All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 26 No. 11+12
View all stories from this issue.
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ArticleTrump’s tariffs – a timeline
Here, Eyewear Intelligence contributors will post all the news regarding Trump´s tariffs that have an effect on the industry.
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PDF NewsletterEyewear Intelligence: Vol 26 - No 11+12
EssilorLuxottica enters eye surgery field with new med-tech acquisition | EssilorLuxottica to increase its lens capacity in France by 40% with new industrial site | Google kicks off smart glasses platform with multiple eyewear partnerships, including investment in Warby Parker | ZEISS Vision Care sales decelerate in H1 as key markets come under pressure | Topcon reports 9% annual eye care sales increase ahead of delisting | US-China tariffs climbdown provides ‘breathing room’ but uncertainties loom large | Safilo returns to growth in Q1, details supply chain adjustments | Marcolin aims for greater supply chain control, reports positive Q1 results | National Vision raises guidance, says well-positioned to mitigate tariff impact | Warby Parker cuts growth expectations as it raises prices, shuffles production to offset tariff blow | Menrad Germany to close after over 125 years of business | Inspecs Group rejects shareholder proposal to replace Robin Totterman as company director | Hakim Group gets more private equity support | Synsam slows down stores opening pace to ‘recalibrate growth and profitability’ | Mister Spex finds first positive signs of turnaround program in Q1 margins while revenue drops 13% | Aerial Vision invests in ‘plug-and-play’ eyewear e-commerce startup | Mitsui: firm demand for high-index lens material to keep driving vision care sales in FY25/26 | As wearers base stagnates, sales mix and price hikes drive the European contact lens market | CooperVision downgrades revenue outlook for fiscal 2025 as CL market slows down | Price hikes and dailies drove Menicon’s growth in fiscal 2024-25 | A declining customer base and increased costs weigh on Paris Miki’s performance | Italy’s ANFAO inaugurates ‘Lens of Time’ exhibit | Italy’s centuries-long eyewear tradition on display in Venice | Trump’s tariffs – A timeline
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ArticleEssilorLuxottica enters eye surgery field with new med-tech acquisition
EssilorLuxottica has announced the acquisition of Optegra, an international group supplying eye surgeries and other eye care treatments, from MidEuropa, a private equity firm that acquired the business at the end of 2022. The announcement follows a comment made a few weeks ago at EssilorLuxottica’s annual general assembly by Francesco ...
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ArticleAerial Vision invests in 'plug-and-play' eyewear e-commerce startup
GoHub, an Israeli-based tech startup aiming to open the online optical market to more retail players, is joining forces with AVI. The tech-and-logistics partnership is boosting GoHub’s offering and reach.
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News briefs
Hoya Lens Iberia has a new managing director
HOYA Lens Iberia has announced the appointment of Jaume Sugrañes Mailho as it new Managing Director, overseeing the company’s business in Spain and Portugal. Sugrañes Mailho joined HOYA in 2019 as Sales Manager for Spain and has served as Business Development Director for Western Europe since January 2024. Earlier in ...
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News briefs
Topcon Healthcare invests in AI health tech company
Topcon Healthcare is making a strategic investment in Pangaea Data, a health tech and artificial intelligence (AI) company specializing in the automatic identification of untreated or under-treated patients for health care practitioners. Pangea Data operates offices in San Francisco, London and Hong Kong. The company’s platform, already deployed in several ...
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News briefs
iVision Tech’s iSee smart glasses registered as Class 1 medical device
The Italian eyewear group iVision Tech said that its iSee smart glasses for the blind and visually impaired have been officially registered with the Italian Health Ministry as a Class 1 medical device, a designation that makes them eligible for government contributions for visual disabilities. The registration indicates that the ...
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ArticleCooperVision downgrades revenue outlook for fiscal 2025 as CL market slows down
CooperCompanies has downgraded its revenue forecast for its CooperVision (CVI) unit in its current fiscal year ending Oct. 31, adjusting to the deceleration of the global contact lens market. Contact lens sales for the full year are now forecast to grow by between 6 percent and 7 percent organically to ...
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News briefs
Safilo supply agreement with Kering Eyewear extended until 2029
Safilo Group has announced the early renewal of its supply agreement with Kering Eyewear until 2029. The supply agreement between both groups started in 2015 after Kering decided to produce its eyewear licenses in-house, which led to the early termination of Safilo’s Gucci license. In a 2019 Eyewear Intelligence article, ...
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News briefs
Inspecs founder to step down from the company’s board
Inspecs Group has announced that Robin Totterman will step down from his role as executive chairman at the company’s annual general meeting on June 3. Christopher Hancock, the group’s senior independent director will take over the role until a new non-executive chairman is appointed, no later than the end of ...
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News briefsSpain planning subsidy for children’s glasses, contacts
The government of Spain – as represented by President Pedro Sánchez and Minister of Health Mónica García – has announced a subsidy of €100 towards the purchase of corrective glasses or contact lenses for children, Moda en gafas and others report. The scheme is part of the Plan Veo (the ...
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ArticleMenrad Germany to close after over 125 years of business
Insolvency proceedings for the assets of Ferdinand Menrad GmbH + Go. KG started at the end of May, appointed administrator PLUTA Rechtanwalts announced in a press release yesterday, adding that it was currently in negotiations with several companies that have expressed interest in Menrad’s trademark rights and, in one case, ...
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News briefs
British DTC eyewear brand raises £3m to support international expansion
Bloobloom – a UK-based brand of “designer eyewear at a fair price,” by its own description – has raised £3.0 million (€3.6m) in a second funding round with Pembroke VCT, a London-based investment fund, as main investor. Pembroke accounted for over half of a £4.8 million (€5.8m) round in 2022. ...
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ArticleMitsui: firm demand for high-index lens material to keep driving vision care sales in FY25/26
Mitsui Chemicals has reported an 8.8 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to 295.8 billion Japanese yen (€1.8bn) at its Life & Healthcare division for the 2024/25 year ended March 31, roughly in line with its growth pace in the first nine months. The sales uptick was driven mostly by increased ...
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News briefs
New book traces Ray-Ban’s history
A new book written in Italian traces the history of Ray-Ban starting from its establishment in 1937 to provide protective eyewear for pilots of the US Air Force and showing its evolution into an icon of global style. “Ray-Ban. Storia del brand che ha conquistato cuore e occhi di milioni ...
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News briefs
French eyewear industry association surveys glasses wearers on the ‘Made in France’ label
Ahead of its annual Manufacture Tour event, LEOO, the association of French optical products manufacturers, has announced the results of a survey on the perception of the Made in France label among glasses wearers in France. Over 1,600 people participated in the survey which was commissioned by Opinion Way, a ...
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News briefs
Marcolin and Adidas renew eyewear license
Marcolin and Adidas have announced the extension of their eyewear license agreement until 2032. As has been the case since the start of the partnership between both groups in 2020, Marcolin will design, manufacture and distribute globally eyewear collections under the Adidas Sport and the Adidas Originals brands, respectively targeting ...
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ArticleZEISS Vision Care sales decelerate in H1 as key markets come under pressure
“ZEISS too is feeling the effects of the weaker global economic situation and increasing uncertainty in the markets,” said Andreas Pecher, the recently appointed President and CEO, in his comments on the group’s financial results for the first half of fiscal 2024/25. While the general performance remained positive with total ...
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News briefs
Mister Spex CEO buys €100,000 worth of company shares
Mister Spex announced last week that Tobias Krauss, its recently appointed CEO, has purchased 70,000 shares of the company for a value of approximately €100,000. Krauss is underscoring his long-term confidence in the strategic direction and growth potential of Mister Spex with this share purchase, the company said. As ...
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News briefs
American Optical marks 90th anniversary of aviator sunglasses
American Optical, the historical US eyewear brand, is adding two new styles – Racer and Margot – to its aviator sunglass collection in commemoration of the famous design’s 90th anniversary, which the company says it was the first to launch for the US military in 1935. The American optical brand ...
