All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 24 No. 19+20
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PDF NewsletterEyewear Intelligence: Vol 24 - No 19+20
Italian eyewear exports maintain momentum in Q2 | Silmo Paris kicks off post-Covid trade-show era | A tour of Silmo’s Futurology | French optical market flattish in 2022, official report says | Lafont celebrates French “savoir-faire,” Parisian chic and family legacy on 100th anniversary | Meta and Ray-Ban beef up smart glasses with influencers in mind | Amazon smart eyewear range upgrade includes Safilo partnership | Materialise to 3D-print new translucent material | PPG partners with lens coatings’ 3Dprint start-up | Leica brings ophthalmic lenses business in-house, opens factory | VeneVision adds injection to portfolio with new acquisition | Italian OEM group acquires Henry Jullien | Slow H1 for Arts Optical as sales of OEM prescription glasses drop | Eyewear companies’ average stock price down in Q3
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News briefs
U.S. DTC eyewear brand gets $75m injection
Pair Eyewear, a U.S.-based direct-to-consumer eyewear brand, has announced the completion of a new funding round through which it raised approximately $75 million. It is the third financing round for the company which has raised a total of $145 million since 2020. The last round was led by Prysm Capital ...
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News briefs
Jimei up 14% in H1
Jimei New Material, the Shenzhen-based manufacturer of acetate sheets, has reported a 13.8 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to RMB 121.2 million (€15.7 m) for the first half of 2023. The company attributed the solid sales increase to a favorable market for acetate glasses and its marketing efforts. In its ...
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News briefs
Kits expands progressive lens output capacity
Canadian-based online optical retailer Kits Eyecare has announced that it was investing in new equipment to expand its manufacturing capacity of progressive lenses by 50 percent by the end of this year. The company says it is operating one of the biggest and most automated optical labs in North America. ...
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News briefs
Coburn appoints two new regional sales managers
Coburn Technologies, the U.S.-based supplier of processing systems and equipment to lens laboratories, has appointed Carla Moncunill as the group’s sales responsible for Europe. The company said that the recruitment would facilitate its expansion in Southern, Western and Central Europe. A mechanical engineer by training, Moncunill has held various R&D, ...
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News briefs
E-commerce in Europe forecast to rebound in 2023
European B2C e-commerce sales increased by 6 percent year-on-year to €899 billion in 2022 according to the annual report of Ecommerce Europe, an association representing over 150,000 companies selling goods and/or services online to consumers in Europe. This marks a deceleration from 2021 when online sales were up by 12 ...
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ArticleMaterialise to 3D-print new translucent material
Right across from the Futurology space at this year’s Silmo was a booth for Materialise, the company that supplies frames for the Futurology companies Skugga and Lexilens, not to mention Morrow Eyewear, winner of one of this year’s Silmo d’Or awards. Founded 30-odd years ago, Materialise is headquartered in Leuven, ...
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News briefs
Lapo Elkann to remain involved as Italia Indepedent creative director
Lapo Elkann, co-founder and formerly main shareholder of Italia Indepedent, is going to take on the role of creative director for the eponymous brand that was recently acquired by MODO GROUP. The first Italia Independent collection developed by Elkann in collaboration with Modo’s design teams is scheduled for Spring/Summer 2024. ...
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News briefs
Menicon starts ortho-k lens production in China
Japanese-based contact lens maker Menicon has announced that its Chinese subsidary, ALPHA WUXI, started producing ortho-k lenses at its new factory this month, a few months ahead of schedule. The brand Alpha Ortho-k was launched in China in 2011 and its lenses were until now produced at the group’s factory ...
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ArticleEyewear companies' average stock price down in Q3
After two consecutive quarters of double-digit growth, the average stock price of eyewear companies went down by an average 7 percent on a non-weighted basis (see chart below) in the quarter ended Sept. 30. This also marks an unusual underperformance compared with the MSCI World Index, a global index comprising ...
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ArticleLeica brings ophthalmic lenses business in-house, opens factory
Leica Eyecare, a subsidiary of Leica Camera founded in 2021, has announced the opening of its new company headquarters and production facilities in the central Hesse region, near Frankfurt, Germany. The investment follows the decision of the German group, globally famous for its premium cameras, to bring the production of ...
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News briefsMister Spex launches 3D-print customized range
Mister Spex is launching EyeD, its first custom collection of 3D-printed eyewear. The range includes six customizable different models in seven colors that are being offered at 37 Mister Spex stores in Germany and Austria for €249, plus the price of the lenses. The measurements - including parameters such as ...
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ArticleItalian eyewear exports maintain momentum in Q2
ANFAO, the Italian eyewear industry association, has reported a 15.7 percent year-on-year increase in Italian eyewear exports to €2,840 million for the first half of 2023 as sales in Q2 roughly maintained the 16.7 percent growth reported for Q1. As reflected in the table below, the momentum was driven by ...
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ArticleA tour of Silmo’s Futurology
This year’s Silmo show took place over the weekend of Sept 29 to Oct. 2. In Hall 6 was the Futurology space, a showcase for the new and the innovative, curated by designer, optician and artist Sébastien Brusset. Join us for a tour of its companies and products. Laclarée The ...
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ArticleSilmo Paris kicks off post-Covid trade-show era
The organizers of Silmo Paris have announced that 31,337 people visited the last edition of the show that closed its doors on Oct.2, or 16.5 percent more than last year, confirming the visual impression that the event has almost returned to its pre-pandemic self (approximatively 35,000 visitors in 2018). A ...
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News briefs
French interprofessional council to focus on CSR
The members of the Conseil Interprofessionel de l’Optique, a French eyewear umbrella organization for both the retail sector and its suppliers, has reappointed Henri Grasset, CEO of Lunettes Grasset, and Jean-François Porte, CEO of Edgard Opticiens and recent recipient of the International Optician of the Year award at Silmo, as ...
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News briefs
CooperVision appoints new director of global professional affairs
CooperVision has announced the creation of a unified and full scope Global Professional Solutions unit to expand its partnerships with eye care professionals (ECPs) worldwide. The new organization will be led by Dr. Karen Walsh who joined the company in 2021. Prior to that, Dr. Walsh was an educator, researcher ...
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News briefs
Mondottica partners with Sedex on responsible sourcing
Mondottica Group has announced that it was joining Sedex as part of its social and environmental sustainability program. Based in London, Sedex specializes in responsible sourcing and provides its clients with tools, technology and insights needed to operate ethically, source responsibly and work with suppliers to protect people and the ...
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News briefs
Thélios opens subsidiary in Mexico
Thélios has announced that it has opened a new subsidiary in Mexico at the start of this month, taking over from the previous distribution by Marcolin. This is the first branch for the company in the Central Latin American region. The new office and showroom is located at the ”Castelar ...

