All News briefs articles – Page 8
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News briefs
Synsam expands e-commerce and second hand frames workshop facility
Synsam Group has announced that it was doubling the surface of its e-commerce warehouse in Spånga, north of Stockholm, to 2,700 square meters. The investment is primarily meant to address a sharp increase in online orders in general and in its contact lens business in particular. The company said that ...
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News briefs
Targeting a higher price segment, Brillen.de operator launches new subscription-based retail concept
SuperVista, the German-based group behind the brillen.de discount brand, has announced that it was entering the higher-priced designer frames segment with the launch of THE GOOD BRAND OPTICIANS, a new eyewear retail concept operating on a subscription-based business model. The new shop-in-shop brand offers hundreds of frames from “top international ...
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News briefs
Malaysia bans optical devices and contact lenses e-commerce
Malaysia’s Medical Device Authority (MDA) has made a public announcement to inform consumers that the online sale of optical devices and contact lenses is strictly prohibited in the country. These products are categorized as prescribed medical devices and therefore require a prescription and must be provided by a registered optician ...
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News briefs
Innovative Eyewear revenue jumps 42% but bottom line dips further into red ink
Innovative Eyewear, a Florida-based smart eyewear company, has reported a 42 percent year-on-year jump in revenue to $1.6 million in fiscal 2024. The company, which develops audio and AI smart glasses under its own Lucyd brand and licences (Nautica, Eddie Bauer), said that the performance was driven by strong volume ...
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News briefs
EssilorLuxottica ranks eighth in global innovation ranking
EssilorLuxottica took the eighth position in the 2025 ranking of the world’s most innovative companies by Fast Company, a global media focusing on technology. The eyewear and eye care behemoth ranks in the Top 10 among the likes of Nvidia, BYD, Rocket Lab or Duolingo to name a few. The ...
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News briefs
Alcon to acquire cataract laser treatment company for $430m
Alcon has announced that it will acquire LENSAR, a stock listed company specializing in the advanced laser treatment of cataracts, following an agreement between both companies. The Swiss-based eye care group will purchase all LENSAR outstanding shares with a 24 percent premium to their average price of the last 30 ...
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News briefs
1-800 Contacts launches prescription glasses online shop
1-800 Contacts, the leading US e-commerce player in the contact lens segment, has announced its entry into the prescription glasses market with the launch of The Framery, an online shop that “gives everyone access to premium frames without the designer markup,” the company says. Prescription frames available on the website ...
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News briefs
Specsavers joins the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
Specsavers has joined the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) as a so-called Group A Member, the eye health advocacy organization has announced. IAPB stressed the importance of Specsavers’ expertise in diagnostic technology, notably in OCT scans rollout, and the retail group’s strong footprint in the UK, Europe, ...
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News briefs
Cai Gherardi, co-founder of l.a. Eyeworks, has passed away
Cai Gherardi, co-founder of independent eyewear brand l.a. Eyeworks, has died at 78 after a brief illness. Gherardi and Barbara McReynolds, a high school friend, started the company in 1979, opening their store in Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, a place that soon became an art gallery as much as an ...
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News briefsMicrooled, Quanta and STM partner on AR sports smart glasses blanks
Three companies have come together to produce blanks for augmented-reality (AR) smart glasses. Their idea is to produce a frame with built-in electronics but leave the rest open for third parties to “customize” with their own services or additional tiny devices. They’re calling it a “reference design” and aiming it ...
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News briefsTopcon investing in oculometrics company
Topcon Healthcare is the lead investor in a pre-Series A funding round for MachineMD, which develops oculometric systems to assess brain function and detect multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, tumors, evidence of strokes and other troubles. The amount of the investment remains undisclosed, but Topcon will be integrating MachineMD’s neuro-diagnostics into ...
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News briefs
Bausch Health announces debt refinancing plans
Bausch Health has announced that it is starting a $4 billion offering of new senior secured notes due 2032 and that it also plans to establish new senior credit facilities for at least $3.8 billion. These initiatives are aimed at refinancing the pharmaceutical group’s $21 billion debt, of which approximately ...
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News briefs
The UK’s OSA broadens the scope of its Green Charter
The Green Charter, a sustainability initiative by the UK Optical Suppliers Association (OSA) in partnership with The College of Optometrists and the Association of British Dispensing Opticians, is expanding the scope of its certifications beyond optical manufacturing businesses to address all optical product and service suppliers, practices and ophthalmology clinics. ...
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News briefs
Jacques Marie Mage accelerates store openings in fashion hotspots
In an interview with WWD, luxury eyewear designer Jacques Marie Mage has revealed that it was planning to open three new JJM Gallery stores in Paris, Tokyo and New York by the end of 2026. The announcement follows the recent openings of two European stores, in Milan and London. In ...
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News briefs
Mister Spex announces CEO change
Mister Spex has announced the appointment of Tobias Krauss, currently chairman of the company’s supervisory board, to the position of Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. Krauss has been a member of Mister Spex’ supervisory board since 2020 and its chairman since July 2024. He has also been serving as ...
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News briefs
Ray-Ban Meta red carpet debut just a start?
In partnership with Coperni, a French ready-to-wear and accessories brand, Meta and EssilorLuxottica launched a limited series of their Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses at the fashion week in Paris a few days ago. A declination of the Wayfarer style, the limited edition glasses feature a transparent black frame, grey mirror ...
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News briefs
EssilorLuxottica appoints new wholesale manager for the DACH region
EssilorLuxottica has appointed Wolfgang Messerschmidt as its new Head of Professional Solutions, its wholesale division, for the DACH region effective April 1. An eyewear industry veteran, Messerschmidt has been working for EssilorLuxottica since 2022, most recently as Vice President for Central Europe.
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News briefs
Multiópticas revenue up 8 percent in 2024
Spanish-based retail group Multiópticas has communicated that its sales grew by 8 percent last year, but it did not provide a value number. The growth was driven by the strong performance in progressive lenses (+25 percent) and hearing aids (+28 percent). The company, whose store network includes approximately 550 locations, ...
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News briefs
SuperVista reports €161m revenue for FY 2024
German-based retail group SuperVista has announced that its revenue amounted to €160.6 million in 2024, exceeding its €149 million forecast, with a 13 percent operating Ebitda margin. The company, however, did not provide year-on-year comparisons. In the first six months of last year, its sales were up by 2.6 percent ...
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News briefsTopcon to distribute new, wearable glaucoma tester
Topcon Healthcare will be handling worldwide distribution for the new vision-testing platform for glaucoma from RadiusXR. Called Inspire, the platform purports to be, as RadiusXR puts it, “the lightest virtual reality perimeter headset on the market” (at six ounces) and, as Topcon puts it, “the only commercially available wearable vision ...
