Latest Headlines – Page 6
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ArticleSilmo Paris kicks off post-Covid trade-show era
The organizers of Silmo Paris have announced that 31,337 people visited the last edition of the show that closed its doors on Oct.2, or 16.5 percent more than last year, confirming the visual impression that the event has almost returned to its pre-pandemic self (approximatively 35,000 visitors in 2018). A ...
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ArticlePPG partners with lens coatings’ 3Dprint start-up
PPG has announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with Flö-Optics, a start-up specializing in additive manufacturing of ophthalmic lenses’ coatings. Under the terms of the partnership, PPG will supply its HI-GARD scratch-resistant coatings, which are said to make lenses four to six times more resistant to abrasion, to ...
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ArticleMeta and Ray-Ban beef up smart glasses with influencers in mind
Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday at the group’s developer conference the launch of the second generation of smart glasses developed in collaboration with EssilorLuxottica and its Ray-Ban brand. For this second generation of the smart glasses, the partners have significantly upgraded several key features from the initial product, the ...
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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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ArticleItalian OEM group acquires Henry Jullien
iVisionTech, the Italian-based OEM eyewear supplier, has announced that it was acquiring French eyewear company Henry Jullien, after a competitive sale process managed by a French Commercial Court. The process followed the entry into liquidation proceedings of the L’Amy Luxe group, of which Henry Jullien was part since 2017. ...
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ArticleFrench optical market flattish in 2022, official report says
The French optical market inched up by 0.2 percent year-on-year to €7,272 million according to the new report by the national research and statistics office, the Direction de la recherche, des études, de l’évaluation et des statistiques (DREES). The small hike in market value follows two years of strong COVID-related ...
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ArticleAmazon smart eyewear range upgrade includes Safilo partnership
Amazon has announced the upgrading of its smart eyewear collection with the launch of seven new styles, including five Echo Frames models, its proprietary brand, and two designs by Carrera, a house brand of Safilo Group. It is the first time that the Italian eyewear company partners with Amazon. All ...
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ArticleVeneVision adds injection to portfolio with new acquisition
Fast-growing Italian eyewear OEM group VeneVision is adding another production process to its know-how portfolio with the acquisition of CIDI, a Treviso-based company specializing in the production of injected-polymer frames. “With this acquisition,” commented Nicola Belli, CEO of VeneVision, “a fundamental piece of the Group’s strategy is realized: we are ...
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ArticleSlow H1 for Arts Optical as sales of OEM prescription glasses drop
Arts Optical, the Hong Kong-based eyewear manufacturer, has reported a 2.4 percent year-on-year decline in total revenue to 566.4 million Hong Kong dollars (€68m) for the first six months of 2023 as positive results in its distribution and lenses’ divisions could not completely offset a decline in OEM sales. Furthermore, ...
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ArticleGlobal lens and frames market resilient to COVID and economic crisis, report finds
Underpinned by solid positive and long-term trends – aging populations and more digital lifestyles in the first place –, the global optical market emerged relatively unscathed from the COVID-19 crisis. That was one of the conclusions from the World Lens and Frames Demand report released last year by independent research ...
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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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ArticlePacked house and new lay out for Silmo Paris
As the Silmo Paris teams are gearing up for the 2023 edition of the show that will take place in two weeks in the French capital (Sept. 29 to Oct.2), we sat down with Éric Lenoir, the event’s director, to assess the current status of the fair and the novelties ...
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ArticleLenskart’s Neso Brands invests $4 m in French DTC eyewear brand
Neso Brands, the $100 m investment fund launched by Indian-based optical retail group Lenskart last year, has announced that it has acquired a significant stake in Le Petit Lunetier, a French direct-to-consumer (DTC) eyewear brand. It is the first investment in Europe for Neso Brands and Lenskart. As previously reported, ...
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ArticleThe U.K. and North America drove INSPECS in H1
The Inspecs Group has reported a significant improvement in profitability for the first half year of 2023, mostly thanks to the substantial reduction of its lens unit’s losses, while group revenue progressed at a low mid-single digit pace in constant currencies. As previously announced, the company has changed its reporting ...
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ArticleSafilo reaches deal with Thélios, Innovatek for Longarone plant and workers
Safilo Group said it has reached an agreement with Thélios, the eyewear business of the French luxury goods group LVMH, and Innovatek, an eyewear company owned by the businessman Carlo Fulchir, to guarantee the future of its Longarone facility and to relocate the 444 workers currently employed at the site ...
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ArticleThélios opens portfolio to proprietary brands with Vuarnet acquisition
Thélios, the eyewear company of French luxury group LVMH, has announced its acquisition of Vuarnet from NEO Investment Partners, the U.K.-based investment fund that owned the brand since 2013. This marks the first brand acquisition by Thélios whose portfolio included exclusively fashion brands from its parent company until now. Thélios ...
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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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ArticleDriven by sunglasses, Mister Spex posts positive operating margin in H1
Mister Spex’ turnaround plan seems to be paying off as the German-based retail group reported a double-digit growth in revenue for the second quarter of 2023, market share gains in its domestic market and a return to a positive adjusted EBITDA for the first six months of the year. The ...
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ArticleCooperVision accelerates in Q3, upgrades full-year forecast
CooperCompanies has reported an 11 percent year-on-year revenue increase to $630.2 million for its CooperVision (CVI) unit in Q3, marking the tenth consecutive double-digit quarterly progression and an acceleration from the previous quarter (+6 percent). Sales of contact lenses were up by 12 percent at constant exchange rates and by ...
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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, ...
