All Corporate articles – Page 14
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ArticleKRYS GROUP announces €50 million investment plan
The KRYS GROUP reported a 18.5 percent year-on-year increase in network sales of optical products and hearing aids to a total of €1,199 million, including VAT, for 2021. As compared to the pre-Covid 2019 reference year, stores sales were up by 7.8 percent. The hearing-aids Krys Audition unit saw its ...
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Maison Morel to receive French subsidy
Maison Morel will be among the selected beneficiaries of the “France Relance” fund for production-related investments. Hoping to stimulate the economy, the French government has earmarked €30 million for ecology, €34 million for competitiveness and €36 million for social cohesion. The subsidy was announced by French prime minister Jean Castex ...
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U.S. sunglass brand Knockaround attracts capital
Brand Holdings LLC has completed a growth equity investment in Knockaround. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in San Diego, California, Knockaround produces polarized sunglasses, blue-light blocking glasses, ski and snowboard goggles, and custom designs. Its founder, Adam Moyer, describes it as a “fun and functional sunglasses brand” that is “both ...
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Safilo reaches deal for layoffs at Longarone
Safilo has reached an agreement with employee representatives regarding around 120 redundancies at its Longarone manufacturing plant in Northern Italy. Requests of voluntary departures have to be presented by March 11, with effective departures scheduled by March 31. The restructuration plan presented in 2020 by the company called for about ...
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Prats achieves total automation
The Spanish multinational Prats has completed what it calls the world’s most automated production line for ophthalmic lenses. It has set down the final puzzle piece at its logistical hub in Madrid, where a robot now both warehouses the produced lenses and dispatches them to the proper agencies for transport. ...
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ArticleAlain Afflelou family holding doubles its stake in the group
The Afflelou group announced at the end of last month that Alain Afflelou’s family holding acquired in December 2021 the company stake that was indirectly held by Apax France. Earlier in January, Altamir, a partner company of Apax, had announced that it had sold its shares in the group for ...
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Ross Holdings divests Mondottica Int’l.
At the end of December, Ross Holdings relinquished its share of the ownership of Mondottica International, the eyewear company headquartered in Hong Kong. At the same time, Harry Ross, who not only owns Ross Holdings but also founded both Viva International Group and Mondottica USA, stepped down as Mondottica International’s ...
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MEI expands into Japan
MEI, the Italian-based lens edging machines company, has established a subsidiary, MEI Nippon, in Japan, appointing Gian Piero Citti to lead it as general manager. This is the company’s fourth subsidiary outside Italy. The first, MEI Inc., opened in Chicago in 2007. There followed MEIsystem Asia, in Hong Kong, and ...
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Essilux launches share buyback plan
EssilorLuxottica will be buying back some 1,500,000 shares of its stock from Feb. 1 to March 31. Total shares purchased will depend on market conditions. The shares will be awarded or transferred to the employees and corporate directors of Essilux or affiliated companies, through profit-sharing, stock options, bonuses or the ...
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Article1-800 Contacts puts new vision tech company into orbit
1-800 Contacts, the U.S. direct-to-consumer contact lens company, has announced the creation of a new company focused on providing technologies and services to third parties in the vision sector. The new entity, called Luna Solutions, operates as a separate company held under a common holding company with 1-800 Contacts. The ...
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ArticleMicrooled is planning an IPO
Microoled, producer of micro-displays, is planning an IPO on the Euronext Growth Paris market. The company announced on Jan. 11 that its registration document had been approved by the AMF, France’s financial markets authority. As we have reported – in a story on one of its clients, the French producer ...
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ArticleBausch Health files for IPO of its eyecare business
In its quest to split into three publicly traded companies, Bausch Health has filed to make an initial public offering of common shares in the U.S. and most of Canada for its wholly owned subsidiary Bausch + Lomb Corporation. Specifically, it has filed a Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities ...
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Safilo increases participation in Privé Revaux
Safilo has announced that its stake in Privé Revaux increased from 64.2 percent to 81.9 percent, following the resignation of David Schottenstein from his position of board member and CEO of the U.S. company. Schottenstein was the main founder of Privé Revaux, along with American celebrities, and the transaction was ...
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ArticleMojo Vision partners with sports apps
Mojo Vision, a provider of smart contact lenses, has established partnerships with five connected-fitness platforms: Adidas Running, the German sportswear company’s digital-tracking division; Trailforks, a trail-mapping service for cyclists and hikers; Wearable X, provider of smart haptic fitness apparel; Slopes, an iOS, Android and Apple Watch app for skiers and ...
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Fielmann to supply frames for Vuzix smart glasses
Fielmann Group has struck a deal with Vuzix Corporation, a supplier of smart glasses and other augmented reality (AR) products, and TeamViewer, which provides AR productivity tools and serves Vuzix as a value-added reseller (VAR). Fielmann will be providing frames for Vuzix’s M400 and M4000 model smart glasses, used notably ...
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Etnia is having a corporate makeover for the new year
Etnia Barcelona is charging into the new year with new investments and an expanded portfolio of brands. Founded in 2001 by David Pellicer, Etnia is perhaps the fastest-growing independent eyewear brand of the past decade. The company says it has rounded out 2021 with overall business growth of 16 percent ...
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Essilux’ employee shareholding plan adds members
EssilorLuxottica’s international employee shareholding plan, called Boost, now has nearly 54,000 eligible employees subscribed in 78 countries, the group says. Boost’s subscription rate has risen in consequence by three percentage points since last year to 65 percent. This year’s campaign extended to employee shareholders from five new countries: Bangladesh, Benin, ...
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Pair Eyewear raises an additional $60 million
After having raised $12 million a few months ago, the U.S. direct-to-consumer brand Pair Eyewear just closed an additional $60 million Series B fundraise. The latest financing round was led by NEA and Connect Ventures but also included several other investment funds as well as personalities from the U.S. sporting ...
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ArticleSpektrum to diversify after new financing round
Spektrum, the Swedish-based brand of ski goggles and sunglasses, has raised 18 million Swedish crowns (€1.7m-$2.0m) from new partners in order to finance its future international development and the diversification of its product portfolio in the safety equipment sector. Spektrum was founded in 2012 by a group of skiers and ...
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VSP to use Optify's e-commerce platform
The VSP Global Premier Program has established a partnership with Optify, which purportedly operates the industry’s largest database of frames. Private optometry cabinets in VSP’s program will be gaining access to “best-in-market pricing” through Optify’s e-commerce platform, which “enables Doctors of Optometry to sell inventory online under their brand, maximize ...
