All Article articles – Page 51
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ArticleU.K. signs free trade agreements with Turkey, EU
The U.K. and Turkey have signed tariff-free trading arrangements and are committed to reach a ”more ambitious” agreement in the future, according to the British Department for International Trade . The free trade agreement was signed by the U.K.’s International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss and Turkey’s Minister for Trade, Ruhsar ...
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ArticleEU, China reach in principle an agreement on investments
After seven years of talks, the European Union and China have agreed in principle on a investment agreement after their leaders met on a conference call on Dec. 30. The parties had set the end of 2020 as the deadline to strike a deal. The European Commission said that the ...
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ArticleHow Covid-19 has impacted companies’ trade show budgets
It has become commonplace to say that the Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically accelerated trends that were already underway with the digitalization of the economy and society in general. Trade shows have been one the sectors most affected by the phenomenon as restrictions on travel and mass events worldwide prompted them ...
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ArticleMister Spex expects sales to grow in 2020 and 2021
Mister Spex expects sales to grow in 2020, and again in 2021, from the €139 million posted in 2019. Last year, the German company saw its adjusted Ebitda rise to €2.0 million from €0.2 million in 2018 as it enjoyed growth in all three of its product categories, namely glasses, ...
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ArticleFielmann buys Óptica & AudiologÍa Universitaria in Spain
In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, Fielmann, the German-based optical retailer, keeps expanding, as mapped out in its Vision 2025 strategic plan, with the acquisition of Óptica & AudiologÍa Universitaria, one of the leading retail groups in Spain. The transaction will complete on Dec. 31. The details of the deal ...
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ArticleEssilux names two new helmsmen
EssilorLuxottica announced a series of organizational changes at its helm following the desire of Hubert Sagnières, its executive vice chairman, to retire. The 65-year old French manager has given up his executive powers but remains as non-executive vice chairman of the group. In a simultaneous decision aimed at preserving the ...
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ArticleKering investigated by French financial prosecutor
Kering said that the French financial public prosecutor (Parquet National Financier) has opened a preliminary inquiry concerning the company in February 2019. The French luxury goods group added that it had not previously been informed of the inquiry. The comments come following media reports about the prosecutor investigating the company ...
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ArticleEU, UK extend Brexit trade talks in effort to avoid a “no deal”
The United Kingdom and the European Union had decided to wait until Sunday, Dec. 13 to find a compromise on a trade agreement that would go into effect on Jan. 1. But, the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the negotiators will now continue to work into this ...
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Article
EU to cut greenhouse emission by 55% by 2030
The 27 members of the European Union agreed on Dec. 11, after a night of negotiations, to reduce by at least 55 percent their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared with 1990 levels, increasing the target from a previous objective of 40 percent. “Europe will reduce emissions by at least ...
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The U.K. reaches trade accord with Vietnam, but deal with EU unlikely
The U.K. has finalized a free trade agreement with Vietnam, which is scheduled to become effective from Jan. 1. It is the third trade agreement reached with an Asian country, after those with Singapore and Japan. The U.K. has also reached a preliminary trade agreement with Canada. The U.K. is ...
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ArticleCVI gains market share in contact lenses
CooperVision (CVI) saw a 1 percent year-on-year drop in sales to $506.3 million in the fourth quarter of CooperCompanies’ financial year, which ended on Oct. 31. At constant currency rates, the division’s top line fell by 3 percent. Nevertheless, the company claims to have gained market share in contact lenses. ...
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ArticleFashion industry sales may return to pre-Covid levels late 2022
The global fashion industry is expected to suffer a 15-30 percent decline in sales this year and is not expected to return to 2019 levels until at least the third quarter of 2022, according “The State of Fashion 2021”, a new report by Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Co. ...
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ArticleCarte Blanche set to become the N°2 healthcare network in France
Carte Blanche, the French healthcare organization owned by SwissLife and other insurance companies, has extended until Dec. 11 the registration deadline for French opticians wishing to join its network, as many could not complete the process in time because of the new Covid-19 related lockdown. The company, which focuses on ...
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ArticleEdel-Optics invested €3 million in robotized Hamburg flagship
Edel-Optics has invested €3 million in its new flagship store, located at Ballindamm 33 in Hamburg, Germany. The location, opened in late November after nine months of construction, enables customers to be served by opticians or by Temi personal robots and offers a selection of 250,000 items from the integrated ...
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ArticleTechVision looks to expand one-stop components shop
TechVision, an Italian holding company owning companies producing metal components and providing surface finishing services for eyewear, aims to roughly triple its size in the next three to four years, as the eyewear sector recovers from the hit it has taken from the Covid-19 pandemic and management keeps an eye ...
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ArticleFrance postpones start of winter clearance period to Jan. 20
The French government has postponed to Jan. 20 the start of the winter clearance period from its initial date of Jan. 6. The clearance period will last four weeks. In radio interview with RMC/BFM TV, the Economy Minister, Bruno Le Maire, added that the measure is aimed at helping small ...
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ArticleRevo partners with Bode Miller
Bode Miller, the most decorated American skier in history, has agreed to a long-term partnership with Revo, the 35-year-old brand of high-performance sunglasses, which has just come out with a new co-branded capsule collection of high-performance snow goggles. Miller, who previously wore various brands of ski goggles without endorsing any ...
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Article
British delivery service fears uncontrollable Black Friday
London-based delivery service ParcelHero said that it’s forecasting an £8.49bn (€9.5bn-$11.5bn) monster Black Friday to Cyber Monday weekend. It warns that stores must learn from the disaster of Black Friday 2014 or delivery chains could snap once again this year. In 2019, Britons spent a £5.55bn (€6.2bn-$7.4bn) on Black Friday-Cyber ...
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ArticleA quarter of European firms need support or face a cash shortage in 2021
About a quarter of companies in the Eurozone will need more government support in 2021 to avert a cash-flow crisis, according to the French credit insurance company Euler Hermes. “The first wave of Covid-19 lockdowns caused a stronger-than-expected profitability shock for most European non-financial corporate” during the first half of ...
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ArticleManager takes over GemOptics from Mondottica
As part of its strategy to focus on its eyewear distribution business, with licensed brands such as Christian Lacroix, Sergio Tacchini or Pepe Jeans among others, Mondottica International has sold its entire stake in the wholly-owned unit GemOptics to Robert Content, the general manager of the French company. Founded in ...
