All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 26 No. 23+24
View all stories from this issue.
-
News briefs
EWI Vol.26 n°23+24 (Dec.4, 2025) - All short stops
CORPORATE & M&A +++ Prada Group is acquiring Versace for $1.4 billion, but the takeover is not expected to have a significant effect in the eyewear market in the short term as both brands are currently licensed to EssilorLuxottica for eyewear +++ RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION +++ Vuarnet, a brand of ...
-
PDF NewsletterEyewear Intelligence: Vol 26 - No 23+24
Essilux takes a local approach to the Chinese smart glasses market | EssilorLuxottica wearables chief steps down amid tensions at Delfin | ZEISS leverages vision care synergies in smart eyewear, ophthalmology | Fast-growing Lenskart sees huge whitespace in domestic market | National Vision outlines path to high-single-digit sales growth, margin expansion | Inspecs takeover talks extended with current highest bid at £85m | Afflelou network sales up 5% in FY2025 | Strong Q3 sales growth for Synsam despite Denmark subscriptions slump | Mister Spex resumes store expansion as bottom line takes a lighter shade of red | Paris Miki main stakeholder to delist the company through an MBO | Alcon Q3 CL sales grow 6%, sees STAAR deal as attractive but not essential | Solid vision care sales and new SDC global HQ for Mitsui Chemicals group | GlassesUSA.com operator launches multi-brand luxury eyewear webshop | Essilux backs Stellest 2.0 claims with new peer-reviewed study, joins CCOI | MICROOLED smart eyewear business taken over by former CEO and founder
-
News briefs
HOYA joins independent RX order management platform in the US
HOYA Vision Care’s US subsidiary has announced that it was joining SpecCheck, an RX order management platform connecting lens laboratories with eye care professionals (ECPs) in the country. HOYA is the first lab network to join the service. The company stressed that it was “committed to helping eye care professionals ...
-
News briefs
CooperVision partners with logistics company for new Asia-Pacific hub
CEVA Logistics, a France-headquartered third-party logistics supplier, is partnering with CooperVision (CVI) for the opening of a new regional service center in CEVA’s healthcare facility in the free trade zone near Singapore’s Changi airport. Aimed at accelerating the contact lens company’s growth in the Asia Pacific region and making about ...
-
News briefs
US prescription eyewear volumes down in Q3, report finds
Prescription eyewear sales in the US declined in volume in Q3 2025, both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, but the overall market value continued to increase to $17.5 billion. This is the main conclusion of the latest quarterly Market inSights report by The Vision Council’s (TVC). Among other interesting data ...
-
ArticleEssilorLuxottica wearables chief steps down
Rocco Basilico, Chief Wearables Officer at EssilorLuxottica, will be leaving the group at the start of next year, Reuters revealed on Monday. The information was confirmed to the press agency by EssilorLuxottica: “After six years supporting our smart eyewear journey, Rocco Basilico has decided to pursue his personal interests outside ...
-
News briefs
Topcon share delists from TSE as group completes ownership change
Topcon Corporation shares delisted yesterday from the prime market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange following the approval of the group’s share consolidation proposals at the extraordinary general shareholders meeting on Nov. 11, 2025. As we reported in March, US-based private equity firm KKR has become the Japanese group’s main shareholder, ...
-
News briefs
EU updated driving license rules clarify eyesight provisions
Updated European Union driving license rules, including eyesight provisions, came into effect on Nov. 25, 2025, and member states must amend their national laws accordingly by November 2029, the European Council of Optometry and Optics (ECOO), a contributor to the new directive, has announced. The main eyesight-related provision update is ...
-
News briefs
EssilorLuxottica forms interdisciplinary scientific advisory committee
EssilorLuxottica has announced the creation of a Scientific Advisory Committee, composed of five scientists working in the fields of physics, mathematics, otolaryngology (study of the the ear, nose, and throat and related parts of the head and neck), ophthalmology and bioethics. They are Pr. Alain Aspect (Nobel Laureate and Wolf ...
-
ArticleFast-growing Lenskart sees huge whitespace in domestic market
The Indian eyewear retailer’s shares gained ground after reporting robust quarterly performance across key metrics, with revenue growth of 23.9% and improved profitability following its IPO debut last month.
-
News briefs
Silmo Istanbul attracts close to 12,000 visitors
The organizers of Silmo Istanbul have announced that the 12th edition of the trade fair welcomed 700 brands and 11,736 visitors over a 25,000-square-meter exhibition surface from Nov. 19 to 22 in the Turkish capital city. International visitors accounted for 18 percent of the total and most came from Europe, ...
-
ArticleMICROOLED smart eyewear business taken over by former CEO and founder
MICROOLED’s former CEO has taken over the company’s smart eyewear brands ActiveLook and Engo to focus exclusively on AR sports glasses, while the French microdisplay manufacturer refocuses on B2B markets including defense and medical equipment and raises more funds.
-
ArticleEssilux takes a local approach to the Chinese smart glasses market
EssilorLuxottica is using an existing deal to probe the market for smart eyewear in China, where, as the company tells us, the focus is on Chinese tech and the preferences of Chinese customers. To align its products and marketing accordingly, it appears that Essilux is for now setting aside any ...
-
News briefs
French Essilux workers start three-day strike
FO Metaux, a French trade union federation, has announced that 9,000 employees of EssilorLuxottica in France will go on a three-day strike from Nov. 27, 2025, asking for higher wages and pointing to the group’s record sales and to the top management team’s compensation package. It is the first time ...
-
ArticleZEISS leverages vision care synergies in smart eyewear, ophthalmology
ZEISS has announced the creation of a new strategic business unit called ZEISS Extended Reality which, combined with ZEISS Vision Care, will make up the group’s Consumer Markets segment. Established last month, ZEISS Extended Reality will unite in one division the different teams that have been working on extended reality ...
-
News briefs
KITS EYECARE opens second store, secures C$15m lending facility
KITS EYECARE, the Canadian-based e-tailer, will be opening in Q1 2026 a 230-square-meter store in Toronto, its second brick-and-mortar location. The decision to open a new store, which also includes a café space, is grounded in the success of the Vancouver flagship shop, the company explained: opened in 2021, the ...
-
News briefs
The Platform Group reports first Optics & Hearing unit results
The Platform Group (TPG), the German-based e-commerce software group, has reported €4.9 million in revenue and an EBITDA margin of 26.1 percent for its brand new Optics & Hearing unit in Q3. TPG notes that the results only include parts of the 30+ optical stores acquired since the start of ...
-
News briefs
Megane Ichiba targets 30% market share in Japan
Megane Ichiba, the leading optical retailer in Japan under the Megane Top banner, is aiming to increase its domestic market share from 20 percent currently to 30 percent in the midterm, President Masahiro Tomizawa said in an interview with the Nikkei Shinbun last week. Tomizawa also set a target of ...
-
ArticleNational Vision outlines path to high-single-digit sales growth, margin expansion
National Vision announced plans for high-single-digit sales growth in each of the five years through fiscal year 2030, as it looks to further broaden its focus beyond its traditional cash-paying customer, increase the share of premium products and open 240 new stores. Comparable sales are seen increasing at a mid-single-digit ...
-
News briefsIXI announces adjustable 22-gram autofocus glasses prototype
IXI, the Finnish-based startup developing autofocus glasses, has announced that its newest prototype weighs only 22 grams, with all embedded electronics but without the lenses, making it the “world’s lightest smart eyewear.” The earliest prototypes weighed hundreds of grams (see picture). IXI autofocus glasses’ early prototypes ...
