All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 12, Issue 16 – Page 3

  • News briefs

    Maui Jim has struck a licensing agreement for a collection...

    2011-12-19T00:00:00Z

    Maui Jim has struck a licensing agreement for a collection of sunglasses inspired by the movie “The Amazing Spider-Man,” which is scheduled to hit movie theaters next July 3. Sunglass Hut will have exclusive rights to distribute the new collection in North America, reinforcing its partnership with Maui Jim, coinciding ...

  • News briefs

    On Black Friday, the day after the Thanksgiving celebration in...

    2011-12-19T00:00:00Z

    On Black Friday, the day after the Thanksgiving celebration in the U.S., Luxottica's Sunglass Hut increased year-on-year sales by 20 percent, beating the group's own expectations, Luxottica's chief executive, Andrea Guerra, told the Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore.

  • News briefs

    Alain Afflelou, the French optician who still owns a large...

    2011-12-19T00:00:00Z

    Alain Afflelou, the French optician who still owns a large minority stake in the optical retail network named after him, has become president of Aviron Bayonnais, one of the leading rugby teams in France, where he is the major shareholder. He is said to have invested €4 million annually into ...

  • Article

    Essilor acquires Stylemark

    2011-12-19T00:00:00Z

    Interestingly, Essilor International's acquisition of Stylemark, a leading U.S.-based distributor and licensee of non-prescription readers and sunglasses, was announced last week shortly after the sale by that company of its premium Polaroid Eyewear sunglass business to Safilo, which we reported in the last issue. This seems to confirm that Essilor ...

  • News briefs

    Menicon has bought W.I. System, operator of 68 retail stores...

    2011-12-19T00:00:00Z

    Menicon has bought W.I. System, operator of 68 retail stores and one franchise in the Tokyo area under the banners of Ace Contact and Ekicon. Menicon, based in Nagoya, is taking on W.I. System as a wholly owned subsidiary; terms of the deal were not released. The acquisition will boost ...

  • News briefs

    Elbert E. (Jody) Stone Jr., 65, died of a heart...

    2011-12-19T00:00:00Z

    Elbert E. (Jody) Stone Jr., 65, died of a heart attack on Oct. 26, VMail reports. He was a journalist and the editor of several optical trade publications. For seven years in the 1980s he was lead editorial executive at Jobson Publishing. He was the founding editor in chief of ...

  • Article

    Spectacles drive Coastal Contacts’s 24% sales increase

    2011-12-19T00:00:00Z

    Coastal Contacts, a Canadian-based company that claims to be the world's largest online optical retail store, raised its total sales by 24 percent to 50.1 million Canadian dollars (€30.2m-$48.5m) in the fourth quarter ended Oct. 31. While its sales of contact lenses rose by 12 percent to C$38.8 million (€28.8-$37.5m) ...

  • News briefs

    In an interview with the Italian daily Il Sole 24...

    2011-12-19T00:00:00Z

    In an interview with the Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore, Luxottica's chief executive, Andrea Guerra, admitted that he had been approached to become chief executive of Italy's largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo. He said he was flattered to have been considered for such an important job. But he informed Luxottica's ...

  • News briefs

    Orange 21 is bringing Jim Pritts on board to be...

    2011-12-19T00:00:00Z

    Orange 21 is bringing Jim Pritts on board to be a consultant for its Spy Optic brand. He will help push research and development for lens technologies and also work with Spy Optic on product design and development, sourcing, quality, technology communication, intellectual property, and marketing and training. Pritts has ...

  • News briefs

    More than 600 exhibitors from 20 countries appeared at the...

    2011-12-19T00:00:00Z

    More than 600 exhibitors from 20 countries appeared at the 19th HKTDC Hong Kong Optical Fair held on Nov. 3-5, which the organizers said was a record. More than 150 manufacturers and designers showed in the Brand Name Gallery arena, including first-timers such as Fiorucci, Guy Laroche, Kenzo, myDeary and ...

  • News briefs

    Since Dec. 10, cadmium, a bluish-white toxic metallic element related...

    2011-12-19T00:00:00Z

    Since Dec. 10, cadmium, a bluish-white toxic metallic element related to zinc and sometimes found in zinc ore, will no longer be authorized in jewelry in the European Union above a level of 0.01 percent of the contents. The new regulation, UE 494/2011, does not specifically mention eyewear, but Certottica, ...