2024/25 year ended March 31, roughly in line with its growth pace in the first nine months. The sales uptick was driven mostly by increased ...
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ArticleZEISS Vision Care sales decelerate in H1 as key markets come under pressure
“ZEISS too is feeling the effects of the weaker global economic situation and increasing uncertainty in the markets,” said Andreas Pecher, the recently appointed President and CEO, in his comments on the group’s financial results for the first half of fiscal 2024/25. While the general performance remained positive with total ...
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ArticleItaly’s centuries-long eyewear tradition on display in Venice
The first eyeglasses were invented in Italy in the late 13th century and were rudimentary objects, consisting of two convex lenses held together by a rivet and mounted in frames made of wood, leather or bone. They were used to correct presbyopia and lacked the temples that are now a ...
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ArticleHakim Group gets more private equity support
Hakim Group, a leading player in the UK and Ireland’s optical distribution channel, has announced that ICG, a global private equity firm with over $110 billion in managed assets, was joining the business as an additional investment partner. The raised funds, the amount of which was not disclosed, will support ...
