Latest Headlines – Page 211
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Fielmann Is Looking For A 30% Market Share In Europe
That's the ambitious goal set by Fielmann for the longer term. Tthe German retail group's supervisory board has been discussing lately possible acquisitions in Spain, Northern Italy and Britain, where its successful discount format seems to have the biggest potential. In terms of volume, Fielmann claims to have reached a ...
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A Vast Italian Counterfeiting Rink Has Been Uncovered
Tens of thousands of counterfeited sunglasses and eyewear frames were seized in a vast police operation that led to the arrest of 44 persons in the Veneto region and in the rest of Italy during the night between Apr. 21 and 22. These are entrepreneurs, opticians and agents who are ...
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Polaroid Launches Polycarbonate Lenses Ahead Of Group's Sale
A group of investors led by One Equity Partners, an investment company controlled by Bank One, the 6th largest US bank, has offered to take over Polaroid Corp., which went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy last October. Others may bid with the US bankruptcy court for the business, and the closing ...
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Hoya's Vision Care Segment Reaches A 17.9% Operating Margin In The Quarter
Higher sales of progressive and high-index lenses in Europe and certain parts of Asia contributed to an 18.3 percent increase in foreign sales for Hoya's vision care division in the financial year ended last March 31, but the company has not yet decided whether it will launch in Europe the ...
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Fedon's Profits Shoot Up
The integration of its various acquisitions in Europe and the centralization of production facilities generated a 2 percent improvement in Fedon's operating margins last year, contributing to a 30.8 percent increase in operating income to e6.3 million, or 10.7 percent of sales, which grew by 6.7 percent to e58.6 million. ...
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Bausch & Lomb Turns Around In Quarter
The company reports net earnings of $8.8 million for the 1st quarter ended March 30, as compared to a loss of $1 million in the same period a year ago, due only in part to disposals and to certain benefits from an accounting change. On a comparable basis, net earnings ...
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Ciba Vision Has An 8.9% Operating Margin
Ciba Vision improved its operating income sharply to 38 million Swiss francs in the 1st quarter ended March 31, representing 8.9 percent of sales as compared to last year's 1.4 percent. The significant improvement was due mainly to the non-recurring costs of 28 million SF (e19m-$17m) in the year-ago period ...
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Dino Tabacchi Is In Line To Buy Salmoiraghi
Salmoiraghi & Vigano is Italy's largest integrated optical retail chain, and the acquisition is set to be completed by June 30, unless De Rigo exercizes a right of first refusal on the deal. Dino Tabacchi recently reduced to 7.8 percent his own stake in Safilo, the world's second-largest eyewear manufacturer, ...
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Safilo Continues To Post Higher Profits And Sets High Goals For Its Ysl Line
The goal is to take sales of its new Yves Saint Laurent line of eyewear up to the same level as those of its Christian Dior collection, which now represents about 10-12 percent of Safilo's total sales. Gucci has the lion's share with 20 percent of the group's turnover. ...
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De Rigo Improves Margins Broadly
De Rigo managed to improve its net income by 50.4 percent to e18.7 million in 2001, or a ratio of 4.2 percent of sales, with solid profit gains in both its wholesale and retail operations. EID, the joint venture with Prada for the distribution of the latter's eyewear, had a ...
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Grandvision Performed Better Than Expected In Quarter
The French optical retail group's management sticks to its forecast of significantly higher earnings for this year following higher-than-expected sales results in the 1st quarter of 2002. GrandVision's total sales grew by 6.5 percent to e149 million in the period, with particularly strong performance in France, Italy, the Czech Republic ...
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Afflelou Goes Public In Subdued Form
Europe's largest chain of franchised optical stores delayed its public offering after institutional investors rejected the initial pricing proposal of e17.25-19.75 a share (see March 28 issue). The price range was lowered to e15-17, and the number of shares offered was reduced. The group's chairman, Alain Affelou, decided not to ...
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Oakley's Sales Rise By 16.8% In Quarter
At $109,572,000, the sales score was better than expected in the 1st quarter ended March 31, notwithstanding a 24 percent fall in sales to Sunglass Hut International to $12 million in the period, as compared to one year ago. Excluding company-owned retail operations, which generated an extra $5.8 million in ...
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Lantis Sets Up A New European Operation
Most of Lantis Eyewear's sales of more than $250 million are still generated in the USA. With Tommy Hilfiger and some of its other brands of frames being global in scope, stronger investments in the European market were inevitable. For one thing, Hilfiger recently acquired its former European clothing licensee ...
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Inspecs Sets Up A New Us Sales Subsidiary
The new Inspecs USA is a joint venture, controlled by the rather unique British eyewear supplier. The minority partner is Gone Vision, a US company set up by Robb and Mary Winn to provide private label frames to US optical retailers. Robb Winn knows the US market well as he ...
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Berthet-bondet Restructures Its Debt
The bankers of Berthet-Bondet SA, the French public eyewear company controlled by the eponymous family, have agreed to reschedule its debt, turning much of its short-term liabilities into medium and longterm debt. The company has also eliminated 9 jobs to reduce its cost base, and it's now budgeting breakeven results ...
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Cole National Doubles Earnings
That was the goal set by the world's largest optical retail chain one year ago, and it managed to reach it in spite of the difficult economic situation in the USA. Cole National's net income grew to $5,195,000 in the 52 weeks ended last Feb. 2, as compared to $2,229,000 ...
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Alain Afflelou Goes Public, Eyeing An Expansion Into Germany And Spain
Europe's largest chain of franchised optical stores is seeking to raise at least 30 million euros on the stock exchange to reduce its indebtedness and to allow it to take over optical retail chains in France and in the rest of Europe, particularly in Germany and Spain where it recently ...
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Essilor Eyes New Acquisitions
Essilor will continue to favor profitability over growth, following a year in which the group's operating margin progressed at roughly three times the rate of sales growth, rising by 1.1 percentage points from 13.9 percent to 15 percent. In the 2nd half, it even reached a record 15.2 percent. ...
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Marcolin's Us Investment Pays Off
The relatively big investments made to acquire Creative Optics, the US wholesale network, led to an 83.5 percent drop in Marcolin's net profit to e687,000 last year, as compared to e4,155,000 in 2000, but the board of directors is proposing to keep dividends unchanged. The e3.5 million decline ...
