Latest News Briefs – Page 361
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News briefs
GrandVision will start building a new lens laboratory in Val-de-Reuil,...
GrandVision will start building a new lens laboratory in Val-de-Reuil, Normandy, in October as its lab at Aubergenville, closer to Paris, has become saturated and the group is centralizing operations for all its chains throughout Europe. The new 5,000-square-meter plant, which will involve an investment of about €3 million on ...
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News briefs
Leonardo Del Vecchio, chairman and majority shareholder of Luxottica Group,...
Leonardo Del Vecchio, chairman and majority shareholder of Luxottica Group, has allocated shares held through Leonardo Finanziaria, his company's holding company, to a stock options plan for the group's senior management. The shares represent only 2.11 percent of Luxottica's share capital, way below the figures previously reported in the Italian ...
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News briefs
Compagnia finanziaria di investimento, a financial holding company controlled by...
Compagnia finanziaria di investimento, a financial holding company controlled by Leonardo Del Vecchio, has raised from 29.45 to 32.97 percent its stake in Beni Stabili, a large 100-year-old Italian real estate company based in Rome. The move is forcing Del Vecchio to launch a tender offer for the remaining shares, ...
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News briefs
The INDO Group has acquired a 51 percent stake in...
The INDO Group has acquired a 51 percent stake in Optical Equipment Group Llc, an American company that owns the AIT brand and distributes equipment to optical companies. The Spanish company has an option to purchase an additional 24 percent share within five years in OEG, which has been distributing ...
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News briefs
Gilbert Ciulla, 44, is INDO's new country manager in France,...
Gilbert Ciulla, 44, is INDO's new country manager in France, replacing Hervé Perin who is going to be responsible for the Spanish company's development in Belgium and Luxembourg. Ciulla previous worked for Optique Carrefour in France and Italy. His appointment coincides with the introduction in France of the company's INDOnet ...
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News briefs
Bourgeois has decided to shut down its Alsatian ophthalmic lens...
Bourgeois has decided to shut down its Alsatian ophthalmic lens factory at Illkirch and to concentrate all the company's production at another plant at Lons le Saulnier, reducing the number of SKUs and sourcing all its standard models in Asia. The decision has triggered a strike. The French company, which ...
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News briefs
Eschenbach Optik France has appointed Rudy Jeanson as its new...
Eschenbach Optik France has appointed Rudy Jeanson as its new director, replacing Christian Dazy. Jeanson, who began his new job in July, joined Eschenbach's French subsidiary in 1998 as sales director of frames. Before joining the German company, he was sales director at Bourgeois and also worked at JTV and ...
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News briefs
ZVA, the German association of optical retailers, has used its...
ZVA, the German association of optical retailers, has used its own reserves to establish a €250,000 fund intended to help out members that are going through financial difficulties because of the phase-out of government subsidies for the purchase of eye care products. The German health reform has led opticians to ...
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News briefs
Allison's good performance was confirmed in the half-year results of...
Allison's good performance was confirmed in the half-year results of IT Holding, the Italian manufacturer's parent company. Eyewear now represents12.7 percent of the holding company's total revenues, up from 9.1 percent. Allison's own turnover grew by 52.9 percent to €44.5 million during the 6-month period ended June 30, putting the ...
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News briefs
Oakley has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Fox...
Oakley has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Fox Racing lasting through to Dec. 31, 2008. The deal will see Oakley designing, manufacturing, marketing and distributing a range of sunglasses, goggles and prescription eyewear for the California-based performance action sports apparel company. Oakley intends to launch the range, which ...
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News briefs
Jones Apparel Group has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with...
Jones Apparel Group has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Riviera Trading, which will manufacture and distribute women's and men's sunglasses under the Jones New York brand to department stores and retailers already carrying Jones New York apparel. The forthcoming Spring collection will be presented in Riviera's showrooms. Previously, the ...
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News briefs
Stephen Fairchild has signed a licensing agreement with GFM Industria...
Stephen Fairchild has signed a licensing agreement with GFM Industria of Granarolo Faentino under which the Italian company will produce and distribute its branded eyewear, starting in the Spring of 2005. The collection will start with 15 models, which might in due course increase to 30. GFM Industria belongs to ...
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News briefs
Clearlab will present a new biocompatible monthly and two-weekly replacement...
Clearlab will present a new biocompatible monthly and two-weekly replacement contact lens, called clear all-day, at the SILMO fair in Paris next month. This new spherical lens has been designed to reduce in-vivo aberrations for superior vision. A toric version, called clear all-dayT, is under development, completing the range of ...
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News briefs
Aspex has sued Safilo for violation of one of its...
Aspex has sued Safilo for violation of one of its patents. The Canadian company, known for its magnetic eyewear clips, had already taken Safilo to the Canadian high court in Québec last May. Then on Sept. 21 Aspex pursued its case against Safilo USA, in defense of its US patent ...
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News briefs
Fedon, the world's leading producer of eyewear cases, has closed...
Fedon, the world's leading producer of eyewear cases, has closed LT Production, the French factory that it bought when it acquired Génétier, now the group's sales subsidiary in France. The 30 employees of the French production company have all been offered jobs within the group, whose production facilities are outside ...
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News briefs
Ciba Vision is launching later this Fall O2Optix, a new...
Ciba Vision is launching later this Fall O2Optix, a new lens in silicone hydrogel intended to supply five times more oxygen than soft contact lenses as part of its current range of silicone hydrogel lenses. The lenses carry 33 percent water content and their surface treatment is designed to ensure ...
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News briefs
Gerber Scientific's ophthalmic lens processing segment had revenues of $19.2...
Gerber Scientific's ophthalmic lens processing segment had revenues of $19.2 million in the first quarter ended July 31, 2004, up 3.7 percent from the same period last year, but net losses reached $593,000, compared to $41,000 last year because of $1.4 million in restructuring charge associated with the relocation of ...
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News briefs
BMC Industries has sold its bankrupt Vision-Ease Lens business to...
BMC Industries has sold its bankrupt Vision-Ease Lens business to Insight Equity Partners, with the approval of the bankruptcy court. Insight Equity, a company based in Texas, expected to close the transaction this month. Insight Equity plans to build Vision-Ease's products and processes with its business partner, the Rosewood Corporation, ...
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News briefs
Optical Express has entered continental Europe by acquiring the Free...
Optical Express has entered continental Europe by acquiring the Free Vision Euro Eyes laser vision correction clinics in Amsterdam and the Hague. The two clinics will reportedly extend their offer by integrating the Scottish-based optical retail chain's range of prescription eyewear. The company had previously bought several LASIK ...
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News briefs
Boots Opticians has launched an incentive scheme to encourage its...
Boots Opticians has launched an incentive scheme to encourage its sales force and ophthalmic specialists to drive harder sales. The scheme has been launched gradually over the last three months and will be operational in the British chain's 297 stores ? with the exception of the eight franchises operating individual ...
