All U.S. articles
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News briefs
The Vision Council looks at US glasses wearers’ style preferences
US women are twice as likely as men to choose tortoise (26 percent vs. 12 percent) or multicolor frames (24 percent vs. 10 percent) when they purchase glasses. Conversely, men tend to opt more often than women for metallic frames (34 percent vs. 21 percent). These are some of the ...
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Article
Warby Parker sees top line momentum continuing as Q4 loss disappoints
Warby Parker is planning to open another 40 stores this year and to grow revenues by another 12-13 percent, continuing with top line momentum after reporting revenue growth of 12.0 percent in 2023. “We have higher ambitions, in particular for top line growth and preserving more customers, all while maintaining ...
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Article
National Vision posts good Q4, transitions out of Walmart partnership
National Vision, the third largest optical retail player in the U.S., has reported Q4 revenue of $500.4 million, up by 8.0 percent year-on-year. The company said that the quarterly growth was primarily driven by a 6.0 percent increase in comparable store sales that reflected both an increase in customer transactions ...
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News briefs
National Vision signs distribution partnership with DTC brand
National Vision has announced the signing of a distribution partnership with Pair Eyewear, a U.S. direct-to-consumer brand that offers eyeglasses - starting from $60 with single-vision lenses - and sunglasses with customizable fronts for children and adults, including capsule collections with brands such as NBA, Harry Potter or Coca-Cola. The ...
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Karün Eyewear to get a Walmart boost
Karün Eyewear, the Chile-based brand of eyewear made from recycled and traceable materials, has signed a nationwide, but non-exclusive, partnership with Walmart for the distribution of its frames in the U.S. retail giant’s Walmart Vision Centers. ”We chose to work with Walmart as our U.S. national retailer to expand access ...
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News briefs
U.S. ECPs’ economic outlook worsens
The economic outlook of U.S. eye care professionals (ECPs) worsened in Q3 compared to Q2 according to the quarterly research report by The Vision Council, and an increasing proportion among them is less confident that they will be able to meet their revenue goals this year. As in previous quarters, ...
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News briefs
Spanish eye health tech start-up enters U.S. market
Wivi Vision, a Barcelona-based start-up focusing on children eye health, has announced the signature of a partnership with Vision Rehab Technologies for the distribution of its products and services in the U.S. Wivi Vision has developed a technology that evaluates visual disfunctions in children, such as dislexya for example, and ...
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News briefs
The Vision Council updates Lens Product Desciption Standard
The Vision Council has announced the completion of Version 1.00 of its Lens Product Description Standard (LPDS), a reference industry standard for lens manufacturers to provide technical information on their lenses and lens blanks. The new standard, which was unanimously approved by the U.S. association’s LPDS committee at the recent ...
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News briefs
U.S. DTC eyewear brand gets $75m injection
Pair Eyewear, a U.S.-based direct-to-consumer eyewear brand, has announced the completion of a new funding round through which it raised approximately $75 million. It is the third financing round for the company which has raised a total of $145 million since 2020. The last round was led by Prysm Capital ...
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Fielmann upgrades outlook following confirmation of SVS deal
Fielmann Group has confirmed the closing of its acquisition of U.S. retailer SVS Vision, which will be integrated in the German-based retailer’s accounts from Sept. 1 and will therefore contribute four months of turnover to the group’s 2023 revenue. As previously reported, SVS Vision is based in Michigan and operates ...
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News briefs
Morel Eyewear appoints new U.S. sales director
Morel Eyewear has appointed Zachary Milan as its new sales director for the U.S, a key export market for the French company since it opened a local subsidiary thirty years ago. Milan has over twenty years of sales experience with lens and eyewear companies including Younger Optics, Shamir, Europa Eyewear ...
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National Vision raises 2023 earnings guidance as prepares for end of Walmart partnership
National Vision raised its earnings guidance for the full year while maintaining its outlook for sales, as the optical retailer’s management provided financial analysts with initial indications of how it intends to ride out the previously announced end next year of its long-standing partnership with the retailer Walmart. For the ...
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Article
Warby Parker sweetens outlook after Q2 sales rise 11%, store rollout continues
Warby Parker tweaked its guidance for sales upwards as it continues with the rollout of new physical stores and after revenues in the second quarter ended June 30 rose by 11 percent to $166.1 million to beat its guidance for the period of 7-9 percent growth. The U.S.-based direct-to-consumer eyewear ...
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News briefs
A glimpse of the state of sustainability in U.S. eyecare
There was a slight decline over the course of 2022 in the importance of having a “green” practice for U.S. eyecare professionals, at least according to the Environmental Sustainability Survey conducted by Jobson Optical Research on behalf of 20/20. In February 2020, November 2021 and August 2022, only 1 percent ...
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Article
National Vision reels as Walmart prepares to end partnership
National Vision shares took a hit in trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange July 27, tumbling 22 percent on the day after the surprise announcement that U.S. retailing giant Walmart has decided to end its long-standing partnership with the optical retailer next year. Walmart’s decision not to renew the partnership ...
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News briefs
Top 50 U.S. optical retailers sales up 4 % in 2022
The 50 largest optical retail players in the U.S. saw their sales increase by 4.0 percent year-on-year to $18.7 billion, according to the recently released annual report by Vision Monday. Vision Source, an optical retail franchise with close to 3,000 locations owned by Essilor of America, tops the ranking with ...
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News briefs
CooperVision launches back-to-school campaign on myopia management
CooperVision has announced the launch of a three-pronged back-to-school communication campain in the U.S. on myopia management. This new consumer-oriented initative is aimed at generating awareness, educating and informing, and driving action with parents and eye care professionals (ECPs), the company said. The campaign will include the publication of myopia ...
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News briefs
AOA launches eye-health educative mobile game
The American Optometric Association (AOA) has launched Blink Land, a mobile game that educates players about eye-health related issues such as improving their screen time habits, the easing of digital eye strain or the importance of taking eye exams regularly. The organization describes Blink Land as the first eye-friendly mobile ...
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News briefs
ANFAO and ICA to showcase independent Italian eyewear in the U.S.
With the support of the Italian Trade Agency, Italian eyewear industry association ANFAO will organize two networking events to promote 20 of the country’s indepedent eyewear brands in the U.S. The events will take place in Seattle and Chicago on next October 10th and 12th, respectively. The organizing partners said ...
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Article
American eyecare providers expect good things from 2023
In its report for the first quarter of 2023 The Vision Council finds that optimism reigns among eyecare providers in the U.S. – despite what the Council’s senior director of market research and analytics, Alysse Henkel, calls “acute pressures” from price inflation and a tight labor market. Surveyed providers found ...