C-Suite Interviews
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ArticleUS startup picks eyewear market as launch pad for infinitely recyclable plastic material
As the world is grappling with an ever-growing amount of plastic waste, of which less than 10 percent is being recycled, our attention was brought to a California-based chemical start-up that claims it can produce an infinitely recyclable alternative material to high performance plastics. And, somewhat surprisingly for such a ...
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ArticleNew management structure and increased retail focus for MPG
Following the death at the end of 2023 of Dr. Michael Pachleitner, its founder and CEO, the eponymous MPG (Michael Pachleitner Group) is entering a new era of its history with a new management structure and a strategic focus on the development of its retail business unit. We sat down ...
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ArticleMazzucchelli takes further steps on sustainability journey
Mazzucchelli 1849 is building a new factory in its hometown of Castiglione Olona in northern Italy, set to be opened in the second half of this year. Giampietro Pedrazzini, CEO, spoke to us recently about how that facility fits into Mazzucchelli’s plans to reduce its environmental footprint, along with other ...
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ArticleStore network upgrade, digitization and HR key to Paris Miki rebound
Like all well-established Japan retailers across all sectors, Paris Miki is facing an apparently unsolvable equation: finding sustainable growth in a country where the population is forecast to decline by approximately five percent every ten years. While many of these companies are heavily investing to develop their business abroad, particularly ...
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Article“We need to train the eyewear factory workers of the future”
During our previous interview with Giovanni Vitolani in December, the president of Mido also shared some thoughts on the state of affairs in the Italian eyewear district and at ANFAO, the Italian eyewear industry association which he led for six years until December last year. “As anticipated after a solid ...
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ArticleMido, ANFAO put CSE front and center in 2024
Just a few weeks before the opening of Mido 2024, we sat down with Giovanni Vitaloni, president of the event, to talk about what exhibitors and visitors should expect for this next edition but also more generally about current and future strategic focus areas for the organizers. In the second ...
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ArticleMagrabi aims to consolidate regional leadership before entering new markets
Following up on our article last February about the expansion of MAGRABI Retail Group, the leading optical retailer in the Middle East region, we talked with Yasser Taher, who was appointed CEO of the family-owned group at the start of this year, after having served as Chief Operating Officer since ...
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ArticleAn optical center in 15 minutes and a new investor for Vision Group
Vision Group, one of Italy’s leading eyewear retailers, aims to expand its domestic footprint further before looking at eventual growth opportunities further afield. Marco Procacciante, CEO, talked to Eyewear Intelligence about Vision Group’s growth plans, which are aimed at serving 85 percent of the Italian population with a VisionOttica store ...
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ArticleiVision Tech CEO details group’s strategy
Still a relatively newcomer in the Italian and international eyewear sector, iVision Tech has gathered a lot of attention from the industry in recent months with the company’s debut on the Euronext Growth Milan stock exchange this summer and the acquisition of French high-end eyewear maker Henry Jullien just before ...
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ArticleAkoni Group puts focus on craftsmanship-loving opticians and consumers
In the wake of the recent Silmo show in Paris, where the company was exhibiting its eyewear collections – house brand Akoni Eyewear and licensed fashion brands Balmain and Valentino – for the first time, we talked with Rosario Toscano, CEO of Akoni Group, about the DNA and the development ...
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ArticleLafont celebrates French “savoir-faire”, Parisian chic and family legacy on 100th anniversary
It’s not necessarily an easy task to summarize a century of history and the essence of a company in just a few words, but when we asked Matthieu Lafont, CEO of Lafont, the answer was short and quick to come. “We are since 2023 an independent family business and eyewear ...
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ArticlePortfolio synergies and sunglasses on DEG roadmap
Last year’s summer was particularly busy on the corporate front for Design Eyewear Group (DEG) as, in just a few months, the company came under new ownership and acquired the business of William Morris London, the U.K.-based eyewear company. Almost one year later, we sat down with Lars Flyvholm, CEO, ...
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ArticleTooz smart eyewear keeps focus on optical engines and scalability
After many years of teasing, spectacular announcements and some renouncements by industry players, smart glasses are now on the verge of fulfilling their initial promises and entering the mass consumer market. All of a sudden, it seems like an entire industry is in the starting blocks as years of research ...
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ArticleLunor sees room for international expansion
Lunor, the German-based eyewear company, is looking to reinforce and expand its international presence, notably in Europe and Asia, through a mix of partnerships with long-term distributors and direct distribution in some selected markets. We discussed the company’s international strategy with Thomas Dobler, the German senior manager who was appointed ...
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ArticleMore “boutique” and more lenses on Mister Spex roadmap
2022 was a mixed year for Mister Spex. While the German-based retailer’s sales kept growing relatively fast – by 8 percent overall and by 11 percent in Germany – profit ratios remained in the red. This led the company to launch a cost-reduction plan in September 2022 and an announcement ...
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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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ArticleACEP 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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ArticleCovid 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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ArticleOptiswiss 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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ArticleMorel 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 ...
