All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 22 No. 7+8
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News briefs
Dutch Appeal Court rules in favor of GrandVision in Essilux case
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled yesterday in favor of GrandVision in the lawsuit opposing the retail group to EssilorLuxottica , confirming the earlier judgement by the District Court in August last year. The Franco-Italian group claimed that GrandVision had been retaining information in relation to the management ...
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PDF NewsletterEyewear Intelligence Newsletter: Vol 22 - 7+8
EU authorizes Essilux-GV merger | Essilux returns to growth | Safilo recovers in H2 | New Look Vision changes hands | Eyewear stocks up 10% | New owner for Rodenstock | Midi 2021 goes digital | Acuitis network over 100 stores | Leica completes European distribution | Eastman signs with Safilo | Luxecel gives smart lens update | Eyesafe handles blue light at source | French gov’t and eyecare reform
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Article
Italia Independent core eyewear sales up 18% in 2020
The Italia Independent Group delivered positive results for 2020, in line with the group´s turnaround plan that calls a return to net profit by 2023. In reported terms, total sales increased by 46.1 percent year-on-year to €11.3 million and the group’s EBITDA almost reached the break-even point. The ...
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Article
Vision Group interested in Essilux and GV Italian stores
Vision Group , one of the leading Italian retail players, said that it was interested in studying the takeover of the 174 Italian stores to be divested if EssilorLuxottica and GrandVision eventually agree on the planned takeover. The divestment, which is a prerequisite for the European Commission to ...
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News briefs
Eddie Bauer’s April initiative with American Forests
Eddie Bauer has been supporting American Forests for the past 25 years. In a new initiative, the Charmant -owned brand will be donating to the conservancy a portion of the proceeds – up to $1,000 – from each sale of Eddie Bauer Eyewear from April 1 to April ...
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News briefs
Eschenbach makes a new donation to Vision for the World
For every sale of a frame produced by its brand Brendel Eyewear , Eschenbach Optik is donating a frame to the non-profit organization Vision for the World . The initiative began with the first pandemic lockdown and is set to run through the summer, for a total donation of ...
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ArticleEyewear industry stock prices up 10% in Q1
Following the publication for the first time of our industry stock market capitalization at the start of the year, we are providing here a quarterly update for the evolution of the stock price of 19 stock listed companies operating in our core market, showing its evolution between Jan. 1 and ...
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News briefs
Zeiss invests $180m in new U.S. innovation center
As part of its global strategy to expand its presence near research centers and growth markets, Zeiss announced this week the completion of its Zeiss Innovation Center , a new facility located in the San Francisco Bay area. The site will serve as an R D, production, sales and ...
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Article
New Look Vision Group sales up 25% in Q4
After having posted a 17 percent increase in revenues in Q3, the Canadian optical retailer New Look Vision Group accelerated its recovery in the last quarter of the 2020 financial year, reporting overall revenues of 92.4 million Canadian dollars, a 25 percent hike from the previous year. The ...
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News briefs
Lancel Paris joins Grosfilley’s portfolio
Lancel Paris , the brand of leather goods, and Grosfilley France have signed a six-year license for the design, production and distribution of sunglasses and eyeglasses under the Lancel Paris brand. The first collection will consist of a total of 32 models for women, including 20 optical and 12 ...
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Article
SABIC and POLYRAY partner on renewable PC lens
SABIC , a global supplier of chemicals based in Saudi Arabia, and Xiamen Hongtai Optical , the Chinese lens manufacturer better known under its POLYRAY brand name, announced last week their collaboration for the launch of a new sustainable material. Under the agreement, POLYRAY is launching its new ...
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ArticleAcuitis’ door count passes the 100 mark
Acuitis , the French banner of optical and hearing aids’ shops, kept opening new franchised stores at a steady pace last year in spite of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Adding 14 new retail locations, the Acuitis door count reached a total of 103 stores in ...
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News briefs
Costco switches from polycarbonate to Mitsui’s MR for prescription lenses
Mitsui Chemicals , the Tokyo-based supplier of raw material for lenses, announced earlier this week that Costco Wholesale would start using its MR series of high refractive index lens monomers as a standard option for its eyeglasses sold in the U.S. The membership-based U.S. retailer had been offering ...
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News briefs
Zoppas to leave Thelios
The Tecnica Group , an international supplier of outdoor footwear and ski equipment based in Italy, announced on Monday that Giovanni Zoppas will become its new CEO and general manager from next May. Thelios confirmed that Zoppas would leave the group at the end of April and said that ...
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ArticleLuxexcel and WaveOptics partner for smart eyewear to look like normal eyewear
Luxexcel , the Dutch pioneer in 3D-printing solutions for prescription lenses, unveiled last week some details about its partnership with WaveOptics , a designer of waveguides and light engines, during the online SPIE. AR, VR, MR conference. Earlier last month, both companies had already announced their ...
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News briefs
Essilux acquires Walman in the U.S.
After having put business acquisitions on hold last year as cost control became a priority in a Covid-19 market environment, EssilorLuxottica is back on the external growth track with the acquisition of Walman in the U.S., which was announced yesterday. Created in 1915 and based in Minneapolis, Walman ...
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News briefs
CooperVision announces CSR partnerships in myopia management and sustainability
CooperVision has been busy on the CSR front in the last week with the announcement of three partnerships, related to myopia and sustainability. As for the first, the company first communicated its agreement with the World Council of Optometry , an international non-profit organization promoting access to eye health ...
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Article
New owner for Rodenstock
Apax Partners , a private equity firm based in the U.K., has agreed to acquire Rodenstock from Compass Partners , another investment fund and the majority shareholder of the German brand of high-end lenses and frames since February 2016. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. It ...
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ArticleEU green light for Essilux-GrandVision merger
Putting a final point to an investigation started in December 2019, the European Union (EU) announced yesterday evening its conditional clearance for the acquisition of GrandVision by EssilorLuxottica . The green light is conditioned to the divestment, proposed by EssilorLuxottica, of a total of 351 stores in Belgium, ...
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Article
New Look Vision Group changes hands
New Look Vision Group , a leading optical retailer in Canada, has announced an agreement for its acquisition by NL1 AcquireCo , a newly created investment vehicle composed of funds managed by FFL Partners , the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec ( CDPQ ), an investment fund ...
