All Corporate articles – Page 2
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News briefs
Fast-growing MEI to expand HQ and U.S. site
MEI, the Italian-based supplier of equipment for lens laboratories and shops, has announced the start of expansion work to double the surface of its headquarters in the Bergamo province from 10,000 to 20,000 square meters and the construction of a new site in the U.S. as its business keeps growing ...
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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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News briefs
Lanson opens Vietnamese factory
Chinese-based OEM manufacturer Lanson Optical has announced the opening of a new factory in Hanoi, Vietnam, its first production facility outside mainland China. The company said that the political and economic environment in Vietnam as well as the many free-trade agreements the country signed with other regions in recent years ...
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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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News briefs
Optical Center CEO investigated for massive money laundering
According to an investigation by Mediapart, a French online news service, Laurent Lévy, CEO and owner of Optical Center, is suspected by the country’s tax authorities of having embezzled approximately €275 million from the group between 2018 and 2022. The executive has reportedly built up a system through which companies ...
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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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News briefs
Lentechs raises $6 m to develop new multifocal lens’ technology
Lentechs, a U.S. clinical-stage ophthalmic device company focusing on innovative contact lens technology, has completed a $6 million fundraise from Vision Vestments and other financial investors. Lentechs said the funds would be allocated to achieve key clinical research and manufacturing development objectives for APIOC, its line of contact lenses specifically ...
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Article10-year old Swiss Eyewear Group has passed the 20 million pairs’ mark
Swiss Eyewear Group, the eyewear company behind the INVU brand of polarized sunglasses, has announced that it has sold over 20 million pairs since the creation of the company ten years ago. As reported then in Eyewear Intelligence, the company was founded by a group of former senior managers of ...
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News briefs
U.S. DTC eyewear brand gets $75m injection
Pair Eyewear, a U.S.-based direct-to-consumer eyewear brand, has announced the completion of a new funding round through which it raised approximately $75 million. It is the third financing round for the company which has raised a total of $145 million since 2020. The last round was led by Prysm Capital ...
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News briefs
Kits expands progressive lens output capacity
Canadian-based online optical retailer Kits Eyecare has announced that it was investing in new equipment to expand its manufacturing capacity of progressive lenses by 50 percent by the end of this year. The company says it is operating one of the biggest and most automated optical labs in North America. ...
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News briefs
Menicon starts ortho-k lens production in China
Japanese-based contact lens maker Menicon has announced that its Chinese subsidary, ALPHA WUXI, started producing ortho-k lenses at its new factory this month, a few months ahead of schedule. The brand Alpha Ortho-k was launched in China in 2011 and its lenses were until now produced at the group’s factory ...
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ArticleLeica brings ophthalmic lenses business in-house, opens factory
Leica Eyecare, a subsidiary of Leica Camera founded in 2021, has announced the opening of its new company headquarters and production facilities in the central Hesse region, near Frankfurt, Germany. The investment follows the decision of the German group, globally famous for its premium cameras, to bring the production of ...
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News briefs
ZEISS partners with Boehringer Ingelheim on vision loss prevention
ZEISS Medical Technology and Boehringer Ingelheim, a German-based bio-pharmaceutical group with operating in the Human Pharma and Animal Health markets, have announced the signature of a long-term strategic agreement. The partnership is aimed at developping predictive analytics to enable early detection of eye diseases and more personalized treatments to prevent ...
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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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News briefs
Vuzix opens new waveguides factory
Vuzix, a key player in the burgeoning smart eyewear market, has completed the construction of its new optical waveguides production facility. The U.S. tech company said that it has started sampling waveguides, which are targeted for use in products based on its Ultralite platform, for both in-house and OEM programs ...
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News briefs
Innovatek gears up to start operations at Longarone plant
The Italian eyewear company Innovatek plans to begin eyewear finishing work in November at the Longarone, Italy plant, which it is acquiring from Safilo Group. This will happen after the first 30 Safilo employees it has agreed to take on as part of the transaction agreement, start working on Nov. ...
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ArticleModo acquires Italia Independent brand
MODO GROUP, the Italo-American eyewear company behind the MODO and ECO brands, has announced that it was acquiring the Italia Independent brand from the eponymous company. According to a release by Italia Indepedent, the transaction was agreed for a total of €1 million. As reported a few months ago, the ...
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ArticleFielmann upgrades outlook following confirmation of SVS deal
Fielmann Group has confirmed the closing of its acquisition of U.S. retailer SVS Vision, which will be integrated in the German-based retailer’s accounts from Sept. 1 and will therefore contribute four months of turnover to the group’s 2023 revenue. As previously reported, SVS Vision is based in Michigan and operates ...
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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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ArticleItalian OEM group lists on the Milan stock exchange
Italian OEM eyewear manufacturer iVision Tech went public at the end of last week, listing its shares on the Euronext Growth Milan stock exchange. The company floated a total of 1,738,500 newly issued shares at an offering price of €1.15 per share for a total consideration of approximately €2 million. ...
