All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 20, Issue 6-7
View all stories from this issue.
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Article
Luxottica grows mostly at retail
At Luxottica, a timid organic growth of 0.9 percent at wholesale contrasted with a 4.7 percent increase for retail operations. The management blamed unseasonable weather in some regions of the U.S., but said that the digital initiatives that it unveiled in the first quarter are expected to accelerate the digital ...
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Article
Minority shareholders seek to undo the gridlock
In an attempt to break the stalemate, Valoptec, an association of current and former Essilor employees who hold more than 4 percent in the merged company, and seven investment funds aim to enlarge the board by appointing their own representatives at a shareholders' meeting scheduled for May 16. Essilux's board ...
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Article
A strong quarter at GrandVision
GrandVision is starting to benefit from efforts to integrate the businesses it acquired at the end of 2017, led by the Tesco Opticians stores in the U.K., which it has rebranded under its Vision Express banner. The French-based optical retail group posted strong results for the first quarter of this ...
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Article
Marchon is riding a good wave
Many of our subscribers probably feel that we have been writing too much about Luxottica and Safilo, and too little about Marchon Eyewear, the third-largest manufacturer of premium eyewear in the world. They are right, and this also applies to many other smaller firms. Of course, this is because, as ...
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News briefs
Frédéric Pons, a former manager for Tag Heuer and Red...
Frédéric Pons, a former manager for Tag Heuer and Red Bull Racing eyewear, is launching Air_Art Eyewear, a brand of luxury glasses and sunglasses for men, inspired by the aeronautics world and technology. The frames incorporate high-end materials such as 21K gold, platinum, ruthenium, Italian acetate and the Diamondblack technology, ...
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News briefs
Ray-Ban has opened a store in Verona, its fifth one...
Ray-Ban has opened a store in Verona, its fifth one in Italy. The first Italian Ray-Ban store was opened by Luxottica in Milan in December 2017. Overall, Ray-Ban had 213 stores worldwide at the end of 2018 and the tally is now estimated at over 220.
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News briefs
While Marchon Eyewear has renewed its licenses for Nautica and...
While Marchon Eyewear has renewed its licenses for Nautica and Nine West eyewear with their new owner, the Authentic Brands Group, a subsidiary of Marchon, Altair Eyewear, has signed a new global licensing agreement for a new line of prescription frames, sunglasses and ski goggles for Spyder, an activewear brand ...
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Short stops
Kenmark has renewed its license for Original Penguin eyewear...
Kenmark has renewed its license for Original Penguin eyewear
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Article
Weakness in Essilor’s sunwear
A look at Essilor's various divisions in one of the charts in this issue shows a relatively good performance in all of them during the first quarter except in Sunglasses & Readers, whose sales went up by only 1.7 percent on a currency-neutral basis, reaching €200 million. Strong increases in ...
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News briefs
In publishing some key figures for the first half ended...
In publishing some key figures for the first half ended on March 31, Carl Zeiss said that its Vision Care strategic business unit expanded its market position, in particular by seizing growth opportunities offered by dynamic economies like China and Brazil. No further details were given about the Vision Care ...
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News briefs
Safilo is creating a joint venture in South Korea, in...
Safilo is creating a joint venture in South Korea, in which it will have a 51 percent stake, with a local company, Parma International. Safilo's existing distributor in the country, Seeone, will continue to manage the distribution of Dior and Fendi with a focus on optical shops and department stores. ...
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News briefs
Rupp + Hubrach, the German lens laboratory controlled by Essilor,...
Rupp + Hubrach, the German lens laboratory controlled by Essilor, recently launched a new corporate design, including a new logo and the slogan “Brillenglas #innovativ.” In addition, the company started new print and online marketing campaigns this month and redesigned its website.
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Article
Thema launches virtual reality store concept in the U.S.
Thema Optical presented its proprietary V.E.A. store concept in the U.S. at the latest Vision Expo East in New York, which was held on March 21-24. As previously reported by Eyewear Intelligence (Vol. 20 n°2+3 of 22/02/2019), V.E.A. stands for Virtual Eyewear Assistant. The V.E.A. store, entirely dedicated to customized eyewear, is ...
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Article
A closer look at some geographies
The group's sales in North America advanced by only 1.2 percent in local currencies in the first quarter for several other reasons. Sales of lenses showed only modest improvement in the U.S., and they declined in Canada. Sales of frames and sunglasses were largely flat in volume. According to the ...
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News briefs
Cercle Optique, a ten-year-old French voluntary group of opticians, has...
Cercle Optique, a ten-year-old French voluntary group of opticians, has launched a new investment vehicle to support new initiatives in the area of artificial intelligence, sustainability and innovative store design. The group is inviting its retail members and any other opticians to take part in investments worth €250,000 in four ...
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Article
Essilux launches search for a CEO
Amid the turmoil surrounding the group's governance, Essilux has initiated the search for its future chief executive with the appointment of two recruitment agencies, Russell Reynolds Associates and Eric Salmon & Partners. Russell will coordinate the process, which will involve internal and external candidates, with the view of appointing the ...
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Article
One more new CEO for Italia Independent
Italia Independent has appointed Mario Pietribiasi as its new chief executive. Meanwhile, Lapo Elkann has been reconfirmed as the company's chairman. Pietribiasi replaces Giovanni Carlino, who has left the company “for personal reasons.” Pietribiasi has served since 2012 as managing director of Koru Eyewear, a private label producer that he ...
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News briefs
OpticLibre, a French cooperative of opticians, posted centralized settlements of...
OpticLibre, a French cooperative of opticians, posted centralized settlements of €132 million in 2018 on behalf of its 1,360 affiliated stores, up by 9 percent. It noted that growth was in line with the annual pace seen over the past 15 years.
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Article
Fedon has higher losses, but core business performs well
Giorgio Fedon, the leading Italian producer of eyeglass cases, is changing strategy, down-scaling its diversification into small leathergoods. The company saw its net loss rise to €5 million in 2018 from €4 million a year earlier, due to lower sales and higher costs, but its core business of selling eyeglass ...
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News briefs
Thomas Sabo, the German watch and jewelry brand, is entering...
Thomas Sabo, the German watch and jewelry brand, is entering the eyewear market. The company has announced the launch of its first-ever eyewear collection, for men and women, for spring/summer 2019. The debut collection comprises 16 models of sunglasses, in 48 colorways, an additional 12 models with polarized lenses, and ...
