Latest Headlines – Page 52
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ArticleNovacel extends Leica footprint, increases French market share
The French-based lens maker Novacel almost put a final touch to its European distribution network for the German licensed brand Leica Eyecare, with the implementation of a network of regional distributors in Italy. Leica lenses are now available throughout Europe except for Denmark, Norway, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, ...
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ArticleMido 2021 goes digital
In a live online conference followed by exhibitors, visitors, journalists and other stakeholders earlier today, Giovanni Vitaloni, president of the Italian industry association Anfao, announced that the 2021 edition of Mido, the international eyewear trade show scheduled for next June 5 to 7, would take place online ...
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Eyesafe wants to become the reference brand for blue light protection
The average time spent in front of screens increased to an estimated 13 hours and 38 minutes per day last year, a 30 percent increase from a year before, according to an announcement by Eyesafe last week. In the same communication, the company also stressed that eye strain has become ...
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Maison Bourgeat relaunched in a DTC venture
Vertical integration has been the name of the game lately in many industries including ours, and even more so since the Covid-19 outbreak, with brands going direct to consumer as the dominant pattern. The revival project of the Maison Bourgeat name offers a different picture though, with a 5-store optical ...
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ArticleRazer partners with online optical retailer for smartglasses
Razer, an international brand of IT and lifestyle products for gamers and e-sports fans with 100 million users worldwide, is launching its first smart glasses this month. Called Razer Anzu, the new product combines Bluetooth functionalities with 35 percent blue light filtering lenses that can be easily ...
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ArticleEssilorLuxottica returns to growth
EssilorLuxottica is on a recovery path after a difficult second quarter, when revenues were nearly halved amid Covid-19 lockdowns. Sales in the fourth quarter were up by 1.7 percent in constant currencies. For the second half of the year, revenues gained 0.3 percent from the year-ago period to €8,199 million, ...
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ArticleSafilo confirms H2 recovery, keeps streamlining
Publishing its final results for its fourth quarter and complete 2020 financial year yesterday, Safilo announced that it remained focused on its transition and the implementation of its group business plan after a difficult and contrasting year in a Covid-19 market environment. The group managed to end 2020 with a ...
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ArticleSafilo to use Eastman sustainable materials from 2022
Safilo has announced that it would start using Eastman’s sustainable materials for its eyewear collections starting from 2022. The Italian maker selected the Eastman Tritan Renew, a copolyester made of 50 percent recycled content, for use in both sunglasses and eyeglasses of its proprietary brand Polaroid Eyewear, ...
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French social security expects more impact from its eyecare reform in the future
In a roundtable with a French journalists’ association last week, Frank von Lennep, the country’s social security director said that 14 percent of eyeglasses’ frames and 12 percent of corrective lenses sold had been picked from the Class A products’ list since the implementation of the 100% Santé healthcare reform ...
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CVI returns to growth in Q1, except for EMEA
CooperVision (CVI), the contact lenses’ division of Cooper Companies, started the 2021 fiscal year on a positive note with a return to growth after two consecutive quarters of declining sales. Total CVI quarterly revenues increased by 4 percent year-on-year to $507 million in reported terms, and by 1 percent in ...
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ArticleGentle Monster mixes eyewear with cosmetics, cakes and artworks in new retail format
Gentle Monster, the South-Korean brand of luxury eyewear which is famous for the unusual design of its stores that integrate large contemporary artworks and futuristic robots, unveiled at the end of last month its new multi-brand retail format in the Gangnam district of Seoul in the presence ...
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National Vision finds growth potential in a pandemic economy
National Vision, the U.S.-based optical retailer behind the America’s Best and Eyeglass World banners, registered a second consecutive quarter of double-digit increase in sales after big declines in the first half of the year due to the Covid-19 crisis impact. For its fourth quarter ended Jan. 2, the company booked ...
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ArticleThe European soft contact lenses’ market decreased by 9% last year
The European wholesale market for soft contact lenses decreased by 9.1 percent year-on-year to €1,376 million in 2020 according to data collected in 13 countries by Euromcontact, the European federation of national associations and international contact lenses manufacturers. The countries included in this research are: Belgium, Luxemburg, Denmark, France, Germany, ...
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Essilux proposes a new slate of board directors
EssilorLuxottica’s board has released a new slate of candidates for the board of directors that will be proposed to shareholders at the forthcoming annual general meeting (AGM). The company’s representatives are Leonardo Del Vecchio, Francesco Milleri, Paul du Saillant, Romolo Bardin, and Juliette Favre. The candidates for the seats of ...
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ArticleGrandVision revises down slightly its Q4 results
In the fourth quarter, GrandVision posted revenues of €981 million, down by 1.8 percent at actual currency rates and up by 1.0 percent at constant currency rates. Comparable sales growth was 0.7 percent. In its preliminary results, released on Jan. 22, the Dutch optical retailer had estimated comparable revenue growth ...
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Bausch Health expands board after deal with activist shareholder
The Canadian healthcare company Bausch Health will expand its board of directors to add two representatives of the activist investor Carl Icahn. With the two new appointments, the board will have 13 directors. Under the agreement, Brett Icahn and Steven Miller will be appointed to the board as new independent ...
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German suppliers saw their sales drop 9.5% last year
The Covid-19 pandemic put a brutal end to a decade of steady growth for the German eyewear industry, according to a new report by Spectaris, the national trade association. After a record sales’ increase of 5.4 percent in 2019, revenues of German suppliers of optical products dropped by 9.5 percent ...
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ArticleTOG sales down 9 percent in spite of improved product mix
The Thai Optical Group (TOG) posted overall revenues of 1,850 million baht (€50.9m-$61.5m) for its financial year ended Dec. 31, down by 9 percent from the previous year. Sales of lenses and services to external customers decreased by 8 percent year-on-year to THB 1,838 million (€50.5m-$61.2m), with sales of standard ...
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ArticleContact lenses drove Alcon recovery in Q4
Alcon reported a 2 percent year-on-year increase in total revenues to $1,925 million for the fourth quarter of its 2020 financial year, marking a return to positive growth figures after two consecutive negative quarters. In constant currencies, total sales increased by 1 percent. Sales in the vision care business unit, ...
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Solstice Sunglasses files for bankruptcy protection
Solstice Marketing Concept LLC, owner of the Solstice Sunglasses retail chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week in the Southern District of New York, after its sales nose-dived by more than 50 percent last year from 2019 levels. The company highlighted the impact of the Covid-19 crisis and ...
