Latest Headlines – Page 230
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German Consumption And Lens Exports Are Rising
A steady increase in German eyewear consumption is forecast by the German association of opticians (Zva) following a survey of 100 optical stores throughout the country. It indicates an increase in retail sales of 5 percent in 1999 to 7.5 billion DM (e3.8bn-$3.7bn). Carried out at the beginning of ...
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Salmoiraghi Plans To Double In 3 Years
Salmoiraghi & Vigano, the only large Italian chain of optical shops, plans to invest 20 billion lire (e10m) a year between now and 2002, in order to double the number of sales outlets from the current 110 stores to 220. As we have previously reported, Salmoiraghi pulled out of ...
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The Euro Effect Slows Marcolin's Profits
In spite of healthy sales, 1999 was a year of sluggish profit growth for Marcolin, says the Italian eyewear firm. The consolidated balance sheet has not yet come out, but the management has already made it clear that it had to sacrifice profit margins in order to maintain market shares, ...
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Oakley Reports A Loss, Pushes Prescription Glasses
Oakley suffered a net loss of $2,506,000 in the 4th quarter ended last Dec. 31, but its net income actually grew by 66 percent to $5.7 million before extraordinary charges of $8.2 million for the restructuring of its footwear operations. For the year, Oakley's net income before restructuring charges grew ...
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Sola Looks For A New Chief Executive
John E. Heine has decided to step down as president and CEO of Sola International, but he has agreed to continue in this position until a successor is found and appointed. He will also remain on the company's board of directors. The new CEO is expected to take drastic ...
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Rodenstock Grows By More Than 6%
In a preliminary report, Rodenstock says it raised its sales by more than 6 percent last year on a comparable basis, taking into account the divestiture of its instruments and machinery divisions as part of a strategy to concentrate on the spectacle business. In absolute terms, the German group's revenues ...
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Improving Zeiss May Change Status
The future status of the Carl Zeiss Foundation is under evaluation, taking into consideration fiscal and other aspects. Nobody owns at present the foundation, which is the sole owner of the Carl Zeiss optical group and of Schott, a major German manufacturer of household goods and glass materials, some of ...
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Allergan Raises Sales By 16.8% In Quarter, Driven By Pharmaceutical Products
Allergan raised its sales by 9.8 percent to $380.3 million in the 4th quarter ended Dec. 31. In constant currencies, sales would have risen by 14 percent. In constant currencies and exclusing sales of certain skin care products that were divested or licensed out in the 1st half of 1999, ...
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New Optical Show Debuts In London
Eyefashion 2000 makes its debut at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London from Friday, March 31 through Sunday, Apr. 2. Organized by the Opthalmic Exhibitors' Association, the new event is expected to be held every other year, in alternation with the association's older Optafair, a show for suppliers to ...
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Munich Scores Well In German Battle Of The Fairs
The young new Opti Munich fair reports a 40.1 percent increase in the number of buyers and other visitors for its 3rd session, held at the M,O,C, fairgrounds last Jan. 14-16, as compared to the 2nd edition one year ago. Attendance increased from all parts of Germany, not just the ...
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De Rigo Acquires Spain's General Optica
De Rigo has acquired General Optica, Spain's leading optical retail chain with 112 outlets in Spain and Portugal, for about $110 million. A few months ago General Optica was still eyeing a public offering on the Madrid stock exchange. The new owners plan to expand the chain, which is still ...
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Grandvision Moves Into The Italian Market
The French retail group is rolling out the GrandOptical banner in Italy this year, while continuing to expand in Switzerland and the UK. In Switzerland, where it opened last year its first optical store in Lausanne, it's going to take for the first time the daring step of competing directly ...
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Apollo And Karstadt Form An Optical Partnership
Apollo-Optik, which is already the second-largest optical retailer in Germany after Fielmann, reinforces its market position by taking over 42 optical shops that have been operated by Karstadt within its own department stores or right next to them, plus Karstadt's edging facility and its logistic center in Essen, together with ...
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Essilor Improves Its Results Slightly
Essilor's net income, which had surged by 27 percent in 1998, rose by only 0.7 percent last year to 118.3 million euros. The operating margin declined from 14.3 to 13.7 percent, partly because of an increase of about 90 million French francs (e14m) in data processing costs, partly connected to ...
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Rodenstock Consolidates In The Usa, And Weighs Possible Public Offering
Rodenstock has decided to concentrate its North American lens business on the premises of 2C Optics, the innovative manufacturer of prescription ophthalmic lenses based in Alpharetta, Georgia, which will be renamed as Rodenstock North America. The existing office of Rodenstock USA in Danbury, Connecticut, will concentrate on the spectacle frame ...
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Luxottica's Net Margin May Go Over 10%
Luxottica expects to improve its net profit margin to at least 10 percent this year on a consolidated turnover that will break for the first time the barrier of 4 trillion lire (e2bn), following better-than-expected results in the 4th quarter. At the wholesale level, group orders as of last Dec. ...
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Bausch & Lomb Has Solid 4q Profit Thanks To Renewed Focus
Bausch & Lomb feels well on its way to reinventing itself as a market force in disposable contact lenses and refractive surgery products. After disposing of its older, non-core businesses such as its Ray-Ban sunglasses and its hearing aid operations, it has decided to ramp up R&D and marketing for ...
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Safilo's Turnover Reaches Almost One Trillion Lire
Safilo's turnover grew more than expected last year. This leading Italian glasses manufacturer, second only to Luxottica, raised its turnover by 17 percent to 987 billion lire (e510m), instead of the 930 billion lire (e480m) previously budgeted. In particular, the group's sports division, with its Carrera and Smith lines, had ...
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Ital Lenti Presents Production Plan For Galileo Italia
Local authorities and the labor unions have signed an agreement in principle to support a business plan presented by Ital Lenti of Belluno last Jan. 19 to start up again production of ophthalmic lenses under the Galileo brand name at a new industrial plant at Marghera, near Venice. Besides taking ...
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New Progressive Lenses Come To The Market In Europe
At least 3 major European suppliers are launching this year new high-tech ranges of progressive ophthalmic lenses in order to keep the momentum going and to capitalize on the progress in computer measurement techniques and in other sectors. Essilor has presented in France a few weeks ago its 5th ...
