All C-Suite Interview articles
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ArticleMICROOLED smart eyewear business taken over by former CEO and founder
MICROOLED’s former CEO has taken over the company’s smart eyewear brands ActiveLook and Engo to focus exclusively on AR sports glasses, while the French microdisplay manufacturer refocuses on B2B markets including defense and medical equipment and raises more funds.
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Article“It seems the industry is ripe for change,” Flō Optics CEO
Things went relatively fast for Flō Optics. Only 15 months after the Israeli-based startup first showcased its optical coatings 3D printing technology at Vision Expo West in November 2023, it announced a $35 million Series A funding round, including from several eyewear industry players. However, when we sat down with ...
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ArticleBrand building, distribution and portfolio expansion keep Izipizi in the fast lane
Double-digit revenue growth is a common feature of many startups in their very early years, but, as businesses scale up, the fast pace naturally becomes harder to sustain. However, some achieve to keep the double-digit momentum going well into their teenage years. IZIPIZI, the French-based company “doing everyday glasses that ...
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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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ArticleAmazon-backed autofocus glasses startup raises $36m, aims for distribution in the ECP channel
The raised capital will enable IXI to continue its product development and to kickoff its commercial operations. The strategy is to distribute primarily through the optical retail channel. The company is looking to disrupt the market with its technology aimed at replacing progressive lenses.
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ArticlePPG Optical grows with legacy products and innovations, looks for more sustainable processes
Amy Mercante, General Manager Specialty Products, discusses the performance of the group’s optical division and other industry topics including smart eyewear, additive manufacturing and sustainability challenges in the lens supply chain.
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ArticleAiming for critical mass, Groupe Héron plans to almost double sales by 2030
Groupe Héron, the French-based retail group operating in the optical and audition markets, is aiming to almost double its business by 2030 to achieve critical mass, Bernhard Nuesser, Group CEO and Partner, has told us in an interview. Based on an organic compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8 percent ...
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ArticleVisottica forges close-knit relations with customers and expands into new industries
Rinaldo Montalban, Chairman, discusses the consolidation of the group’s production activities in Italy, its plans for a new factory in Thailand, its sustainability initiatives and the increasing personalization of eyewear components, among other topics.
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ArticleSeaport-ODLM banks on portfolio diversification to boost export business
On the heels of a new European distribution partnership with Bollé Brands, French-based Seaport-ODLM is adding several brands to its portfolio in 2025 to address new market segments and grow outside its domestic market.
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ArticleKits CEO: 'We are building an eyewear business for the customer of tomorrow'
On its Investor Day last September, Kits Eyecare concluded its presentation with a bold and somewhat cryptic claim: “Setting our sights on 500 in 5.” This made for an obvious first question when we had to opportunity to sit down with Roger Hardy, co-founder and CEO of the Canadian-based pure ...
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ArticleBliz Eyewear launches rebranding after EssilorLuxottica takeover
A specialist in sports eyewear, ski goggles and helmets, the Swedish brand Bliz Eyewear was acquired by the EssilorLuxottica Group in January 2024, joining the company’s sports portfolio and adding a new entry-level price point. This portfolio also includes the sports eyewear brands Oakley and Costa. But Bliz has actually ...
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ArticleHow brick-and-mortar focus and vertical integration are driving JEH profitability
Upgrading its full-year outlook, the Japan-based retail group is now forecasting a 19 percent topline growth and a 31 percent operating margin. We ask JEH’s CFO about the drivers behind the group’s fast growth.
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Article‘We try to be responsible’
Alessandra Girardi, head of sustainability and co-owner of Vanni, tells us about how the Italian SME’s sustainability approach is rooted in local production and supply chain, internal commitment and outside expertise, and LCA calculations.
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ArticleEyewa secures $100m cash injection, plans to open 100 new stores in the Middle East next year
Competition in the Middle Eastern optical retail market is going to intensify further as eyewa, the fast-growing direct-to-consumer brand, just announced that it has raised $100 million in a new financing round to accelerate its store network expansion. The round was led by General Atlantic, a global investor with approximately ...
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Article“The last thing we want to be is a product for geeks,” Morrow Eyewear CEO
Morrow Eyewear just launched the third generation of its liquid crystal multifocal glasses. CEO Frederiek Ysebaert explains the recent upgrades and discusses the startup’s mid-term roadmap in terms of product development and distribution.
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ArticleItalian eyewear industry “strong and resilient” amid market slowdown
Italy’s eyewear industry has seen signs of a slowdown this year, but it is holding up remarkably well. That is clear in Belluno in Italy’s Veneto region, at the heart of the country’s eyewear production district, where factories are operating at full capacity and looking to grow. Lorraine Berton, the ...
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ArticleHong Kong-based Icare to open eyewear factory in France
Icare, the eyewear manufacturer based in Hong Kong, is investing over €5 million in the building of a new eyewear factory in France, which will complement its industrial structure that currently includes production sites in China and Cambodia. The new facility will be established in Vendôme, a small city in ...
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ArticleInnovation, digitization, sustainability and selective retail on 60 year-old Silhouette’s agenda
Silhouette celebrates its 60th company anniversary with product innovations while focusing on qualitative retail distribution, digitization, sustainability and independence.
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ArticleTokai looks to expand commercial and industrial footprint outside Japan
Limited by a gradually shrinking domestic market, Japan-based lens manufacturer is looking abroad for growth, notably in the US and the Middle East.
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ArticleJ.F. REY new owners look to balance brand DNA and changes while navigating supply chain issues
Almost three years after the acquisition of J.F. REY by a Franco-German trio of investors including Dan Levi and Ralf Kmoch of Visibilia, and Walter Pirinoli of Visioptis, we sat down with the French executive to discuss the evolutions and future strategic orientations of the Marseille-based designer eyewear brand. “While ...
