All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 25 No. 3+4
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PDF NewsletterEyewear Intelligence: Vol 25 - No 3+4
Italian eyewear industry cautious on 2024 prospects after exports flatline in H2 | Italy’s ANFAO, Certottica launch sustainable eyewear certification | MIDO drew 40,000 visitors | Kering Eyewear sales surge 35 percent in 2023 | Safilo closed 2023 on a positive note | De Rigo wholesale and retail up double digits in 2023 | Sustained eye care sales growth and IT unit rebound for HOYA in Q3 | Zeiss acquires IP from Mitsui Chemicals | Rodenstock upgrades portfolio, finetunes group strategy and synergies | Fielmann remains committed to Italian market after closures announcement | Inspecs posts mixed results for 2023, resumes acquisitions strategy | Modo begins turnaround of Italia Independent with presentation of spring/summer collection | EssilorLuxottica acquires Japanese retail chain | Store network upgrade, digitization and HR key to Paris Miki rebound | Johnson & Johnson Q4 contact lens sales rise 7.9% | The Vision Council publishes new US optical-market and consumer data
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ArticleRodenstock upgrades portfolio, fine-tunes group strategy and synergies
After its participation at the opti show in Munich in January, Rodenstock presented its latest innovations at its booth during the Mido show in Milan, from Feb. 3 to 5. The German-based lens maker introduced this year its new LayR coating, which it describes as an extension of its biometric ...
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News briefsMenicon reports topline increase but operating-profit drop
Menicon has reported a 4.5 percent year-on-year increase in vision care sales to 80,126 million Japanese yen (€497m) for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, ending at the end of March, with overseas market driving the growth. International sales went up by 10.3 percent to ¥23,818 million ...
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ArticleModo begins turnaround of Italia Independent with presentation of spring/summer collection
Modo Group, owner of the Eco and Modo brands, is moving quickly to turn around its latest addition, the Italia Independent brand it acquired only on Sept. 12. Lapo Elkann, the former owner and co-founder of Italia Independent, has agreed to stay on as creative director, and the first collection ...
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ArticleEssilorLuxottica acquires Japanese retail chain
EssilorLuxottica is about to deploy its full-scale vertical-integration business model in Japan. We have learned that the Italo-French group has acquired the business of Washin Optical, a Japanese mid-size optical retailer founded in 1951, through its Luxottica Japan subsidiary. The information has not been officially announced by the group yet, ...
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News briefsChange at the head of Charmant Europe
Wataru Aoyama, Chief Operating Officer of Charmant’s international business division, has been appointed CEO of Charmant Europe. He is replacing Satoshi Otsuki, who decided to step down at the end of last year. Aoyama, who retains his global responsibilities, is moving to Germany, where the Japanese group’s European headquarters are ...
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News briefsSpecsavers Canada store network reaches 100 locations
Specsavers has announced the opening of its 100th store in Canada, less than three years after it entered the country with the acquisition of Image Optometry, an independent retailer in British Columbia. The UK-based optical retail group said that its Canadian network now includes more than 200 optometrists, 250 opticians ...
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News briefsMitsui downgrades Life & Healthcare unit’s full-year outlook
Mitsui Chemicals has reported a 1.8 percent year-on-year increase in nine-month revenue to 189 billion Japanese yen (€1,173 m) for its Life & Healthcare Solutions unit, which includes its vision-care materials business among other product categories. It is the first time this year that the group reports revenue growth for ...
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News briefsSlight revenue growth and lower margins for Carl Zeiss Meditec in Q1
Carl Zeiss Meditec Q1 revenue inched up by 1.0 percent year-on-year to €475 million, corresponding to a 3.3 percent increase at constant exchange rates. The slight topline growth was driven by the Microsurgery division, where quarterly sales reached €124 million, up by 13.7 percent in constant currencies versus Q1 2022/23. ...
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ArticleKering Eyewear sales surge 35 percent in 2023
Kering Eyewear continues to outperform the other subsidiaries of French luxury goods group Kering, with annual revenues in 2023 jumping by 35 percent to €1,502 million. It was the only unit to post topline growth last year. Currency and scope effects boosted full-year revenues by 25 percent, as ...
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ArticleMIDO drew 40,000 visitors
The 1,200 exhibitors at this year’s MIDO show, held on Feb. 3–5, took up seven pavilions at Fiera Milano Rho and drew some 40,000 visitors – 11 percent more than last year – from about 160 countries, according to the organizers. Also attending were some 400 journalists, who have published ...
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News briefsKrys joins the second-hand market
Krys has become the exclusive lens supplier for Seecly, the online marketplace for the sale of second-hand, reconditioned or old frames. Seecly is headquartered in France, operating there and in five other European countries. It appears from the company’s website, however, that its vendors must conduct their business from France. ...
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News briefsNew CEO at C&G
Cutler and Gross (C&G) has appointed Jack Dooley to be Group CEO, according to Fashion United. He will be working to expand and develop the brand. According to his own LinkedIn page, Dooley has a seat on the British luxury brand’s board of directors and will be overseeing teams in ...
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ArticleItaly’s ANFAO, Certottica launch sustainable eyewear certification
The Italian eyewear industry association ANFAO and Certottica, the optical-product certification body in which ANFAO is a shareholder, have launched the first international sustainable eyewear-certification program, to respond to growing demand for sustainable products and to underscore the progress already made by some industry players. The new Certified Sustainable Eyewear ...
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ArticleDe Rigo wholesale and retail up double digits in 2023
De Rigo Group has announced solid revenue growth for both its wholesale and its retail operations in 2023, as the company’s consolidated sales reached €506 million, up by 11.8 percent year-on-year on a reported basis. This is the first time that the topline has exceeded €500 million since 2008, when ...
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ArticleZeiss acquires IP from Mitsui Chemicals
Zeiss Vision Care has acquired a “comprehensive intellectual property (IP) portfolio, including a suite of patents,” from Mitsui Chemicals (MCI), a Japanese company with wide-ranging business lines, among them “vision care materials,” and an R&D department split between synthesis, polymer science and tech for manufacturing processes. Zeiss has not disclosed ...
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News briefsLouboutin enters eyewear segment with Marcolin partnership
Christian Louboutin, the Paris-based luxury footwear brand, is entering the eyewear segment, signing a global license agreement with Marcolin, as both partners have announced. The partnership, which includes the design, production and distribution of optical frames and sunglasses, runs until 2029, and the first Christian Louboutin eyewear collections will be ...
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News briefsMicroOLED joins AR Alliance
MicroOLED, the producer of high-resolution, low-power OLED micro-displays, has joined the AR Alliance as a founding member. The company is particularly interested in establishing “unified protocol for Light AR devices,” as this will enable the aforementioned cross-platform compatibility, extended battery life, lightweight design and “enhanced usability.” Its micro-displays are used ...
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News briefsWalmart introduces virtual try-ons
This month Walmart is inaugurating what it calls Optical Virtual Try-On (VTO), making the system available on both its app and its website. There will be a “Try them on” flag on or near the main image on the product page for any of about 750 items. Once they’ve clicked ...
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ArticleSustained eye care sales growth and IT unit rebound for HOYA in Q3
HOYA CORPORATION has reported another quarter of solid growth in its Life Care business unit, as total revenue went up by 12 percent year-on-year to 133.5 billion Japanese yen (€842m) in reported terms for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2023. At constant exchange rates, Life Care increased by 6 percent ...
