All Article articles – Page 43
-
ArticleEssilux launches mandatory public offer for GrandVision shares
EssilorLuxottica and GrandVision jointly announced on Oct. 7 the launch of the recommended mandatory public offer for the purchase by the Italio-French group of all remaining shares in the Dutch retail group’s capital. As already communicated a few weeks ago, the price of the mandatory offer is set at €28.42 ...
-
ArticleEyewear industry stock prices up 3.5% in Q3
We are publishing here our quarterly update on the evolution in stock prices of public companies operating in our core eyewear market, including manufacturers, distributors or retailers of contact lenses, prescription lenses, eyeglasses and sunglasses. As shown in the chart below, the non-weighted average growth for the 22 companies included ...
-
ArticleHOYA and Haag-Streit partner in myopia management
HOYA Vision Care and Haag-Streit Diagnostics, a leading manufacturer of ophthalmic instruments and medical equipment, have announced a global partnership in the area of myopia management. Both companies said that the global sales and marketing agreement created a preferred partnership between them to help eye care professionals (ECP) in the ...
-
ArticleItalian exports recover faster than expected
ANFAO has brightened its forecast for the Italy’s eyewear industry, as figures for the first half of 2021 are hinting at a brisker-than-expected recovery. As we reported at the time, the association’s president, Giovanni Vitaloni, presented a darker picture at the MIDO trade show back in May, when the pandemic ...
-
ArticleGood restart in Paris and new Asian project for Silmo
After a blank year in 2020, Silmo Paris reopened its doors to international exhibitors and visitors from last Sept. 24 to 27 for the first large-scale and in-person eyewear industry event since the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak last year. Although the number of exhibiting companies this year – roughly 500 – ...
-
ArticleBollé builds up management team for strategic changes
Bollé Brands has announced a series of key appointments in its management team to support its strategic plan, focusing on the digitization of the business, the RX segment, the brands’ visibility and the company’s social and environmental responsibility. On the digital front, the group launched e-commerce websites for Bollé and ...
-
ArticleSustainability: the demo lens challenge (part 2)
While the eyewear industry’s sustainability efforts have mostly focused on the use of eco-friendly or recycled material for the frames so far, the disposal of demo lenses, which end up in landfills for the most part, remains one of the sector’s main issues and still largely untackled because of its ...
-
Article1-800 Contacts acquires virtual try-on specialist
1-800 Contacts, the U.S. contact lens specialist, has acquired Ditto, a firm also headquartered in the U.S. that provides virtual try-on systems for eyewear brands and eyewear retailers on- and offline, Vision Monday reports. The terms of the deal, which closed on Aug. 27, 2021, remain under seal, but a ...
-
ArticleMister Spex earmarks IPO cash for growth as H1 sales rise 25%
German-based omnichannel retailer Mister Spex has reported a 25 percent rise in first-half revenue to €101 million and said it was earmarking at least half of its IPO raising to fund growth. First-half sales in Germany rose 26 percent to €71m, while internationally they were up 24 percent to €29.3m. ...
-
ArticleBrand heritage and international expansion drive Revo growth
Revo, the American brand of high-end polarized sunglasses, is launching Revo Black, a new collection showcasing the brand’s latest developments in both lens and frame technologies. The new range includes three concepts – one featuring a carbon fiber frame, one with a titanium wire frame for the lightest Revo sunglass ...
-
ArticleNew investor and strategic focus on Asia for FittingBox
FittingBox, the French-based provider of virtual try on (VTO) systems and other digital solutions, just announced that JINS, the fast-growing Japanese retail chain, had become a shareholder of the company. The investment by JINS allowed earlier financial investors, mainly French venture capital funds Kreaxi and LBO France that have been ...
-
ArticleShift in the financing of optical expenses in France
The Direction de la recherche, des études, de l’évaluation et des statistiques (Drees), the French administration in charge of national research and statistics, released last week its annual report on healthcare expenses in the country. According to the DREES, the optical market in France decreased by 7.3 percent year-on-year to ...
-
ArticleDaTE participation up 50% vs. 2020
The last edition of the DaTE trade fair, which was held in Florence, Italy, from Sept. 11 to 13, brought a feeling of recovery of the international market as compared to the 2020 show when the Covid-19 vaccination campaign was yet to start. A total of 90 companies showcased their ...
-
ArticleNew owners for Maison JEAN-FRANÇOIS REY
Jean-François Rey, founder and CEO of Maison JEAN-FRANÇOIS REY, has decided to hand over the control of his company as well as his executive responsibilities to a Franco-German trio of seasoned eyewear managers, Walter Pirinoli, Dan Levi and Ralf Kmoch who have acquired a third of the company’s capital each. ...
-
ArticleWarby Parker unveils growth strategy
Just a few weeks after filing its IPO registration documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in which the company disclosed its financial results for the past three years, Warby Parker released an online presentation for investors. During the two-hour long pre-recorded video, founders and co-CEOs Neil Blumenthal ...
-
ArticleFacebook and Ray-Ban launch their first smart eyewear
About a year after they first announced their partnership, Facebook and Ray-Ban presented last Thursday their first range of smart glasses, called Ray-Ban Stories. Based on the most popular Ray-Ban designs, including the iconic Wayfarer and Wayfarer Large, and available in five color variations, the Ray-Ban Stories embark an optimized ...
-
ArticleInspecs eyes new buys as H1 profits, revenue surge
British eyewear designer and lens manufacturer Inspecs is on the hunt for new acquisitions after a surge in interim revenue and core earnings driven by the first full contribution from its German Eschenbach division. Revenues soared to $125.7 million for the six months to June 30, up from $16.7m a ...
-
ArticleHawkers opens 1st Spanish factory
Hawkers Group, a Spanish-based brand of sunglasses, has announced last week the launch of a new collection of sunglasses Made in Spain, following the opening in February of its first factory in Spain, located at its headquarters of Elche, near Alicante. The group addresses the entry level segment of the ...
-
ArticleSustainability: the demo lenses’ challenge (part 1)
While the eyewear industry’s sustainability efforts have mostly focused on the use of eco-friendly or recycled material for the frames so far, the disposal of demo lenses, which end up in landfills for the most part, remains one of the sector’s main issues and still largely untackled because of its ...
-
ArticleINVISION FIT 3D-centering platform adds value to ECP services
HORIZONS OPTICAL, the Spanish-based provider of lens designs, coatings and services for the ophthalmic lab will be showcasing INVISION FIT, its new 3D-centering system, at the next Silmo show in Paris from Sept. 24 to 27 (Hall 5a Stand H032). The platform was initially presented during the last digital edition ...
