All Corporate articles – Page 9
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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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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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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. ...
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ArticleItalian OEM cluster group surfing on luxury eyewear momentum
Venevision, a group of Italian eyewear manufacturing companies in the Dolomites region, has announced that its revenue for the first half of this year reached €39.6 million, increasing by 58 percent year-on-year thanks to a series of acquisitions in the second half of 2022. On a comparable scope, sales were ...
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ArticleNational Vision reels as Walmart prepares to end partnership
National Vision shares took a hit in trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange July 27, tumbling 22 percent on the day after the surprise announcement that U.S. retailing giant Walmart has decided to end its long-standing partnership with the optical retailer next year. Walmart’s decision not to renew the partnership ...
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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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News briefs
L’Amy Luxe enters liquidation proceedings
The L’AMY 1810 group has announced that it has put L’AMY LUXE in compulsory liquidation for “economic reasons.” As previously reported, the company had been saved from insolvency proccedings in 2020 by its shareholder International Luxury Group (ILG) and MadaLuxe, an American partner. Since then, L’AMY LUXE has been mostly ...
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ArticleMicro-display company gets a €21m boost
Private-equity firm Jolt Capital is leading a €21 million round of funding for MicroOLED, which designs and manufactures low-voltage micro-displays. Joining Jolt in the operation are the French sovereign wealth fund Bpifrance (through an entity called Innovation Defense) and two past investors in MicroOLED, Cipio Partners and Ventech. The micro-displays ...
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News briefsIndo is back in Chile
Indo Optical of Barcelona has reentered Chile, a market it left about a decade ago, according to Look Vision. The announcement came at an event in Chile, in the presence of global product manager Jose de la Rubia and Chile sales directors Walton Ojeda and Francisca Gurtubay. This is the ...
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News briefs
Wagner + Kühner to exit insolvency proceedings
In a statement relayed by the German optical trade press, Jens Lieser, the administrator appointed to oversee Wagner + Kühner’s insolvency proceedings, has announced that the company would be able to pursue its operations after the acquisition by an unnamed investor. Various restructurings have reportedly been implemented, including the reduction ...
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Bausch + Lomb expands drops portfolio with two acquisitions
Bausch + Lomb has announced the acquisition of two eye drops’ brands in the last two weeks as the company is aiming to expand its catalog of over-the-counter (OTC) eye care solutions. The first acquisition is the takeover of Xiidra, an eye-drop solution for the treatment of dry eye disease, ...
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ArticleSafilo close to a complete solution for its Longarone plant
The Safilo Group seems to be coming closer to a satisfactory solution for its industrial site in Longarone, Italy, which the company said it would need to divest at the start of the year due to a “persistent production overcapacity.” Just a few days after confirming talks with Thélios, LVMH ...
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Safilo officially in talks with Thélios for Longarone plant
Safilo Group has officially confirmed that it was engaged in advanced negotiations with Thélios, the LVMH group’s eyewear unit, for the transfer of its Longarone facility, a plant focusing on the production of metal frames. The group stressed that this would allow to preserve the plant’s know-how and retain a ...
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ArticleVuzix OEM consumer smart eyewear business enters countdown phase
Vuzix’ management was not short of images, martial or witty, to describe the state of its business to its shareholders during the annual meeting held at the group’s headquarters last week: shipping boats, battleships, a dog and even a frog helped to convey the company’s expectations for its imminent takeoff, ...
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News briefs
Theo owners invest in Komono
Mik, Jan and Toon Somers, owners of independent eyewear brand Theo have acquired a 40 percent stake in Komono. Both companies are based in Antwerp, Belgium. According to the Belgian business press, Komono sales went down from €16 million in 2017 to around €10 million currently, as the pandemic and ...
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ArticleKRYS GROUP to raise lens production capacity by 30%
KRYS GROUP has announced the completion of the building of its new plant at its CODIR industrial and logistic center in Bazainville, near Paris. The new 4,800 square meter structure, which is slated to become operational early next year at the latest, will enable the French optical retailer to accelerate ...
