All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 26 No.7+8
View all stories from this issue.
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ArticleTopcon seeks to move from a hardware-based to a solutions-based business after ownership change
US-based private equity firm KKR will be acquiring a majority stake in Topcon Corporation as part of a planned management buyout (MBO), both companies have announced. The tender buyout offer, which is scheduled for the end of July this year, values the Japanese equipment maker at 348 billion yen (€2.2bn). ...
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PDF NewsletterEyewear Intelligence: Vol 26 - No 7+8
China, Mexico and beyond; the US optical sector braces for Trump tariff storm | Topcon seeks to move from a hardware-based to a solutions-based business after ownership change | Fielmann 2024 sales up 15% on organic growth and US add-on, margins also up | Safilo confirms FY 2024 results, provides more details on segment and regional performance | Marcolin improves margins on slightly declining sales | Visottica forges close-knit relations with customers and expands into new industries | Multiparty closed-loop waste recycling program for luxury eyewear kicks off in Italy | CooperVision posts 6% Q1 revenue growth, driven by the Americas amid EMEA and APAC slowdown | With close to 100 new stores in 2024, KRYS GROUP consolidates its market leadership in France | France drove Q2 revenue 3% uptick for Afflelou but Spain grew at a faster pace | Optic 2000 revenue flattish in 2024 | Mister Spex expects discount detox and repositioning to start paying off in 2025 | Sustained growth in the Polish eyewear market partly driven by e-commerce boom | Annual ‘smart glasses’ market expected to grow to 17m units by 2029, research finds | Vuzix beefs up capacity and tech in anticipation of expected smart eyewear takeoff | Kits Eyecare posts strong sales growth and higher margins for Q4 and FY | JEH forecasts 68% revenue growth by 2030 after strong FY 2025 | TOG sales inch up in Q4, solid FY growth driven by Americas, RX business | Optometry on the decline in Spain
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News briefs
Synsam expands e-commerce and second hand frames workshop facility
Synsam Group has announced that it was doubling the surface of its e-commerce warehouse in Spånga, north of Stockholm, to 2,700 square meters. The investment is primarily meant to address a sharp increase in online orders in general and in its contact lens business in particular. The company said that ...
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ArticleMarcolin improves margins on slightly declining sales
Announcing preliminary results ahead of its general assembly scheduled for April 7, Marcolin has reported that its total sales declined by 2.2 percent year on year to €545.8 million. At constant exchange rates, revenue was down by 1.8 percent, but it was up by 2.1 percent on a like-for-like basis ...
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ArticleMister Spex expects discount detox and repositioning to start paying off in 2025
Revenue declined by 3 percent in 2024, including a double-digit drop in Germany in Q4. Turning around the business turnaround will take time as the group expects a 5-10 percent sales decline and an improving but still largely negative EBIT margin in FY 2025.
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ArticleOptometry on the decline in Spain
The country isn’t producing enough professionals, says FEDAO.
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News briefs
Targeting a higher price segment, Brillen.de operator launches new subscription-based retail concept
SuperVista, the German-based group behind the brillen.de discount brand, has announced that it was entering the higher-priced designer frames segment with the launch of THE GOOD BRAND OPTICIANS, a new eyewear retail concept operating on a subscription-based business model. The new shop-in-shop brand offers hundreds of frames from “top international ...
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News briefs
Malaysia bans optical devices and contact lenses e-commerce
Malaysia’s Medical Device Authority (MDA) has made a public announcement to inform consumers that the online sale of optical devices and contact lenses is strictly prohibited in the country. These products are categorized as prescribed medical devices and therefore require a prescription and must be provided by a registered optician ...
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ArticleWith close to 100 new stores in 2024, KRYS GROUP consolidates its market leadership in France
Driven by a record number of new store openings, KRYS GROUP has announced that it consolidated its market leadership in the French optical market last year, lifting its market share to 18.4 percent versus 17.0 percent in 2023. The voluntary group also stressed its sustained development over the last twelve ...
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News briefs
Innovative Eyewear revenue jumps 42% but bottom line dips further into red ink
Innovative Eyewear, a Florida-based smart eyewear company, has reported a 42 percent year-on-year jump in revenue to $1.6 million in fiscal 2024. The company, which develops audio and AI smart glasses under its own Lucyd brand and licences (Nautica, Eddie Bauer), said that the performance was driven by strong volume ...
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News briefs
EssilorLuxottica ranks eighth in global innovation ranking
EssilorLuxottica took the eighth position in the 2025 ranking of the world’s most innovative companies by Fast Company, a global media focusing on technology. The eyewear and eye care behemoth ranks in the Top 10 among the likes of Nvidia, BYD, Rocket Lab or Duolingo to name a few. The ...
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News briefs
Alcon to acquire cataract laser treatment company for $430m
Alcon has announced that it will acquire LENSAR, a stock listed company specializing in the advanced laser treatment of cataracts, following an agreement between both companies. The Swiss-based eye care group will purchase all LENSAR outstanding shares with a 24 percent premium to their average price of the last 30 ...
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News briefs
1-800 Contacts launches prescription glasses online shop
1-800 Contacts, the leading US e-commerce player in the contact lens segment, has announced its entry into the prescription glasses market with the launch of The Framery, an online shop that “gives everyone access to premium frames without the designer markup,” the company says. Prescription frames available on the website ...
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News briefs
Specsavers joins the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
Specsavers has joined the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) as a so-called Group A Member, the eye health advocacy organization has announced. IAPB stressed the importance of Specsavers’ expertise in diagnostic technology, notably in OCT scans rollout, and the retail group’s strong footprint in the UK, Europe, ...
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ArticleFrance drove Q2 revenue 3% uptick for Afflelou but Spain grew at a faster pace
Afflelou Group has reported total network sales for the second quarter of its 2025 fiscal year that have increased by 3.3 percent to €238.8 million, indicating a deceleration from the previous quarter (+5.8 percent). For the first six months of the year, total sales were up by 4.5 percent to ...
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News briefs
Cai Gherardi, co-founder of l.a. Eyeworks, has passed away
Cai Gherardi, co-founder of independent eyewear brand l.a. Eyeworks, has died at 78 after a brief illness. Gherardi and Barbara McReynolds, a high school friend, started the company in 1979, opening their store in Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, a place that soon became an art gallery as much as an ...
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ArticleSustained growth in the Polish eyewear market partly driven by e-commerce boom
Eyewear retail sales rose by 8 percent year on year to 3.6 billion Polish zloty (€870m) last year and are expected to keep growing significantly in 2025.
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News briefsMicrooled, Quanta and STM partner on AR sports smart glasses blanks
Three companies have come together to produce blanks for augmented-reality (AR) smart glasses. Their idea is to produce a frame with built-in electronics but leave the rest open for third parties to “customize” with their own services or additional tiny devices. They’re calling it a “reference design” and aiming it ...
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ArticleOptic 2000 revenue flattish in 2024
Total group revenue was up by 1.1 percent year on year to €1,308 million last year, with sales of flagship banner Optic 2000 inching up by 0.6 percent.
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News briefsTopcon investing in oculometrics company
Topcon Healthcare is the lead investor in a pre-Series A funding round for MachineMD, which develops oculometric systems to assess brain function and detect multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, tumors, evidence of strokes and other troubles. The amount of the investment remains undisclosed, but Topcon will be integrating MachineMD’s neuro-diagnostics into ...
