All Corporate articles
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ArticleDel Vecchio heir and Essilux manager increases stake in controlling shareholder Delfin
Leonardo Maria del Vecchio, Chief Strategy Officer at EssilorLuxottica and one of the heirs of Luxottica founder Leonardo del Vecchio, has reached a deal that will make him the largest shareholder in Delfin, the Del Vecchio holding company that in turn controls Essilux with a 32.4 percent stake. Leonardo Maria ...
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ArticleKering Eyewear expects 'execution' and AI glasses to drive next growth phase
Kering presented yesterday ReconKering, its strategic turnaround plan, to investors during its Capital Markets Day (CMD) in Florence, Italy. “ReconKering is designed to restore clarity, rebuild execution discipline and place the Group back on a long‑term leadership trajectory,” the official release reads. Luca de Meo, who took over the CEO ...
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ArticleJulbo tops €50m in sales as new owner builds on brand heritage
After more than 135 years of history, including over four decades under the leadership of the Beaud family, Julbo was acquired by Peugeot Frères Industries, the investment arm of the Peugeot family, in 2022. We recently sat down with Damien Guillobez, CEO of Julbo, to discuss the sport eyewear company’s ...
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ArticleChinese smart glasses firms eye IPOs in race with big tech
Prominent Chinese smart glasses companies are increasingly turning to the stock market to fund their growth in a fast-moving, highly competitive sector. Beijing-based XREAL filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in Hong Kong earlier this month, while Rokid, based in Hangzhou, is reportedly considering the same move. According to ...
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Kering boosts liquidity with €1.1 bn Milan real estate deal
Kering has signed a real estate deal with Al-Mirqab Group, a Qatar-based construction and real estate company, for its building at Via Monte Napoleone in Milan, Italy. Kering will contribute the property to a new joint stock company owned at 80 percent by Al-Mirqab Group and at 20 percent by ...
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EssilorLuxottica invests in leading Thai optical retailer
EssilorLuxottica has acquired a “meaningful stake” in Top Charoen, the leading optical retailer in Thailand and a longtime customer. The term usually refers to a a significant minority ownership position, typically 10-25% of a company’s shares, that provides strategic influence without full control. Founded in 1947, Top Charoen ...
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ArticleTopcon Healthcare launches EMEA innovation center
Topcon Healthcare has launched the Topcon Healthcare Innovation Center EMEA (THINC EMEA) in London’s Knowledge Quarter, modeled from its first THINC facility in La Jolla, California. The new London center will serve as a collaborative platform between eye‑care specialists, healthcare professionals, academics, industry partners, and patient associations across Europe, the ...
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ArticleDel Vecchio heir looks to increase stake in controlling shareholder
Leonardo Maria del Vecchio, Chief Strategy Officer at EssilorLuxottica and one of the heirs of Luxottica founder Leonardo del Vecchio, is looking to increase his stake in Delfin, the Del Vecchio holding company that controls the eyewear group with a 32.2 percent stake, according to media reports. Delfin has not ...
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ArticleMenicon turns 75 with brand new dailies factory in Malaysia
Menicon inaugurated yesterday its new daily contact lenses manufacturing facility in Kedah, Malaysia, in presence of officials from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA). The building of the factory was first announced in 2022, and commercial production is now starting, only a few days before the 75th anniversary of the ...
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ArticleMitsui reports modest Life & Healthcare revenue hike, discusses vision care strategy
Mitsui Chemicals’ Life & Healthcare Solutions revenue inched up by 1.3 percent year over year to 174.1 billion Japanese yen (€941m) for the first nine months of fiscal 2024/25. Q3 sales were up by 2.6 percent. The division includes the group’s vision care materials business, among others (oral care, agrochemical ...
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ArticleKenyan retail startup aims for scale and impact in East Africa
Backed by Japanese and Indian investors and by a French optical retail veteran, Kenyan optical retail startup Mamy Eyewear plans to grow from five stores in Nairobi to over 100 locations in East Africa within five years, leveraging AI-powered eye exams and affordable pricing to address the region’s critical shortage of eye care services.
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News briefsTopcon partners with RemoniHealth on home monitoring
Topcon Healthcare has established a commercial partnership with RemoniHealth, creator of a remote-monitoring platform for in-home diagnostic and monitoring tests in eyecare. In its announcement Topcon speaks of a “pathway” to incorporate RemoniHealth’s services into its own cloud-based platform, Harmony. In the deal’s background, as the company says, is the ...
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Chinese biggest public telecom player invests in AR smart eyewear brand
RayNeo, a Chinese-based AR smart eyewear brand developed by TCL Electronics, has announced that it has secured a new round of funding. Ray Neo did not disclose the amount of the funding, but said that Unicom Innovation, an investment vehicle for China Mobile, was among the investors. The company stressed ...
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Lenskart invests in South Korea, Thailand
Fresh from its successful IPO, Indian-based retailer Lenskart is investing 186 million indian rupees (€1.8m) to acquire a 29 percent stake in iiNeer, a South Korean start-up developing eye-testing and lens-cutting equipment for optical stores. The move, which was executed by Lenskart Singapore, is expected to improve operating efficiencies and ...
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ArticleCooper announces strategic review, 5% uptick in annual CVI sales
CooperVision reported Q4 sales of $709.6 million, up 4.6% year-on-year, with growth driven by the Americas region and strong performance from its MyDay contact lens portfolio. CooperCompanies stock price shot up after the group announced that it was conducting a strategic business review, seemingly in response to activist investor pressures.
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ArticleEssilorLuxottica wearables chief steps down
Rocco Basilico, Chief Wearables Officer at EssilorLuxottica, will be leaving the group at the start of next year, Reuters revealed on Monday. The information was confirmed to the press agency by EssilorLuxottica: “After six years supporting our smart eyewear journey, Rocco Basilico has decided to pursue his personal interests outside ...
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Topcon share delists from TSE as group completes ownership change
Topcon Corporation shares delisted yesterday from the prime market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange following the approval of the group’s share consolidation proposals at the extraordinary general shareholders meeting on Nov. 11, 2025. As we reported in March, US-based private equity firm KKR has become the Japanese group’s main shareholder, ...
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EssilorLuxottica forms interdisciplinary scientific advisory committee
EssilorLuxottica has announced the creation of a Scientific Advisory Committee, composed of five scientists working in the fields of physics, mathematics, otolaryngology (study of the the ear, nose, and throat and related parts of the head and neck), ophthalmology and bioethics. They are Pr. Alain Aspect (Nobel Laureate and Wolf ...
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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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KITS EYECARE opens second store, secures C$15m lending facility
KITS EYECARE, the Canadian-based e-tailer, will be opening in Q1 2026 a 230-square-meter store in Toronto, its second brick-and-mortar location. The decision to open a new store, which also includes a café space, is grounded in the success of the Vancouver flagship shop, the company explained: opened in 2021, the ...
