All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 27 No. 7
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News briefs
Spectaris appoints new head of Consumer Optics division
Spectaris, the German optical industry association, has appointed Stephan Schenk, a seasoned executive with extensive experience in optometry and communications, as head of its Consumer Optics division, effective July 8, 2026. Schenk joins from hellomateo, a Berlin-based B2B software company enabling local businesses to centralize customer messaging and automate communication ...
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![Oakley Meta Vanguard - Garmin Cycling[53]](https://dhihzlqjusqkh.cloudfront.net/Pictures/100x67/7/6/9/58769_oakleymetavanguardgarmincycling53_652173.jpg)
ArticleSports eyewear panorama: RX and tech as the new growth drivers
While the conventional sunglasses market is still struggling to recover its pre-Covid volumes, the sports eyewear segment is showing outstanding health, with annual growth exceeding 10 percent. Once considered a purely technical niche, this market has evolved into a major macro-economic battlefield where two distribution models clash: the high volume ...
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News briefs
Dalloz Créations to close after 70 years
Dalloz Créations, the French Jura-based manufacturer of premium sun lenses, is closing as the regional commercial court terminated its reorganization plan and ordered liquidation. The insolvency date has been set for March 20, 2026. The company employed 29 people. The decision follows a sharp decline in revenue, from €3.8 million ...
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News briefs
Opto-Réseau has a new CEO
Opto-Réseau, the Québec-based optometry network, has appointed Mélissa Bastien as CEO, succeeding Christine Breton, who is stepping down after 25 years. Bastien, a former Nikon sales executive, joined Opto-Réseau in 2022 as part of the succession plan. The company, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, has a network of 88 ...
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News briefs
Optos picks former Essilor, Hoya executive as new CEO
Optos, the UK-based optical equipment company, has appointed Alexandre Montague as CEO, succeeding Rob Kennedy, who has left the company. Montague brings decades of industry experience, including senior roles at EssilorLuxottica and as CEO of HOYA Vision Care from 2020 to 2025. Founded by Douglas Anderson in the early 1980s ...
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ArticleGoodVision seeks NPO partners for pilot testing of new digital tools
GoodVision, the vision care NPO formerly known as EinDollar Brille, is unveiling two digital tools — the GoodVision App and VALY — to support its efforts to expand eye care in low-resource regions and is calling on other NPOs to join its pilot testing phase. Both tools will be presented ...
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ArticleSpain’s optical market expands on pricing gains amid weak volume growth
The Spanish optical market grew by 4.0 percent to €2,551 million in 2025, according to the 2026 edition of the “Libro Blanco de la Visión” published by FEDAO, the Spanish federation of optical industry associations, and sponsored by Correos Express. This marks a slight acceleration from the 2.9 percent growth ...
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News briefs
De Rigo Rem appoints new President
De Rigo Rem, the US subsidiary of De Rigo Group, has appointed Benjamin Colombara as its President, in replacement of Jeff Fitzhugh who has held the position since 2024 and is leaving the company. Colombara has been working in the eyewear industry for two decades, holding senior commercial roles at ...
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ArticleCVI outlook tightens on APAC softness as CooperCompanies nears CooperSurgical sale
CooperCompanies reported an 8 percent year-on-year increase in CooperVision revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, ended April 30. Contact lens sales rose 4 percent at constant exchange rates and organically, slightly accelerating from Q1 (+3 percent). By category and on an organic basis, toric and multifocal contact lens ...
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ArticleShareholders in Essilux owner Delfin reach settlement
Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio and Rocco Basilico, two of the eight heirs of Luxottica founder Leonardo Dal Vecchio have reached a provisional settlement to end their legal disputes over a change in the ownership structure of Delfin, which controls EssilorLuxottica with a 32.4 percent stake, according to media reports. Essilux ...
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News briefs
Nexeye creates and fills a chief retail officer role
Nexeye, the Dutch-based optical retail group, has appointed Theo Willemse as its Chief Retail Officer, effective June 1, 2026. In this newly created role, Willemse will oversee the entire retail organization across all brands—Hans Anders, eyes + more and Direkt Optik—across Europe. New to the eyewear sector, Willemse previously served ...
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News briefs
Safilo Group launches new share buyback plan
Safilo Group has announced a new share buyback program covering up to 10 million shares, equivalent to approximately 2.5 percent of the company’s outstanding share capital, for a maximum total consideration of €20 million. The program, which began on June 8, 2026, is scheduled to run until November 30, 2026. ...
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News briefs
Mitsui announces new MR production facility for 2029
Citing sustained demand growth for its MR high-index lens materials—particularly in Asia and North America—Mitsui Chemicals has announced plans to build a new production facility at its Omuta Works site in Japan. The plant is expected to begin operations in the first half of 2029. This investment follows closely on ...
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News briefs
CEO change at Fielmann USA
Dirk Hehenkamp, currently Vice President of Global Markets at Fielmann USA, will assume the role of CEO, succeeding Russ Steinhorst, who is retiring. The leadership transition will take effect on June 13, 2026, according to Vision Monday, which first reported the news. Hehenkamp joined Fielmann USA in 2022 as Vice ...
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News briefs
President Macron’s Made in Europe Henry Jullien sunglasses hit 1,000 orders
Online sales of Henry Jullien sunglasses – famously worn by French President Emmanuel Macron at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year – have exceeded 1,000 pairs, according to IVision Tech. The Italian eyewear manufacturer, which acquired the struggling French brand in 2025, said demand has come from ...
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News briefs
Rokid’s Japanese crowdfunding campaign hits $4 million
Chinese smart eyewear company Rokid has raised $4 million from 7,413 backers on Makuake, a Japanese crowdfunding platform, over a period of roughly two months. The campaign underscores growing consumer interest in AI-enabled eyewear in Japan, particularly among early adopters.According to the company, a survey of 9,600 participants found that ...
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ArticleKrys adds Even Realities G2 to its growing smart eyewear stable
Krys Group, France’s top optical retailer, has become the first national chain to carry the Even Realities G2 display glasses. This will be its third proposition in smart eyewear, after the Meta models (Ray-Ban and Oakley) and its own private-label model. According to its announcement of June 4, Krys will ...
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News briefs
New investment reportedly values Gentle Monster’s parent company at just under €2bn
ZWC Partners, an Asian private equity investor with $2.5 billion in assets, has announced an investment in IICOMBINED, the parent company of Gentle Monster, the South Korean eyewear brand. The investment amount was not disclosed, but the deal reportedly values IICOMBINED at 3.35 trillion Korean won (€1.9bn), according to several ...
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ArticleZEISS Group launches cost-reduction program and job cuts after mixed H1 results
ZEISS Group revenue edged up by 1 percent year over year to €5,794 million in the first half of fiscal 2025/26, decelerating sharply from the double-digit growth reported in the previous fiscal year. Earnings before interest and taxes fell 3.7 percent to €955 million, corresponding to a slight improvement in ...
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ArticleEssilux brings some wearables production to Italy with R&D synergies and supply chain risks in mind
EssilorLuxottica will start producing some wearables at its Agordo plant in Veneto, Italy, by early 2027, the group and a coordination of three trade unions (Filctem CGIL, Femca CISL, Uiltec UIL) announced earlier this week. While most of the production of such products, including the AI and AR glasses developed ...
