Latest Headlines – Page 203
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Hoya's Vision Care Margin Rises To 16%
In the financial year ended last March 31, Hoya Corp. improved to 16.0 percent the operating margin of its vision care operations, which comprise its ophthalmic lens and equipment business, as compared to 15.5 percent in the prior year, thanks in part to the 9.5 percent appreciation of the euro ...
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Bausch & Lomb Is Bullish After A Relatively Good Quarter
Contact lenses propped up Bausch & Lomb sales in the 1st quarter of this year and the continued growth of the soft contact lens market should help the company to achieve a stronger sales increase in the mid-single digits for the full year. Meanwhile, the company is raising its R&D ...
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Big Drop At Vision Express Depresses Grandvision's Sales For The Quarter
Suffering from the weakness of the pound and the economic downturn in some European countries, the French-based retailer, which runs 382 stores in various parts of Europe under the GrandOptical, Solaris, Vision Express and Générale d'Optique banners, has taken emergency measures to safeguard its margins. For the first 3 months ...
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De Rigo Should Improve After Bad Year
De Rigo is still a candidate to license another major upscale fashion brand, but no negotiations are afoot for the moment. Company officials claim that De Rigo was the best candidate to take over Luxottica's license for Giorgio Armani eyewear before Safilo snatched the contract under ?mysterious? circumstances ? probably ...
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Safilo's Revenues Rise But Profit Falls
Despite the difficult market situation, Safilo raised its revenues by 6 percent to a total of e896.3 million in 2002, thanks in part to the new Yves Saint Laurent line. The recent acquisition of the Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani licenses should help reach the target of topping e1 billion ...
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Oakley Is Optimistic After Weak Quarter
The company's net income declined to $3,208,000 in the 1st quarter from $5,562,000 in the same period a year ago, exceeding analysts' projections. Earnings will probably remain depressed in the 2nd quarter but they should increase sharply in the 2nd half. Meanwhile, revenues rose by just 1.5 percent to $111.2 ...
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Indo Takes Control Of Its Italian Distribution
The Spanish group has raised to 50.1 percent the stake of 30 percent that it had acquired last year in Diamonex CB Medical, the Italian firm that is distributing its own ophthalmic lenses, raising to e304,538 Indo's total investment on the Italian project. It's going to use Diamonex now to ...
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The German Market Is Off By 2%
Germany's economic woes took their toll on the country's opticians, whose retail sales sank by 2 percent to an estimated level of e3.958 million in 2002, despite a continued upward trend in the consumers' choices and in the average price of the products sold. In terms of volume, the number ...
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Initial Signs Of Recovery For Italy's Eyewear Exports
A turnaround evidently occurred in the 2nd half, offsetting the poor scores previously announced for the first 6 months of 2002. Italy's eyewear exports are showing signs of recovery, as they recorded a growth of 2.4 percent for the entire 10-month period through last October. While frame exports dropped by ...
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Big Drop At Vision Express Depresses Grandvision's Sales For The Quarter
Suffering from the weakness of the pound and the economic downturn in some European countries, the French-based retailer, which runs 382 stores in various parts of Europe under the GrandOptical, Solaris, Vision Express and Générale d'Optique banners, has taken emergency measures to safeguard its margins. For the first 3 months ...
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Article
Safilo's Revenues Rise But Profit Falls
Safilo continued to grow through the 12 months of 2002 despite the difficult market situation, raising its revenues by 6 percent to a total of e896.3 million. The target is to top e1 billion in 2003, thanks in part to the acquisition of the Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani licenses. ...
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Article
Indo Takes Control Of Its Italian Distribution
The Spanish group has raised to 50.1 percent the stake of 30 percent that it had acquired last year in Diamonex CB Medical, the Italian firm that is distributing its own ophthalmic lenses, raising to e304,538 Indo's total investment on the Italian project. It's going to use Diamonex now to ...
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Article
The German Market Is Off By 2%
Germany's economic woes took their toll on the country's opticians, whose retail sales sank by 2 percent to an estimated level of e3.958 million in 2002, despite a continued upward trend in the consumers' choices and in the average price of the products sold. In terms of volume, the number ...
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Essilor Acquires Germany's Fifth Largest Lens Firm, Rupp + Hubrach
Rupp + Hubrach is the 5th biggest player in the German corrective lens market, with an excellent brand image in terms of innovation, quality and service. Including a small portion of BBGR's product line, which it has been distributing in Germany for many years, R+H had a market share of ...
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Essilor Hopes To Hold Margins High Despite Likely Slower Sales Growth
In 2002, Essilor posted a 27.9 percent jump in net profit to e182.4 million, boosting its operating margin from 15.0 to 15.9 percent in spite of challenging market conditions and a growth in sales of just 3.3 percent to e2,138.3 million. Pre-tax income rose by 19 percent to e277.7 million. ...
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Fielmann's Net Profit Goes Up By 14.5% On 6.0% Higher Sales
Fielmann recorded the 5th consecutive increase in annual net earnings last year. After an excellent 4th quarter, they rose by around 14.5 percent to about e45 million on record consolidated sales of e657 million, up 6.0 percent from the record level they had reached in 2001. Including franchises, sales were ...
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Solidly Back In The Black, Marcolin Focuses On D&G, Sports And The Usa
The recent reorganization of its US operations and the addition of new licenses helped the Marcolin to achieve much better results in 2002. The management feels it can improve further by accelerating its development in the USA, in the sports eyewear sector and around the its strongest fashion brand, Dolce ...
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Luxottica Helps De Rigo In The Usa
Luxottica has closed the US headquarters of IC Optics in New Jersey barely one month after its acquisition. It will use its own strong national sales organization to market its Versace line of frames and sunglasses in the world's largest market. Furthermore, Luxottica has agreed to market Prada eyewear ...
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Berthet-bondet Will Probably Change Hands Soon
Court authorities have invited any interested parties to bid for the entire company or parts of it before March 31. They have set Apr. 25 as the date for a decision on any proposals, but these deadlines may be postponed if current negotiations with potential investors show some progress soon. ...
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Airess Has Reorganized Its Operations, Following A Cash Squeeze
Airess has joined the chorus of European suppliers who complain that many of their customers, particularly those in the Middle East and Asia, are paying their bills much later, in some cases because some large Italian competitors are offering better conditions. Besides, late last year this large French manufacturer of ...
