Latest Headlines – Page 134
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Two funds take over Hans Anders
Alpha Private Equity Funds 5 and AlpInvest Partners have agreen to take over the leading Dutch optical retailer, Hans Anders Group, from two other funds, Gilde Buy-out Funds and Comnaar Investments. Hans Anders' current chief executive, Patrick Herman, and the chain's chief financial officer, Jan de Groot, are also taking ...
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Hal’s optical retail sales near €2.7 billion including franchises
The optical retail business of the Dutch conglomerate Hal Holding increased revenues by 8.0 percent to €2,194.3 million in 2010. Excluding acquisitions and currency changes, turnover rose by 3.7 percent. Comparable store sales were up by 0.3 percent, reversing the 1.6 percent decrease booked in 2009.Hal consolidates Pearle Europe, GrandVision, ...
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Luxottica’s first-quarter sales up 11.8%
Luxottica finished the first quarter with an 11.8 percent increase in revenues to €1,556.1 million, joining LVMH, PPR and a string of other luxury goods companies that have beaten market expectations for the period. At Luxottica, sales were in fact driven by double-digit demand for luxury and premium brands, especially ...
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Higher margins for Fielmann in quarter
Fielmann reported a very positive first quarter, raising sales by 7 percent on a same-store basis and by 7.9 percent overall. Consolidated sales went up by 7.9 percent to €255.9 million. Unit sales were up by 4.7 percent to 1.6 million pairs of glasses.Margins improved, as the leading German optical ...
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Fielmann gains further market share
Presenting its annual report for 2010 in Hamburg yesterday, Fielmann said it met its expectations for the year. As already reported, Fielmann posted a 3.9 percent increase in pre-tax income to €170.3 million in 2010 while consolidated sales rose by 4.3 percent to €993.7 million, with a volume increase of ...
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Solid growth and finances at Optic 2000
The French buying and franchising group has reported a 79 percent increase in net profit to just over €7.7 million for the past financial year. Operating earnings increased by 57 percent to €14.9 million. Cash flow continued to improve, reaching €14.5 million for the year, and debt was further reduced ...
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Safilo starts 2011 on strong note
For the second quarter in a row, Safilo booked higher-than-expected results in the opening three months of 2011. The company's chief executive, Roberto Vedovotto, said he believes that this year could mark its relaunch, after achieving a drastic turnaround in 2010 from a situation of near-bankruptcy. But while results in ...
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Strong start for Marcolin, too
After a record 2010, the new year started well for Marcolin thanks to higher-than-expected orders for its new Swarovski collection and for prescription frames. The positive news flow comes as the Italian eyewear company aims to reinforce its presence in the Far East and in America and prepares to launch ...
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Essilor confirms market’s acceleration
Essilor International increased sales by 13.4 percent to €1,027.6 million in the first quarter of 2011, in line with market expectations, and confirmed its view that the global optical market is gaining momentum and could rise by 3-4 percent this year instead of 2-3 percent as previously forecast.Organic growth reached ...
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Alcon-Novartis marriage is approved
Shareholders of Alcon and Novartis approved Alcon's merger into Novartis, parent company of CIBA Vision, at the recent respective annual meetings of the two companies. As a result, Alcon, which discontinued its listing on the New York Stock Exchange, will act as Novartis' second-largest division, comprising Ciba Vision and other ...
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New management for Spy’s parent
A new management team has been appointed at Orange 21. Carol Montgomery will be the new chief executive after 10 years of acting as a consultant within the sunglass and optical industry. Her previous positions include vice president at Sunglass Hut International, and chairwoman and CEO at Revo. She succeeds ...
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Zeiss launches its photochromic technology
Carl Zeiss Vision has launched its new photochromic lens, PhotoFusion. The new lens, which became available in brown and grey tints all over Europe on April 15, is said to react 20 percent faster to changes in light conditions than other photochromic lenses. Zeiss says the lenses darken in 15 ...
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PixelOptics gets new funds to launch its technology
The American company has announced the closing of a new round of financing, worth a total of $45 million and led by Safeguard Scientifics, a stock-listed U.S. company focusing on high-tech and life science companies. This company, which has been in operation since 1953, has thus taken a 25 percent ...
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Growing Maui Jim acquires Zeal Optic
Maui Jim has entered a promising new market segment by acquiring Zeal Optics. This rather sophisticated sports eyewear company, based in Boulder, Colorado, specializes in the development and manufacture of snow goggles with a built-in GPS that measures altitude, skiing speed and other parameters. Officials of Maui Jim note that ...
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Former Maui Jim manager joins William Morris
Nick Boys, a 46-year-old executive who had been handling Maui Jim's sales operations in the U.K., has decided to become joint managing director in charge of U.K. sales and marketing at William Morris Eyewear, with a minority stake in the company.This small British company, which has an annual sales turnover ...
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Fedon is back in the black
Fedon and its eyewear case business are finally turning around, after five consecutive years of losses that were attributed to difficulties that the eyewear industry has been going through lately. The Italian company's consolidated turnover reached €54,539,000 in 2010. It ended up 21.2 percent higher than 2009, an annus terribilis ...
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New limitations on internet sales
Independently of the lobbying being done by the European eyewear industry through Eurom 1 to defend its specific rights in this area, the European Parliament has voted in favor of a new directive that would impose new conditions on suppliers of any kinds of product to consumers over the internet ...
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Britain’s Optrafair shows progress
Regional optical shows seem to be enjoying a revival. A total of 7,586 visitors attended the biennial Optrafair show in Birmingham held April 9-11, and the number of those who visited for more than just one day reached 6,647, 2 percent more than two years ago. The floor space rented ...
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Vision Is moves further toward merger with Vision Service
A colorful convention organized earlier this month to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Vision Is sanctioned the first stages of a merger between this Italian buying group, which operates mainly in the center and south of the country, with Vision Service, another major Italian group that is strongest in the ...
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Blindness is decreasing
The World Health Organization estimates that there are now less than 39 million people around the world who are blind. This is less than the figure of 45 million blind people that had been estimated in 2000 and sharply below the level that had been suspected before. In fact, experts ...
