Latest News Briefs – Page 9
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News briefs
iVision Tech’s iSee smart glasses registered as Class 1 medical device
The Italian eyewear group iVision Tech said that its iSee smart glasses for the blind and visually impaired have been officially registered with the Italian Health Ministry as a Class 1 medical device, a designation that makes them eligible for government contributions for visual disabilities. The registration indicates that the ...
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News briefs
Safilo supply agreement with Kering Eyewear extended until 2029
Safilo Group has announced the early renewal of its supply agreement with Kering Eyewear until 2029. The supply agreement between both groups started in 2015 after Kering decided to produce its eyewear licenses in-house, which led to the early termination of Safilo’s Gucci license. In a 2019 Eyewear Intelligence article, ...
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News briefs
Inspecs founder to step down from the company’s board
Inspecs Group has announced that Robin Totterman will step down from his role as executive chairman at the company’s annual general meeting on June 3. Christopher Hancock, the group’s senior independent director will take over the role until a new non-executive chairman is appointed, no later than the end of ...
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News briefsSpain planning subsidy for children’s glasses, contacts
The government of Spain – as represented by President Pedro Sánchez and Minister of Health Mónica García – has announced a subsidy of €100 towards the purchase of corrective glasses or contact lenses for children, Moda en gafas and others report. The scheme is part of the Plan Veo (the ...
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News briefs
British DTC eyewear brand raises £3m to support international expansion
Bloobloom – a UK-based brand of “designer eyewear at a fair price,” by its own description – has raised £3.0 million (€3.6m) in a second funding round with Pembroke VCT, a London-based investment fund, as main investor. Pembroke accounted for over half of a £4.8 million (€5.8m) round in 2022. ...
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News briefs
New book traces Ray-Ban’s history
A new book written in Italian traces the history of Ray-Ban starting from its establishment in 1937 to provide protective eyewear for pilots of the US Air Force and showing its evolution into an icon of global style. “Ray-Ban. Storia del brand che ha conquistato cuore e occhi di milioni ...
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News briefs
Marcolin and Adidas renew eyewear license
Marcolin and Adidas have announced the extension of their eyewear license agreement until 2032. As has been the case since the start of the partnership between both groups in 2020, Marcolin will design, manufacture and distribute globally eyewear collections under the Adidas Sport and the Adidas Originals brands, respectively targeting ...
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News briefs
French eyewear industry association surveys glasses wearers on the ‘Made in France’ label
Ahead of its annual Manufacture Tour event, LEOO, the association of French optical products manufacturers, has announced the results of a survey on the perception of the Made in France label among glasses wearers in France. Over 1,600 people participated in the survey which was commissioned by Opinion Way, a ...
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News briefs
Mister Spex CEO buys €100,000 worth of company shares
Mister Spex announced last week that Tobias Krauss, its recently appointed CEO, has purchased 70,000 shares of the company for a value of approximately €100,000. Krauss is underscoring his long-term confidence in the strategic direction and growth potential of Mister Spex with this share purchase, the company said. As ...
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News briefs
American Optical marks 90th anniversary of aviator sunglasses
American Optical, the historical US eyewear brand, is adding two new styles – Racer and Margot – to its aviator sunglass collection in commemoration of the famous design’s 90th anniversary, which the company says it was the first to launch for the US military in 1935. The American optical brand ...
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News briefs
DaTE relaunch edition sold-out well ahead of event
DaTE, the Italian trade show focusing on the designer eyewear segment, has published the list of confirmed exhibitors on its website, four months ahead of the event scheduled for next Sept. 13-15 in Riccione. As previously reported, ANFAO, the Italian eyewear industry association organizing DaTE, is relaunching the show this ...
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News briefs
Europa Eyewear appoints new CEO
Europa Eyewear has announced the appointment of Megan Molony as its new CEO, starting June 16, 2025. Molony, a seasoned eyewear executive, joins the Illinois-based eyewear company from National Vision, where she has served as Senior Vice President, Chief Merchandising and Managed Care since 2017. Earlier in her career, she ...
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News briefs
Marcolin adds new licensed brand to portfolio
Guess? and WHP Global, co-owners of rag & bone have announced that they have signed an eyewear license agreement with Marcolin for the New York-based fashion brand. The four-year license partnership includes the design, production and distribution of sunglasses and eyeglasses. Founded in 2002 and targeting both men and women, ...
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News briefs
Mondottica enters the readers’ market
Mondottica Group has announced the launch of a range of readers under its licensed Ted Baker brand, marking its entry into the product category. Ted Baker Ready Readers collection includes three eyewear designs available with sunglass or optical lenses and in four correction strengths (+1.5 to +3.0). The ...
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News briefsSynsam Group launches new luxury retail concept
Synsam Group is launching a premium optical retail concept with the opening earlier this week of NK Eyewear & Optics at the NK department store in Stockholm, Sweden. The concept offers a unique combination of luxury brands, cutting-edge fashion and clinical expertise, according to the company. The 47-meter-long ...
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News briefs
Magrabi pursues M&A expansion in Middle East
Only a few months after the takeover of Rivoli Vision, Magrabi Retail Group is boosting its footprint in Kuwait with the acquisition of Kefan Optics, a local optical chain established in 1978 and currently operating 36 stores. The investment will enable the Dubai-based group to increase its market share in ...
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News briefsRodenstock comparable revenue and margins up slightly in FY 2024
Rodenstock Group revenue grew by 1.2 percent year on year and on a comparable basis to €512.4 million, the company has announced. The German-based lens maker stressed that the progress was driven by an 11 percent increase in sales to key account (excluding GrandVision), sustained growth in demand for its ...
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News briefsTopcon invests in Eye-Go
Topcon Healthcare has invested in a Danish medical-tech company called Eye-Go and is helping it to develop a product called MistGo Digital, to be incorporated into Topcon’s Harmony digital health platform. Neither company has disclosed any figures. Source: Eye-Go Eye-Go’s MistGo device. The original MistGo is a ...
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News briefs
iVision Tech Q1 sales jump 38% as acquisitions boost top line
Italian eyewear supplier iVision Tech saw group sales in the first quarter of 2025 jump by 38.1 percent to €3.4 million, with growth underpinned by recent acquisitions and the resilience of its other activities. Sales of iVision Tech’s parent company stood at €2.0 million, up 0.1 percent from the year ...
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News briefs
Spex Pistols shop in Scotland rebrands after legal dispute with punk band
Spex Pistols, a small optical shop in Dundee, Scotland, has changed its name after being legally challenged by lawyers representing the Sex Pistols, the famous British punk band. While the Sex Pistols legal representatives’ objection pertained to the shop’s logo, whose design was allegedly similar to that of the band, ...
