All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 13, Issue 17-18

View all stories from this issue.

  • Article

    The U.S. market is softening

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    Hurricane Sandy dealt a major blow to the optical retail market along the East Coast of the U.S. earlier this month, leading to shipment delays and store shutdowns. However, numerous suppliers of products and services for the industry launched rescue efforts on behalf of the affected populations.VSP and One Sight ...

  • News briefs

    Marcolin is setting up a new office and showroom in...

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    Marcolin is setting up a new office and showroom in Hong Kong. Located in the Ocean Centre on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong, the space is divided into two separate areas, one for management and display, and the other for working in a dynamic spirit.

  • Article

    Quiksilver makes sunglasses from skateboards

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    Quiksilver has collaborated with Javier Mendizabal, a professional skateboarder sponsored by the international surf and skate company, to create a limited series of 50 pairs of sunglasses that are made by hand with materials taken from broken or recycled skateboards. The proceeds will be donated to the skateboarding community of ...

  • Short stops

    Polycore Optical has launched a redesigned website

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    Polycore Optical has launched a redesigned website

  • Article

    Opti launches an Italian Pavilion

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    The presence of a collective Italian Pavilion will be one of the novelties of the Opti fair in Munich next Jan. 25-27. Organized by Sipao, the association of eyewear manufacturers in the industrial cluster of Belluno, it will host a dozen firms including Demenego, G.B. and the Lastes group. Most ...

  • Article

    Marcolin loses Hogan license, sales

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    Marcolin agreed with the shoemaker Tod's to extend the license agreement for its Tod's brand by four years to Dec. 31, 2018. Marcolin said the terms of the deal were reviewed, reducing the guaranteed minimum royalties Marcolin will have to pay.Tod's confirmed that the conditions were revised but its chief ...

  • News briefs

    Vanni for Icons of Italy features an expanded range of...

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    Vanni for Icons of Italy features an expanded range of spectacles featuring two new styles that celebrate the cities of Florence and Rome. This line of sun and vision eyewear features “nocturnal cityscapes” on the eyewear frames that are obtained through silk screening, on acetate, and through a new 3D ...

  • News briefs

    The “Nation of Fashion” exhibition, which was inaugurated at the...

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    The “Nation of Fashion” exhibition, which was inaugurated at the Krasny Oktyabr site in the center of Moscow on Nov. 7, celebrates the Italian eyewear industry. The exhibition is the third step of Exhibitaly, a larger project aimed at promoting the key sectors of Made in Italy in Russia, organized ...

  • Article

    Equity reshuffle at Fielmann

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    Günther Fielmann, the 73-year-old founder and chief executive of Germany's largest optical retail chain, remains very active as the sole member of its executive board, according to company officials However, he has decided to gradually transfer a 24.52 percent stake in the company that bears his name, Fielmann AG, to ...

  • News briefs

    This year's edition of the IOFT show, which was held...

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    This year's edition of the IOFT show, which was held in Tokyo on Oct. 22-24, featured 520 exhibitors and 14,389 visitors. The previous edition, in October 2011, attracted 521 exhibitors and 16,292 buyers. The trade show mainly targets the Japanese market, but according to its organizers, it is increasingly becoming ...

  • Article

    PPG’s optical segment posts lower sales and earnings

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    PPG Industries has reported a 9 percent drop in the net sales of its optical and specialty materials segment during the third quarter ended Sept. 30, down to $282 million, compared with the third quarter a year ago. Volumes declined by 6 percent, and the balance came from the negative ...

  • Article

    Fielmann defies a declining market

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    A top manager of Fielmann, Germany's largest optical retailer, said his company continued to post sales gains on a same-store basis in the third quarter of 2012, in spite of the softening economic situation in the country. Over the first nine months of the year, its sales have grown by ...

  • Article

    Hoya signs a deal with Seiko, improves results

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    Company officials decline to comment on the details of the agreement signed earlier this month for the acquisition of Seiko Holdings' optical business by Hoya Corporation. As we have previously reported, the deal could give Hoya great manufacturing flexibility, allowing both Hoya and Seiko to produce their lenses and ancillary ...

  • Article

    A look at Silmo’s visitor count

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    As previously reported, the total number of visitors at the recent Silmo show in Paris remained relatively stable. It actually recorded a small positive 0.1 percent change to 34,696 people. A detailed chart supplied to us by the organizers of the fair reveals some interesting evolutions from one country to ...

  • News briefs

    The Vision Council in the U.S. is launching a new...

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    The Vision Council in the U.S. is launching a new web series on in-office processing. Eight eye care providers (ECPs) from different backgrounds talk unscripted in the web series about their use of in-office processing equipment and discuss how such equipment can capture new customers, reduce errors and speed up ...

  • Short stops

    CooperVision plans to launch a new website in partnership with...

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    CooperVision plans to launch a new website in partnership with the Armed Forces Optometric Society to better serve the U.S. military community

  • News briefs

    The contact lens division of Spectaris, the German optical industry...

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    The contact lens division of Spectaris, the German optical industry association, has elected Volker Grahl, chief executive of MPG&E, to be its new president. He succeeds Dr. Frank Seibel, previously working for Abbott Medical Optics. Grahl's objective is to further develop a manufacturer-neutral campaign for contact lenses and a common ...

  • News briefs

    A.T. Cross expects that its Cross Optical Group, comprising the...

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    A.T. Cross expects that its Cross Optical Group, comprising the Costa and Native brands of eyewear, will grow by 13 percent this year, delivering an operating margin of more than 15 percent. In the third quarter, the segment saw its sales increase by 8.0 poercent to $19.5 million.

  • News briefs

    Reykjavik Eyes' collections are now distributed in France, thanks to...

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    Reykjavik Eyes' collections are now distributed in France, thanks to an exclusive distribution agreement that the brand has signed with a French distributor, Socodeix. Originally designed by an optician named Gunnar Gunnarsson in Iceland, the brand's models are made from a single sheet of titanium, to make them strong and ...

  • News briefs

    Coastal Contacts has withdrawn a tentative offering of new shares,...

    2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

    Coastal Contacts has withdrawn a tentative offering of new shares, concluding that current market conditions would not permit it to raise additional funds on acceptable terms. The international online retailer of contact lenses and eyeglasses, which is based in Canada, had previously indicated that it wanted to raise about US$40 ...