Latest Headlines – Page 110
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The ECV calls the EU to take measures to promote eye health
The European Coalition for Vision (ECV) met on April 1 with the European Union's Directorate General for Health and Consumers and with Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, to reiterate its call to include eye health and vision in the European political agenda. The ECV said that EU authorities ...
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The U.S. optical business improved in March
The overall rating of the U.S. optical business environment rose to 3.72 in March from a February rating of 3.65, according to the Optical Business Barometer (OBB) compiled by Jobson Optical Research. The rating deteriorated, however, as compared to March 2013, when it stood at 3.84, and was worse also ...
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Ocuco buys another company, sets up a base in China
Ocuco has made two important strategic moves in the last few weeks. It has acquired See20/20, which has a cloud-based store management system for opticians. It has also decided to set up an office in Shanghai to develop the group's presence on the Chinese market, particularly for its optical laboratory ...
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CVC Capital Partners buys Synsam Nordic
Synsam Nordic A/S, the largest optical retailing group in the Nordic countries, is being acquired by equity funds advised by CVC Capital Partners, the big international investment group based in London. The takeover is subject to the approval of regulatory authorities. Joakim Forsell, who is staying on as chief executive ...
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Hal’s optical stores raise sales and earnings
Hal Holding, the biggest player in the optical retail sector in Europe, with a presence also in other parts of the world through GrandVision and other operations, announced yesterday a 4.8 percent increase to €2,531 million in the revenues generated in 2013 by the optical retail companies that it controls.Their ...
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Safilo will focus on Polaroid, repositioning Carrera
Seriously hurt by the loss of the Armani licenses, Safilo confirmed plans to significantly develop its proprietary brands, which represent about 20 percent of its total sales, but the focus seems to have shifted to the recently acquired Polaroid brand, which benefits from a strong image, from Carrera, which will ...
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Marchon marches on at a double digit
Wearing a Google Glass shield, Claudio Gottardi, president and chief executive of Marchon Eyewear, told a small group of journalists during the Mido show in Milan that the company is expected to raise its sales by between 13 and 14 percent this year, or roughly at the same pace as ...
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Luxottica will work with Google on smart eyewear
Luxottica and Google announced earlier this week a partnership for the design, development and distribution of spectacles for Google Glass that will involve the popular Ray-Ban and Oakley brands, using also Luxottica's retail and wholesale distribution channels once Glass will become more widely available.Google Glass is still in a beta ...
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De Rigo loses Zegna but should gain a big new brand in 2015
De Rigo should have a major new luxury brand in its portfolio next year. Negotiations are currently underway with a brand which, sources claim, has “strong recognition in Europe” - a continent that represents 60 percent of the group's wholesale business and is holding up well, in contrast with the ...
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Allison makes a good recovery
Allison closed 2013 with a turnover of around €50 million; this represents growth of 25 percent for the Italian company last year, and it more than makes up for the previous year's losses. The group's recovery can be attributed to three factors: the positive performance of some new house brands, ...
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Spy turns around, gearing up for expansion
Spy is aiming for a 50-50 sales split between sunglasses and prescription frames because of the much bigger number of optical accounts operating in the U.S. and the rest of the world. The number of its optical retail accounts in the U.S. has risen to about 1,000 from only 200 ...
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Vuarnet pushes its RX program to new heights
Vuarnet has launched a unique polarized mineral sunlens, the Polarlynx PX1000, to go with its sunglasses, including those with a nine-base curve. It is a progressive lens that can be surfaced in the back with free-form technology as part of a new RX program by the French company, which is ...
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CooperVision grows twice as fast as the market
The global market for soft contact lenses grew by 5 percent in constant currencies in 2013, according to the Contact Lens Institute, reaching a level of $7.5 billion. CooperVision rose by 11 percent for the calendar year, driven by its toric and multifocal lines of products and by its Biofinity ...
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Safilens builds up its European sales network
Safilens, the Italian contact lens company acquired by a pharmaceutical group in Rome two years ago, is working on processes that will allow its lenses to release vitamins and actual drugs into the eye. It is particularly keen on developing a process for the release of a beta blocker that ...
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The new face of La/Es: new marketing for laminates
After a long period of relatively quiet management, this Italian specialist for plastic laminates for eyewear has decided to boost its business in the international market. La/Es is regarded as the second-largest producer of laminates for eyewear in the medium and top segments of the market. A spokesman estimates that ...
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At least two high-end readers specialists are doing well
See Concept is a three-year-old French start-up that has chosen to specialize in the development of top-end reading glasses, offering specially designed plastic-injected frames in a variety of bright and visible colors, retailing at between €25 and €30 a pair.In contrast with the readers sold in supermarkets, tobacco stores or ...
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Silvian Heach launches eyewear outside its fashion stores
This respectable Italian fashion brand launched its first line of eyewear at Mido in Milan, developed in-house, presenting 19 styles of prescription frames and nine sunglasses for women, designed by Paolo Seminara and made in Italy.The brand, founded in 2002 and owned by a Neapolitan group, Arav Fashion, run by ...
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Sover’s team makes a comeback under a new name
As we have previously reported, Sover has been insolvent for some time. The Italian company is set to reach an agreement to settle its debts with creditors on April 10. Meanwhile, the Italian producer of prescription frames and sunglasses is returning to the market under a new name, Sover Eyesweb.Its ...
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Italian start-ups counter the crisis
The recession in Italy is producing more than just bankruptcies and shutdowns. In the eyewear sector, there are some local contract manufacturers that have gone out of business and then come back to the market with new products and new business plans, often using the “made in Italy” label as ...
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U.K. optical sector recovers but competition remains intense
Demand for optical goods in the U.K. was up 2.6 percent in 2013 on the previous year despite strong competition between retailers, according to Mintel. In its latest study on optical goods retailing in the U.K., released last month. The British marketing research firm says that U.K. consumers spent £2.82 ...
