All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 12, Issue 7

View all stories from this issue.

  • Article

    The U.S. market is improving

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    The Vision Council in the U.S. has issued its Consumer Barometer, a report on consumer eyewear sales and purchases, for the 12 months ended March 31. It found that that total revenues from retail and eye exams grew by 1.0 percent to $32.18 billion in the country during the 12-month ...

  • News briefs

    Mondottica Group has opened a sales subsidiary in Italy, Mondottica...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Mondottica Group has opened a sales subsidiary in Italy, Mondottica Italia srl, based near Padova. Egidio Schintu, a partner who holds a minority stake in the company, will manage the subsidiary. The Italian executive was one of the founders of Optiproject, the company that is now named Allison. The company ...

  • News briefs

    The Walman Optical Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has signed on...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    The Walman Optical Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has signed on to be part of PixelOptics' emPower lab network in the U.S. Walman, the largest independent wholesale laboratory network in the U.S., comprises Walman Optical, Soderberg Optical and Harbor Optical, and has a total of more than 40 branch offices in ...

  • Article

    Schneider goes new ways

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    The leading German supplier of free-form glazing machinery and other precision equipment is expected to grow to about €57 million this year from €52 million in 2010. To help sustain it continued growth and to better attract the most capable engineers and technicians, Schneider GmbH & Co. KG is moving ...

  • News briefs

    Sunglass Hut has opened a second flagship store in London....

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Sunglass Hut has opened a second flagship store in London. The shop is situated in Covent Garden, while the first store was opened last year on Oxford Street. The big international retail chain owned by Luxottica also opened its first store in Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro, and two in ...

  • News briefs

    Pro Fit Optix has launched its Upgrade premium single-vision free-form...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Pro Fit Optix has launched its Upgrade premium single-vision free-form lens. The custom-made lens is touted as optimizing vision in every situation with its backside aspheric HD technology that makes for a flat, slim lens. It is calculated according to the patient's eye movement, and the backside of the lens ...

  • Article

    Italian firm launches recyclable frames

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    A company in the Cadore district of Italy, Plastididattica Commerciale, launched a new relatively inexpensive and environment-friendly technology to make 100 percent recyclable plastic frames at the Mido show in Milan last March.The core of the technology is a patented plastic injection method that uses recycled PET (which stands for ...

  • Short stops

    Jacques Morel, who was very involved with the French eyewear...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Jacques Morel, who was very involved with the French eyewear company bearing his family's name since 1948 and until his retirement, has passed away at the age of 83

  • News briefs

    Immagine Eyewear of Italy is expanding in Turkey and South...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Immagine Eyewear of Italy is expanding in Turkey and South Africa with new distributors for its X-ide and Rye&Lye brands. Delta Optik will handle the company's brands in Turkey, a potentially lucrative market as its economy expands. GM Optical Fashion Group is in charge of the South African market, the ...

  • News briefs

    Silmo is organizing an exhibition of posters at the next...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Silmo is organizing an exhibition of posters at the next show that would convey information to visitors about scientific studies made on any subject related to vision care. The initiative will run in parallel with the Silmo Academy, a scientific convention being held for the second time during the fair, ...

  • News briefs

    Two executives are moving up at VSP Optics Group. Warren...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Two executives are moving up at VSP Optics Group. Warren Meyer, vice president for laboratory operations since 2009, is being promoted to senior vice president of the same division. Meyer is the founder of CustomEyes (1989) and Perfect Optics (2006), and also held a management position at Essilor Labs. He's ...

  • Article

    Possible turnaround in European sunglass sales

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    The European sunglass market may be on its way to recording an increase of more than 10 percent this year across all channels of distribution, according to executives participating in the annual convention of the European Sunglass Association in Pisa a few days ago, in contrast with the decline that ...

  • Article

    Hal’s stores earn less

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    The optical retail operations of Hal Holding saw their revenues increase by 6.6 percent to €557 million in the first quarter of 2010. However, excluding the effect of new acquisitions and changes in currency exchange rates, they rose by 2.9 percent, and they actually suffered a 0.5 percent sales decline ...

  • News briefs

    Mathias Schmidt is the new managing director of Essilor Deutschland,...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Mathias Schmidt is the new managing director of Essilor Deutschland, replacing Stefan Schicke, who has left the company after five years in the job. Schmidt, 45, acted as managing director of Hoya in Germany until 2004. Most recently, he was a top manager at Flemming Dental, a German company dealing ...

  • Short stops

    Jean-François Rey, the French eyewear designer and manufacturer, is launching...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Jean-François Rey, the French eyewear designer and manufacturer, is launching B. Robinson Optical's Betsey Johnson line of eyewear in France

  • News briefs

    There will be no national eyewear show in Denmark this...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    There will be no national eyewear show in Denmark this year. The Drommesyn trade show has been postponed to a still-unspecified date in March 2012. At its last edition in Copenhagen in March 2010, it hosted 48 exhibitors and welcomed about 1,500 visitors.

  • News briefs

    In response to growing demand for its luxury eyewear, TD...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    In response to growing demand for its luxury eyewear, TD Tom Davis has increased the workforce by 22 percent at its workshop in Shenzen since last December. The British designer eyewear company, which won an award from Optician magazine at the recent Optrafair show in Birmingham, says it invited 12 ...

  • News briefs

    Tura has named Debbie Forstenzer to be its new vice...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Tura has named Debbie Forstenzer to be its new vice president for product development, after two years of consulting for the company. She will be responsible for design and product development with an eye on new strategies and profitability.

  • News briefs

    Davis Vision has updated its website and mobile site with...

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Davis Vision has updated its website and mobile site with more information that is easier to find, while reflecting the company's branding strategy. The site includes an explanation of laser vision correction, and companies can choose the vision plan enrollments best suited for their employees. Davis Vision's Facebook page is ...

  • Article

    Luxottica takes control of Multiopticas

    2011-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Luxottica will exercise early an option to take over Multiopticas Internacional, in which it has had a 40 percent stake since 2009. The Italian group will buy a 57 percent stake for about €95 million in the South American eyewear company in July. Luxottica had an option to buy 60 ...