Latest Headlines – Page 104
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The German industry is more optimistic
The German ophthalmic optic industry improved its turnover by 2.5 percent in 2014, reaching a level of €4.13 billion, according to Spectaris, the national trade association of the industry. Its sales grew by 2.8 percent to €2.10 billion in Germany and by 2.1 percent to €2.03 billion in other countries.Supplying ...
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New boss for Zeiss' Vision Care
With effect from next July 1, the current four-member executive board of the Carl Zeiss group will be expanded to include a member who will be specifically responsible for its Vision Care and Consumer Optics business groups. The new member is going to be Matthias Metz. The two business units ...
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New and old brands use new materials
More and more brands of spectacles are using wood in the wake of pioneers such as Gold & Wood and Rolf Spectacles, which just got the German Design Award, or WooDone, which has improved its manufacturing technology by developing specific, labor-saving machinery. There are now about a dozen more or ...
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Google Glass takes a break
Googgle announced its decision to halt further sales under its Glass Explorer program on its website as of Jan. 19, but indicated that it was working on new versions of Google Glass that might be released at a later stage, without giving a timeline. The decision is not surprising, considering ...
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U.S. Optical Barometer points upwards
The Optical Business Barometer (OBB), a monthly survey designed to gauge business attitudes among independent eye care professionals in the U.S., showed an increase for December 2014 as compared to the previous month and the previous December ratings. The December 2014 rating rose to 3.91 from a November rating of ...
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GrandVision acquires Italy’s Randazzo
Hal Holding has become the leader in the rather fragmented Italian optical market, with annual sales of more than €200 million and a market share estimated at between 6 and 7 percent. After its acquisition of the Ottica Avanzi chain of optical retail stores 14 years ago, the Dutch-based investment ...
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Salmoiraghi grows by 9%, starts franchising VistaSi
Breaking a long silence about its results, Salmoiraghi & Viganò recently reported a sales increase of 9 percent to €168 million for its latest financial year, which ended last Sept. 30, with sunglass sales up by 15 percent and optical eyewear frames up by 12 percent. The company said that ...
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Amplifon ties up with Salmoiraghi
Amplifon, an Italian company that has become a world leader in the distribution and fitting of hearing aids, has signed a commercial agreement with Salmoiraghi & Viganò (S&V), the biggest Italian optical retail chain. Under the terms of the deal, Amplifon will open 450 “Amplifon points” in S&V's stores, providing ...
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Hal earns more from eyewear
In reporting its financial results for the third quarter and the first nine months of this year, Hal Holding said last month that the preparation phase for the flotation of GrandVision has been “substantially completed” and added that it plans to conduct start trading between 20 and 25 percent of ...
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Capital increase for Kering Eyewear
Kering, the big French group that owns Gucci, Puma and other important luxury goods and sports brands, is planning to put more money into Kering Eyewear, the new company that it is setting up with Roberto Vedovotto, former chief executive of Safilo, to take care of the eyewear collections of ...
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Marcolin lands in Moscow with 51% of Sover-M
Marcolin is consolidating its position in the Russian market via a joint venture with its local distributor. The Italian group signed an agreement with Victoria Chizhova, founder and general manager of Sover-M, a long-standing player on the Russian eyewear market. Marcolin will control 51 percent of Sover-M, which will distribute ...
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Nuesser will lead Eurom 1
Bernhard Nuesser, the seasoned Swiss executive who was recently appointed European director for Essilor International, is taking over next month as president of Eurom 1, the European federation of national ophthalmic optics associations, taking the place of Vittorio Tabacchi, the former owner and chairman of Safilo Group.Nuesser knows many aspects ...
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Positive action and new president for the Vision Impact Institute
The Vision Impact Institute (VII), which was set up by Essilor International in March 2013, is beginning to make some progress in putting together evidence of the cost of visual impairment to society and the economy in order to stimulate government action on vision care all over the world.Maureen Cavanagh, ...
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Zeiss' vision care business drops by 6%
The Carl Zeiss group reports another decline in its Vision Care segment for the financial year ended Sept. 30. Sales were off by 9 percent to €761 million, or 6 percent in constant currencies, but the group's management pointed out that it achieved another clear improvement in profitability by focusing ...
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Stepper will license Zeiss frames
Stepper Eyewear is going to replace Menrad as the exclusive global licensee for Zeiss branded eyewear and related accesssories, starting on Jan. 1. Its first collection will be presented at the Opti fair in Munich next month.Named after its German founder, Hans Stepper, the company has been the property of ...
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Italia Independent's growth slows down to 33%
Italia Independent's growth rates are approaching more normal levels. The first quarter 2014 still reflected the explosive figures of the previous year, with sales up by 60 percent and operating earnings before amortization (Ebitda) up by 70 percent. But spread out over the nine months to Sept. 30, the company's ...
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New U.S. joint venture for Vanni
Italy's Vanni has created a new 50-50 joint venture in the U.S. with Match Eyewear, an American distributor that is currently expanding after the acquisition of a Canadian firm, Optiq Frames. The new company - Design Gallery - made its debut at the recent International Vision Expo West fair in ...
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De Rigo introduces customizable eyewear
The De Rigo Vision group is seeking to enter a new market niche with a customized eyewear project whereby the client chooses certain features according to his or her tastes. With the help of the optician, customers can choose between three of four combinations of temples and bridges for eight ...
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PFO boosts its management
After the successful completion of a new $3 million round of financing in the past summer, PFO Global, the U.S. company run by Ruedi Suter, has appointed a raft of new executives to manage its growing and diversified business, after adding 18 people to its staff in the last four ...
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Actavis acquires Allergan
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, the Canadian-based company that bought Bausch & Lomb for $8.7 billion in the spring of 2013, has lost its long and bitter battle to take over Allergan. A global leader in generic and branded drugs based in Dublin, Ireland, Actavis, has won with a friendlier bid for ...
