All Retail articles
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ArticleGentle Monster plans to quadruple overseas stores as AI glasses launch nears
IICOMBINED, the Seoul-based parent of Gentle Monster, plans to increase its eyewear brand’s overseas store count roughly fourfold within three to five years, taking the network from around 50 stores today to a targeted 200, according to Korean media reports citing fashion industry sources. The group currently operates 86 stores ...
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ArticleJINS reports double-digit revenue growth, lower margins in 9M results
JINS HOLDINGS posted nine-month results showing sales growth holding at double digits, even as profit growth all but stalled, with a sharp domestic margin decline largely counterbalanced by a marked overseas profitability improvement. Net sales for the nine months through May 31 rose 15.6 percent year on year to ¥80.7 ...
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IZIPIZI opens first store in Japan
Paris-based eyewear brand IZIPIZI has opened its first directly operated store in Japan, located in Tokyo’s Harajuku district. The store was opened in partnership with IDEAPORT, IZIPIZI’s longtime distributor in the country.Shoppers can browse the brand’s core lines — SUN, READING, KIDS, ACTIVE and SCREEN — alongside exclusive models created ...
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China’s Shenzhen opens first AI eyewear mall
Shenzhen’s Longgang district has opened China’s first AI-glasses-themed commercial complex, marking a bid to reposition the region’s decades-old eyewear manufacturing base as a consumer and branding hub. The Henggang AI+ Glasses Center held its opening ceremony on July 8 in Longgang’s Henggang subdistrict, alongside the launch of Vision Hub, a ...
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Walmart launches no-cost optician training program
Walmart announced last week the launch of “Associate to Optician,” a new no-cost career pathway program allowing hourly associates to train as licensed opticians. The initiative, delivered through Walmart’s existing Live Better U education benefit, offers a fully funded associate degree in Optical Science combined with hands-on clinical training, saving ...
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ArticleEyes + More bets on brand building with pan-European ambitions
About one and a half years after being acquired by KKR, Nexeye, the Dutch-based retail group, is accelerating its network expansion across Europe with the ambition of growing its retail footprint from roughly 750 stores today, spread across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Sweden, to 1,000 doors by 2028. ...
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Mister Spex outsources logistics, expands Rodenstock partnership
As part of its ongoing turnaround plan, Mister Spex is outsourcing its logistics to Arvato, a supply chain service provider, and closing its own site in Berlin Spandau, the company announced. Arvato will take over inbound and outbound logistics, warehousing, and returns management for the struggling retail group. Approximately 125 ...
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Menicon acquires small contact lens retail chain in Japan
Menicon announced on July 1, 2026 that it had acquired Inter Optical Co., a regional store operator, to strengthen its retail base and customer touchpoints in eastern Japan. This is the latest step in a decade-long roll-up: the Japan-based conctact lens maker already owns Ace Contact (through subsidiary W.I. System, ...
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ArticleEssilorLuxottica advances medtech roadmap in the US with first LensCrafters Vision & Eye Health
CenterLensCrafters, the EssilorLuxottica-owned optical retail chain, opened its first Vision & Eye Health Center on June 30 in Exton, Pennsylvania, marking the LensCrafters brand’s entry into in-house surgical care in the US. The Exton location offers comprehensive eye health evaluations alongside many surgical options, including implantable collamer lenses, refractive lens ...
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Eyes + More accelerates in Sweden
Eyes + More will open three stores in Stockholm, Sweden, in the three weeks to July 9. The retail chain opened its first store in the country in 2022 and accelerated sharply since Nexeye Group, its mother company, was acquired by private equity firm KKR in 2024. The new openings ...
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KKR builds up optical portfolio with Investment in FYihealth
Global private equity investor KKR has made a strategic investment in FYihealth, a Canadian-based group founded in 2008 and operating 370 optometry clinics and retail stores across Canada and the US. Financial details were not disclosed for the transaction, which is expected to close in the coming months after regulatory ...
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ArticleSpecsavers annual sales up 9%, led by the UK and Ireland
Specsavers has reported an 8.9 percent year-on-year increase in group revenue to £4,540 million (€5,250m) for its fiscal year ended Feb. 28, 2026, accelerating sharply from the 4.3 percent increase in the previous year. The UK-based group is thus consolidating its position as the second-largest optical retailer in the world, ...
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ArticleJapan Eyewear Holdings reports strong Q1 revenue and margin expansion
Japan Eyewear Holdings (JEH), the group operating the Kaneko Optical and 999.9 retail chains, reported a 15.8 percent year-on-year increase in Q1 revenue to ¥4,854 million (€26m). This performance marks a slight acceleration from the previous quarter (+14.2 percent), despite a sharp decline in sales to Chinese customers at its ...
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ArticleKrys adds Even Realities G2 to its growing smart eyewear stable
Krys Group, France’s top optical retailer, has become the first national chain to carry the Even Realities G2 display glasses. This will be its third proposition in smart eyewear, after the Meta models (Ray-Ban and Oakley) and its own private-label model. According to its announcement of June 4, Krys will ...
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Nexeye opens 750th European store
Nexeye, the Dutch-based operator of the Hans Anders, eyes + more and Direkt Optik retail chains, has announced the opening of its 750th store in Gothenburg, Sweden, last week. Under the ownership of KKR since 2024, the group is planning to expand its European footprint from over 700 stores currently ...
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Lenskart-owned Meller expands retail presence in Europe
Meller, the Spanish direct-to-consumer sunglasses brand taken over by Lenskart last year, has opened its first store in Paris, located in the Marais district of the French capital. Originally a pure online player, Meller is quickly shifting to an omnichannel business model under the Indian retail giant’s leadership. In recent ...
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Belgian eyewear consultation software start-up raises €1.4 million
Brussels-based start-up Ditar has announced the closing of a €1.4 million seed financing round led by ScaleFund, with participation from other Belgian investors. The company said the funding will accelerate its international expansion, particularly in the US market. Ditar is best known for Optisuite, a tablet-based software used during in-store ...
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Magrabi Retail Group signs third M&A deal in as many years
Magrabi Retail Group has announced its third M&A transaction in as many years: the planned acquisition of a 51 percent stake in Baraka Optics Group, a premium optical retailer operating 23 stores in Egypt under the Baraka Optics, C&Co., and People banners. This move follows the acquisitions of Rivoli Group ...
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Lenskart takes aim at Ray‑Ban Meta in India with cheaper AI glasses.
Lenskart is launching B by Lenskart, its private‑label AI‑glasses platform, in India, its home market. The glasses come equipped with a Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipset, a 12 MP camera, open‑ear speakers and microphones, and run Google Gemini 2.5 Live as the built‑in AI assistant. They weigh 45 grams, and ...
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Warby Parker launches new sport collection
Warby Parker is launching Warby Parker Sport, a new eyewear range that “bridges the gap between everyday style and sport-specific functionality.” Made in Italy, the collection includes five designs fitted with polarized lenses available in three colors (gray, rosewood and brown). The glasses retail at $195 with plano lenses, $295 ...
