All France articles – Page 3
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News briefs
French opticians remain under governmental scrutiny
In a press release issued last week, the French Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Enforcement (DGCCRF) said that it conducted more than a thousand control operations among 710 prescription eyewear and hearing aids’ retailers in 2021. The operations were mostly aimed at checking whether they were complying with ...
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ArticleFrench industry survey shows double-digit inflation for raw materials
The prices of raw materials and consumables for the production of frames and lenses by French companies have increased in the double-digit range in recent years and are expected to keep rising quickly next year, according to a recent announcement by GIFO, the national eyewear industry association. The organization surveyed ...
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News briefs
KRYS GROUP to start using eye-tracking AR tool in optical shops
French retailer KRYS GROUP is partnering with Eyesoft, a start-up tech company specialized in eyecare, for the utilization of the company’s eye-tracking tools in its optical stores. Founded in 2018 by two orthoptists, Eyesoft has developed a software that, in connection with an AR headset, enables the tracking of the ...
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ArticleAfflelou Q3 growth driven by COVID recovery, DOS and hearing aids
The Afflelou group has reported a strong increase in network sales for the third quarter of its current fiscal year, thanks mostly to a strong performance in the French-based retailer’s domestic market while the activity in Spain was more subdued (see chart). Afflelou Group- Q3 Network Sales - ...
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News briefs
KRYS GROUP creates optical training program to tackle staff shortage
In a move designed to soften the impact of the shortage of skilled optical staff in France, KRYS GROUP has announced that it would launch its own training center for apprentice opticians in September this year. The French voluntary group, which boasts a retail network of close to 1,500 doors, ...
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News briefs
Immagine98 appoints French distributor
Immagine98, the Italian eyewear company behind the X-IDE, RYE&LYE and MIC brands, has appointed ArtMonium as its exclusive distributor for France. Until now, the company was distributing its collections directly in the country. ArtMonium has been active in the French optical market for over 30 years and its current portfolio ...
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ArticleChild-myopia awareness on the rise in France, survey says
A recent survey by the French Association for Eyesight Improvement (AsnaV) and OpinionWay suggests that close to half of the French population suffer from myopia as 48 percent of the 1,057 surveyed people said they felt some discomfort for long-distance vision. Among those, 79 percent had gotten their eyes ...
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News briefs
French voluntary groups up 7.5% in 2021
French optical voluntary groups saw their sales increase on average by 7.5 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, according to a report by l’OL Mag based on data from the Fédération du Commerce Coopératif et Associé. Optical banners covered by this research include Atol, Optic 2000 and Lissac, Optique Leclerc, ...
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ArticleOptic 2000 group just over €1bn in revenue last year
Groupement Optic 2000, one of the leading optical retailers in France, has reported a 17 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to €1,010 million for 2021. This includes annual sales of its two optical banners, Optic 2000 and LISSAC, the business of its buying groups, Gadol in France and Optic Swiss ...
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ArticleNew French retailer wants to ride the healthcare reform wave
Droit de Regard, a new French optical retailer addressing the low-cost segment of the optical market has announced it just raised €2.4 million in new funds from a dozen of private investors. The injected capital will mostly serve to finance the expansion of the banner’s retail network and to increase ...
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News briefs
Little interest in origin of optical products in France, poll says
According to a recent poll by Acuité, about 25 percent of French opticians declared that their clients were regularly or almost always asking questions about the origin of the frames and lenses. In detail, 19 percent of surveyed opticians estimate that about half of their clients made such enquiries while, ...
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News briefs
New president at GIFO
Eric Lefort, the managing director of Marcolin France, has been unanimously elected as the new president of GIFO, the French eyewear industry association. He succeeds Léna Henry, former general manager of Essilor France, who had been at the helm of the organization since September 2020. Prûne Marre, who recently replaced ...
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ArticleFrench market up 1.4% vs 2019 despite headwinds
In an online conference for the members of the French-based industry association Club Inter-Optiques last week, GFK released some key indicators on the performance of the French optical market in 2021, also providing some comparison points with the German, Spanish and Italian markets. The research company’s data is based on ...
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News briefs
Eyewear out-of-pocket expense up €40 for French customers
Earlier this month we reported that, according to the consumer magazine Que Choisir, most French optical shops have been neglecting to inform their customers of a government program, called 100% Santé (100% Health). Now, as reported by L’OL, a survey of supplemental insurers suggests that the average out-of-pocket expense per ...
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News briefs
Optical outperforming overall retail in France, survey suggests
The French optical-industry platform Acuité has published a survey of 975 optical retretail professionals to review the sector’s performance from 2019 to 2021. In that time revenues for the French optical market rose by 4 to 5 percent, with especially good performance two months before the government’s 100% Santé program ...
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News briefs
Relatively few business failures among optical shops in France
Altares, which collects and analyzes data on B2B markets, notably in France, the Benelux countries and North Africa, has released figures for business failures (bankruptcies, restructurings, liquidations) in France. There were 28,371 business failures in 2021, the lowest total in 35 years, with less than 100,000 jobs affected. The total ...
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News briefs
Most French optical shops seem to be omitting a consumer subsidy
According to an article published on Dec. 29 in the consumer magazine Que Choisir, most French optical shops are neglecting to inform their customers of a government program to reimburse every cent they spend on their glasses. Called 100% Santé (100% Health), the program made its debut about a year ...
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News briefs
Draft bill proposes extended prerogatives for French orthoptists
The French government presented at the end of last month a draft bill regarding the financing of the country’s social security for 2022. Willing to facilitate access to eye care and shortening the waiting period to book an eye exam with an ophthalmologist, the government is considering an extension of ...
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News briefs
Stable average price for a French optical shop in 2020
According to a recent multisector report by Altares, a French research company, a total of 188 optical stores were taken over in France last year, a significant drop from the 230 transactions registered in 2019. While the Covid-19 crisis certainly had a negative effect, the number of such transactions has ...
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ArticleShift in the financing of optical expenses in France
The Direction de la recherche, des études, de l’évaluation et des statistiques (Drees), the French administration in charge of national research and statistics, released last week its annual report on healthcare expenses in the country. According to the DREES, the optical market in France decreased by 7.3 percent year-on-year to ...
