The latest news, analysis and data on corporate strategic initiatives, the latest mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, insolvencies and cooperations in the eyewear industry.
Lenskart accelerates in Asia with Owndays’ takeover
Lenskart, the fast-growing Indian retail group, has announced the acquisition of a majority share in Owndays, a Japanese-based DTC eyewear brand with 460 stores and e-commerce operations in 13 Asian countries, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.
Paris Miki to invest €50m in 3-year turnaround plan
Paris Miki revenues inched up to 44.1 billion Japanese yen (€308m) in its fiscal year ended in March 2022, a 0.5 percent increase compared to the previous year. It is only the second time in the last decade that the retailer saw its sales go up year-on-year as the group’s ...
Kering Eyewear sets €2bn annual revenue target
As part of its capital markets day last week, French luxury group Kering presented an update on the business of Kering Eyewear, announcing a midterm revenue target of €2 billion per year, compared to €706 million in 2021, and an EBIT margin of over 15 percent. The group also shared ...
Lenskart starts a $100 m fund for DTC eyewear brands
Lenskart, the Indian omnichannel retailer and eyewear manufacturer, has created a $100 million fund dedicated to investments in direct-to-consumer (DTC) eyewear brands as the company believes that the market is now “ripe for a tech-enabled global transformation”.
New HOYA CEO presents group’s roadmap
During the presentation of HOYA’s annual results last month, Eiichiro Ikeda, who was appointed as CEO at the start of the year, delivered an update on the group’s roadmap and main management challenges for the years ahead.
Rodenstock adds M&A to technology in growth mix
“We are targeting to outgrow the optical market by two to three times with organic growth, but we are also looking at possible acquisitions to enter new markets,” Anders Hedegaard, CEO of the Rodenstock Group, told us as we were concluding our interview a few days ago, right after the ...
Rodenstock acquires Indo
The Rodenstock Group has announced that it was acquiring the Spanish lens manufacturer Indo Optical to further accelerate its regional expansion and gain market share. The acquisition is conditioned to the usual regulatory approvals but is expected to go through and be completed in Q3 2022.
Out Of to accelerate optical distribution
Out Of has signed a sponsorship deal with Paolo Bettini, the former professional cyclist, who was Olympic champion at the 2004 games in Athens and back-to-back world champion in 2006 and 2007. Bettini will be wearing the brand’s eyewear throughout the 2022 season.
Bausch + Lomb sees 5% organic sales growth in Q1 as IPO wraps up
Bausch Health sold 35 million common Bausch + Lomb shares, or a 10.0 percent stake, at a price of $18.00 per share, in an initial public offering yielding gross proceeds of $630 million and valuing its subsidiary at about $6,300 million.
Lentesplus raises $9m for development in LATAM
Lentesplus, a Bogota-based company specializing in online retail of contact lenses, raised $9 million last month in order to further expand its footprint in Latin America as well as to accelerate its transition to a vertically-integrated omnichannel business model and to develop its eyeglasses’ catalog.