C-Suite Interviews
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ArticleZEISS Vision Care advocates carefulness over speed in myopia management
ZEISS Vision Care, which has been active in myopia management (MM) clinical research in Asia for over ten years and has been marketing specific lenses in the region since 2011, is launching the category in Europe this spring, a couple of years after its main lens competitors entered the segment ...
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ACEP looks abroad for growth
ACEP, the French-based supplier of digital tools and services for optical shops, is accelerating its international development with the opening of a subsidiary in Japan on Jan. 1, Jean-Philippe Sayag, CEO of the company told us in an interview. The company has been operating branches in the U.S. and Spain, ...
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Covid has highlighed the importance of trade fairs
The Covid-19 outbreak demonstrated that digital solutions “on their own” could not replace trade shows canceled due to the pandemic, noted Luca Palermo, the chief executive of Fiera Milano, which manages the Rho exhibition hall as well as exhibition pavilions in Milan and the Allianz MiCo convention center. The Italian ...
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Optiswiss maintains focus on ECPs, innovation and premium products
In an interview with Eyewear Intelligence, Samuel Frei, CEO of Optiswiss, sheds light on how the Swiss-based independent lens maker navigates an increasingly consolidated optical market with a strategy based on a focus on premium products, distribution through independent eyecare professionals (ECPs), state-of-the-art production facilities, investment in new technologies and ...
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Morel puts focus on direct distribution, brand heritage and CSR
In an interview with Eyewear Intelligence, Amélie Morel, communication director of Morel Lunettes, explained how the family-owned company has taken advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to accelerate the transformation of its international business, and has reinforced its focus on the brand’s heritage as well as its CSR commitments. A member ...
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Skugga to launch new financing rounds to accelerate development
In the wake of Skugga’s recent Silmo d’Or award in the technological innovation and connected products’ category, we spoke with Mikael Eriksson, the Swedish-based company’s CEO and one of the main shareholders along with his brothers Daniel Eriksson, Jonas Eriksson and partner Fredrik Hanson. The brothers initially started off with ...
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Fast-growing Blickers launches private label
Blickers, one of the fast-growing multibrand online eyewear retailers in Europe, is launching its private label range of sunglasses and optical frames to complement its website offerings and further accelerate its growth. Called 99 Essentials, the collection includes 99 SKUs chosen based on the company’s big data analysis of best-selling ...
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MPG prepares for integration of former GrandVision stores
A few months after the Michael Pachleitner Group (MPG) took over 177 stores from GrandVision following the acquisition of the Dutch retail group by EssilorLuxottica, we spoke with Marcel Norbart, the seasoned retail manager that MPG appointed as its Chief of Optical Retail, about the most recent developments. The current ...
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Materialise sees its eyewear volumes triple within 5 years
Created in 2014, the eyewear division of Materialise, the Belgian-based 3D printing specialist, has introduced several innovations for 3D-printed glasses and has established itself as the market leader in the field. Ahead of the Silmo trade show, we sat down with Alireza Parandian, the unit’s manager, to reflect on the ...
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M&A, organic growth, digital and training fuel CECOP Group
Just a few days after CECOP entered the German market through an agreement with Optic Society, we talked with Jean de Contades, global managing director of the fast-growing Spanish-based buying group. Founded in 1982, Optic Society is the second largest buying group in Germany with close to 700 members according ...
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Eschenbach launches online Academy to grow low vision segment
Eschenback Optik, a market leader in the low vision segment, is about to launch the Eschenbach Academy, a multilingual online training and information platform for eye care professionals (ECPs), but also for end consumers. In the words of Matthias Anke, managing director of the Optics division at Eschenbach, the move ...
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Topology rolls out its technology outside North America
At the last edition of the Mido show in Milan, Safilo and Topology, a Californian-based tech company, presented their jointly developed digital platform which was launched in the U.S. and Canada at the end of last year by the American subsidiary of the Italian group. Based on Topology’s technology, the ...
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Rodenstock adds M&A to technology in growth mix
“We are targeting to outgrow the optical market by two to three times with organic growth, but we are also looking at possible acquisitions to enter new markets,” Anders Hedegaard, CEO of the Rodenstock Group, told us as we were concluding our interview a few days ago, right after the ...
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Out Of to accelerate optical distribution
Out Of has signed a sponsorship deal with Paolo Bettini, the former professional cyclist, who was Olympic champion at the 2004 games in Athens and back-to-back world champion in 2006 and 2007. Bettini will be wearing the brand’s eyewear throughout the 2022 season. The Italian start-up was founded by two ...
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Lentesplus raises $9m for development in LATAM
Lentesplus, a Bogota-based company specializing in online retail of contact lenses, raised $9 million last month in order to further expand its footprint in Latin America as well as to accelerate its transition to a vertically-integrated omnichannel business model and to develop its eyeglasses’ catalog. Founded seven years ago by ...
