Latest Headlines
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ArticleVuzix losses pile up as AR smart glasses take-off takes its time
After a last-minute postponement at the end of March of its annual results presentation, smart eyewear manufacturer Vuzix reported earlier this week a severe drop in Q4 revenue and a significant increase in losses for fiscal 2023. While the management stressed that investments in manufacturing and product development have led ...
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ArticleUS startup picks eyewear market as launch pad for infinitely recyclable plastic material
As the world is grappling with an ever-growing amount of plastic waste, of which less than 10 percent is being recycled, our attention was brought to a California-based chemical start-up that claims it can produce an infinitely recyclable alternative material to high performance plastics. And, somewhat surprisingly for such a ...
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ArticleDisposable daily CLs momentum slowed down in 2023 in Europe, survey shows
Wholesale sales of soft contact lenses rose by 5.2 percent year-on-year to €2,157 million in 2023 for a group of 32 countries including 25 in Europe and a few others (Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, South Africa and United Arab Emirates), according to the new annual report by Euromcontact, the ...
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ArticleSlight average eyewear stocks price hike in Q1 reflects extreme ups and downs
The average stock price of public eyewear companies inched up by 1.6 percent on a non-weighted basis during the first quarter of 2024, slowing down from the 8.4 percent growth calculated for Q4 2023. The Q1 2024 performance also fell short of the 8.1 percent quarter-on-quarter growth of the MSCI ...
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ArticleStudy suggests readers could ease poverty
The American journal Plos One has published a study concluding that the “provision of reading glasses increases income in near vision-intensive occupations, and may facilitate return to work for those currently unemployed.” The study was conducted in Bangladesh among presbyopic men and women aged 35 to 65, about half of ...
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ArticleAssistance, design key drivers in eyewear purchases
Both the assistance provided to customers and eyewear design are key drivers when choosing to buy a pair of eyeglasses and sunglasses, according to a survey conducted by the Italian market research group Yoodata among eyewear purchasers in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, the UK, the US and China. According to ...
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ArticleHoya production and order systems greatly affected by cyberattack
Please click here for the most recent update on this news. Hoya Corporation announced on April 4 that, following the discovery on March 30 of an IT system failure at one of its overseas subsidiaries, some of the group’s production plants and order systems for several products had been ...
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ArticleNew management structure and increased retail focus for MPG
Following the death at the end of 2023 of Dr. Michael Pachleitner, its founder and CEO, the eponymous MPG (Michael Pachleitner Group) is entering a new era of its history with a new management structure and a strategic focus on the development of its retail business unit. We sat down ...
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ArticleTwo top-ten German optical retailers join forces to take over Edel-Optics
Optiker Bode and ROTTLER, two family-owned and historical optical retail chains respectively based in Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, are joining forces to take over Edel-Optics, an online optical retail pionneer in both Germany and Europe. Founded in 2009, the company had filed for insolvency proceedings in February. Edel-Optics has ...
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ArticleiVision Tech enter lens business as 2023 parent company sales rise 19%
The Italian eyewear group iVision Tech announced it was entering the lens sector with the acquisition of a 60 percent stake in Bulgarian lens producer IVILENS OOD for €280,000, as it continues on the acquisition path following the purchase of the French high-end eyewear manufacturer Henry Jullien in September. Stefano ...
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ArticleSales and profit up double digits for Conant Optical in 2023
Chinese lens manufacturer Conant Optical has reported a 12.7 percent year-on-year increase in annual revenue to RMB 1,760 million (€226m) for fiscal 2023, slightly accelerating from its performance in H1. Although the growth in the first half of the year was almost entirely due to price-mix improvements, an uptick in ...
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ArticleProduct mix drives growth and profitability gains for Mister Spex as customer base stagnates
Mister Spex ended fiscal 2023 on a positive note as total Q4 revenue increased by 7.4 percent year-on-year to €46.7 million, significantly accelerating from the 2.4 percent growth reported for the previous quarter. Reflecting the company’s strategic focus on its domestic market since the end of 2022, the quarterly revenue ...
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ArticleRetail expansion, price hikes and inbound tourism boosted JEH top and bottom lines in fiscal 2024
Japan Eyewear Holdings (JEH), the company behind the Kaneko Optical and 999.9 brands, has reported a 22.2 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to 2,623 million Japanese yen (€16.0m) for the last quarter of its fiscal year ended last Jan. 31. Although this marked a deceleration from the 33.6 percent growth ...
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ArticleAfflelou maintains mid-single digit topline growth in Q2, gained market shares in 2023
The Afflelou Group has reported a 5.5 percent year-on-year increase in network sales for the second quarter of its 2024 fiscal year ended Jan. 31, in line with the growth pace reported in the previous quarter. Quarterly sales rose to €231.1 million driven by Afflelou’s two key countries, France and ...
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ArticleNew owner for Horizons Optical
Oakley Capital, a London-based private equity investor focusing on mid-sized companies, has announced its acquisition of a majority share in Horizons Optical, the Spanish-based supplier of software and equipment for the production of customized ophthalmic lenses. Horizons Optical, which was originally the R&D division Indo Optical was spun off from ...
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ArticleOrganic growth and network expansion fuel Krys Group momentum
KRYS GROUP claims that it consolidated its market leadership in France last year as solid organic growth and the “exceptional” expansion of its retail footprint enabled the company to outperform the French optical market growth (+5.5 percent according to GFK) by three percentage points. Total network sales in the country ...
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ArticleSafilo looks at 2024 with confidence and hope after complex 2023
Safilo Group has reported its final full-year results for fiscal 2023, confirming the 4.8 percent year-on-year decrease in revenue to €1,025 million announced when the group released preliminary figures at the end of January. Annual sales were down by 2.4 percent at constant exchange rates versus 2023 and by 1.3 ...
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ArticleEssilorLuxottica expands retail partnership with Reliance Brands in India
EssilorLuxottica is expanding the scope ot its partnership with India’s Reliance Brands, which is taking over the development of the LensCrafters banner and the managing of its franchising network in the country. The development of the LensCrafters franchise was previously in the hands of DLF Brands and a first store ...
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ArticleMazzucchelli takes further steps on sustainability journey
Mazzucchelli 1849 is building a new factory in its hometown of Castiglione Olona in northern Italy, set to be opened in the second half of this year. Giampietro Pedrazzini, CEO, spoke to us recently about how that facility fits into Mazzucchelli’s plans to reduce its environmental footprint, along with other ...
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ArticleKits Eyecare topline up 31% in 2023 driven by repeat customers and eyeglasses
Canadian-based Kits Eyecare has reported a 21 percent year-on-year increase in Q4 revenue to $31.6 million, slowing down slightly from the 32 percent growth in the previous quarter. The company said that the Q4 sales uptick was driven by the eyeglasses segment (+39 percent to $4.1 million), repeat customer revenue ...
