All Article articles – Page 208
-
Article
Italy's Production Of Sun Eyewear Grows, While Frames Suffer
The Italian eyewear industry raised its overall turnover by 8.4 percent in 2001 to e1,836 million, without including inter-company sales of e772 million, according to Anfao, the Italian eyewear industry's association. On the other hand, while sales of sunglasses grew by 25 percent, sales of regular ophthalmic frames dropped by ...
-
Article
Fedon's Profits Shoot Up
The integration of its various acquisitions in Europe and the centralization of production facilities generated a 2 percent improvement in Fedon's operating margins last year, contributing to a 30.8 percent increase in operating income to e6.3 million, or 10.7 percent of sales, which grew by 6.7 percent to e58.6 million. ...
-
Article
Oakley's Sales Rise By 16.8% In Quarter
At $109,572,000, the sales score was better than expected in the 1st quarter ended March 31, notwithstanding a 24 percent fall in sales to Sunglass Hut International to $12 million in the period, as compared to one year ago. Excluding company-owned retail operations, which generated an extra $5.8 million in ...
-
Article
Afflelou Goes Public In Subdued Form
Europe's largest chain of franchised optical stores delayed its public offering after institutional investors rejected the initial pricing proposal of e17.25-19.75 a share (see March 28 issue). The price range was lowered to e15-17, and the number of shares offered was reduced. The group's chairman, Alain Affelou, decided not to ...
-
Article
Berthet-bondet Restructures Its Debt
The bankers of Berthet-Bondet SA, the French public eyewear company controlled by the eponymous family, have agreed to reschedule its debt, turning much of its short-term liabilities into medium and longterm debt. The company has also eliminated 9 jobs to reduce its cost base, and it's now budgeting breakeven results ...
-
Article
Grandvision Performed Better Than Expected In Quarter
The French optical retail group's management sticks to its forecast of significantly higher earnings for this year following higher-than-expected sales results in the 1st quarter of 2002. GrandVision's total sales grew by 6.5 percent to e149 million in the period, with particularly strong performance in France, Italy, the Czech Republic ...
-
Article
De Rigo Improves Margins Broadly
De Rigo managed to improve its net income by 50.4 percent to e18.7 million in 2001, or a ratio of 4.2 percent of sales, with solid profit gains in both its wholesale and retail operations. EID, the joint venture with Prada for the distribution of the latter's eyewear, had a ...
-
Article
Dino Tabacchi Is In Line To Buy Salmoiraghi
Salmoiraghi & Vigano is Italy's largest integrated optical retail chain, and the acquisition is set to be completed by June 30, unless De Rigo exercizes a right of first refusal on the deal. Dino Tabacchi recently reduced to 7.8 percent his own stake in Safilo, the world's second-largest eyewear manufacturer, ...
-
Article
Cole National Doubles Earnings
That was the goal set by the world's largest optical retail chain one year ago, and it managed to reach it in spite of the difficult economic situation in the USA. Cole National's net income grew to $5,195,000 in the 52 weeks ended last Feb. 2, as compared to $2,229,000 ...
-
Article
Safilo Continues To Post Higher Profits And Sets High Goals For Its Ysl Line
The goal is to take sales of its new Yves Saint Laurent line of eyewear up to the same level as those of its Christian Dior collection, which now represents about 10-12 percent of Safilo's total sales. Gucci has the lion's share with 20 percent of the group's turnover. ...
-
Article
Lantis Sets Up A New European Operation
Most of Lantis Eyewear's sales of more than $250 million are still generated in the USA. With Tommy Hilfiger and some of its other brands of frames being global in scope, stronger investments in the European market were inevitable. For one thing, Hilfiger recently acquired its former European clothing licensee ...
-
Article
Inspecs Sets Up A New Us Sales Subsidiary
The new Inspecs USA is a joint venture, controlled by the rather unique British eyewear supplier. The minority partner is Gone Vision, a US company set up by Robb and Mary Winn to provide private label frames to US optical retailers. Robb Winn knows the US market well as he ...
-
Article
Michael Kaschke, the 44-year-old member of Carl Zeiss' executive board...
Michael Kaschke, the 44-year-old member of Carl Zeiss' executive board who is responsible for its consumer optics operations and other business units, is going to act as the group's finance director. He replaces Olaf Berlien, who is moving over to Thyssen-Krupp. Meanwhile, the merger of Zeiss' ophthalmic equipment division and ...
-
Article
Niedermeyer Augenoptik, an Austrian discount-oriented chain of 45 relatively small...
Niedermeyer Augenoptik, an Austrian discount-oriented chain of 45 relatively small optical retail stores, has gone into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to local reports that could not be confirmed, another Austrian discount chain, Hartlauer, and Pearle Europe, which already has a network of stores in the country, have shown interest in ...
-
Article
Ocular Sciences has agreed to acquire many assets of Seiko's...
Ocular Sciences has agreed to acquire many assets of Seiko's contact lens operations for $21 million. They will be folded into Ocular's own subsidiary in Japan, which will rehire about 70 Seiko Contact Lens employees. After a failed merger with Wesley Jessen, Ocular had previously purchased Essilor's contact lens business. ...
-
Article
Essilor Eyes New Acquisitions
Essilor will continue to favor profitability over growth, following a year in which the group's operating margin progressed at roughly three times the rate of sales growth, rising by 1.1 percentage points from 13.9 percent to 15 percent. In the 2nd half, it even reached a record 15.2 percent. ...
-
Article
Allison continues to make acquisitions to help boost its own...
Allison continues to make acquisitions to help boost its own production apparatus. After taking over Desil, an Italian firm specializing i gold coatings, it has bought a 70 percent stake in Biemme for e775,000. Based at Valdobbiadene, Biemme specializes in absolutely nickel-free galvanic painting.
-
Article
Alain Afflelou Goes Public, Eyeing An Expansion Into Germany And Spain
Europe's largest chain of franchised optical stores is seeking to raise at least 30 million euros on the stock exchange to reduce its indebtedness and to allow it to take over optical retail chains in France and in the rest of Europe, particularly in Germany and Spain where it recently ...
-
Article
The organizers of the Mido fair in Milan anticipate that...
The organizers of the Mido fair in Milan anticipate that its May 3-6 session will be clocking up roughly the same numbers of exhibitors and visitors as last year. The 32-year-old fair and Anfao, the Italian industry association that organizes it, have agreed to donate $50,000 to the fund being ...
-
Article
Sola International will market a new anti-reflective coating for ophthalmic...
Sola International will market a new anti-reflective coating for ophthalmic lenses that will use Teflon, the well-known non-stick fiber of DuPont, starting next month. The two companies will explore further lens technology advances. Sola hopes that the notoriety of Teflon as a coating agent will boost confidence among spectacle wearers. ...
