All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 27 No.5
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ArticleEyewear companies’ average stock price down 3% in Q1
The stock prices of the 25 listed eyewear companies composing our quarterly chart decreased by 3.4 percent on a non-weighted average basis in Q1 2026. While the decline marks a sharp contrast with the 8.9 percent growth recorded in the preceding quarter, it largely reflects a difficult quarter for stock ...
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Kering boosts liquidity with €1.1 bn Milan real estate deal
Kering has signed a real estate deal with Al-Mirqab Group, a Qatar-based construction and real estate company, for its building at Via Monte Napoleone in Milan, Italy. Kering will contribute the property to a new joint stock company owned at 80 percent by Al-Mirqab Group and at 20 percent by ...
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Topcon Healthcare reshuffles top management
Topcon Corporation has announced the promotion of Lance Patton to the position of President of Topcon Healthcare Inc., its US-based branch focusing on digital healthcare solutions and AI-powered care systems. A former Optos executive, Patton joined Topcon Healthcare in 2024 and has served as Chief Commercial Officer since. The group ...
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ArticleIs Gentle Monster running out of steam?
Financial filings by iiCombined for fiscal 2025 show that Gentle Monster’s growth trajectory came to a sudden halt last year, as total revenue declined by 2.1 percent year on year to 772.3 billion Korean won (€449m). This is a sharp contrast to the 29.7 percent growth reported for the previous ...
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Titan Company Q4 eyewear sales up 16 percent despite fewer stores
Reporting preliminary results, Indian luxury retail group Titan Company said that its Q4 revenue rose by 42 percent year over year, driven by a 46 percent jump in sales from its jewelry unit. Eyewear sales were up 16 percent year on year in the quarter, in line with the previous ...
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KITS Eyecare appoints new president from within
KITS Eyecare has promoted Tai Silvey to the position of President. A seasoned executive with past leadership roles at global consumer brands such as Red Bull or Dyson, Silvey joined the Canadian-based e-tailer in 2022 as Senior Vice President Operations and was later appointed Chief Business Development Officer. In his ...
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ArticleChinese smart glasses firms eye IPOs in race with big tech
Prominent Chinese smart glasses companies are increasingly turning to the stock market to fund their growth in a fast-moving, highly competitive sector. Beijing-based XREAL filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in Hong Kong earlier this month, while Rokid, based in Hangzhou, is reportedly considering the same move. According to ...
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ArticleJINS finds 'second growth engine' overseas as domestic business disappoints
JINS HOLDINGS lowered its full-year outlook for fiscal 2025/26 (ending Aug. 31) after first-half results showed a mixed performance: double-digit revenue growth but a sharp drop in domestic profitability. Full-year revenue is now expected to grow 13.5% year on year to ¥110.3 billion (€591m), down from a previously forecast 14.9% ...
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Silhouette picks luxury retail expert as new CEO
Silhouette International has appointed Christian Bachler as its new CEO, effective today. Before joining the Austrian eyewear maker, Bachler spent 15 years at Fiskars Group—most recently until April 2025 as Executive Vice President of the Vita business unit, which focuses on luxury home and lifestyle brands like Georg Jensen, Royal ...
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Snap’s Specs signs long-term partnership with Qualcomm
Specs, the smart eyewear subsidiary of Snap, has signed a multi-year partnership with Qualcomm Technologies, a leading US-based multinational semiconductor and wireless technology company. “Through long-term strategic roadmap alignment and technical collaboration, both companies will work together to rapidly bring industry-leading capabilities to the Specs platform, including on-device AI, ...
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LVMH Fashion & Leather Goods unit down 2% organically in Q1
French-based luxury group LVMH has reported a 9 percent year-on-year decline in Q1 revenue to €9.3 billion for its Fashion & Leather Goods unit. Sales were down by 2 percent on an organic basis. The division, which includes Thélios, the group’s eyewear subsidiary, was particularly impacted by the war in ...
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Apple AI glasses reportedly coming in four acetate designs, many colors
Apple plans to release its AI glasses in four designs – rectangular and oval/round, each in large and slim sizes – with many color options, according to a recent Bloomberg report. The frames will reportedly use acetate for a higher-quality feel than the thermoplastic in Ray-Ban Meta glasses. They will ...
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ArticleRevenio Group acquires Visionix in €290m deal
Revenio Group, a Finnish-based public company supplying eye care devices and software, announced yesterday the acquisition of Visionix, the French-based group specializing in eye care diagnostics and measurement instruments. The transaction valued the business at €290 million, including a payment of €250 million to the selling parties, of which about ...
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ArticleEyewear remains 'highly attractive and reliable growth engine' for Kering
Kering Eyewear quarterly revenue reached a record high of €489 million in Q1, growing by 3 percent year on year or by 7 percent on a comparable basis. The performance marks a significant acceleration from Q4 2025 when sales declined by 2 percent (+3 percent in comparable terms). Kering said ...
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Fielmann creates optometry advisory board in the US
Fielmann Group has established an Optometry Advisory Board to provide its US subsidiary with strategic guidance and medical expertise, and to “translate Fielmann’s patient-centric philosophy to the US market.” The advisory board is chaired by Dr. Howard Purcell, President and CEO of the New England College of Optometry (NECO) and ...
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ArticleJulbo tops €50m in sales as new owner builds on brand heritage
After more than 135 years of history, including over four decades under the leadership of the Beaud family, Julbo was acquired by Peugeot Frères Industries, the investment arm of the Peugeot family, in 2022. We recently sat down with Damien Guillobez, CEO of Julbo, to discuss the sport eyewear company’s ...
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J&J contact lens sales rise 5.5% in Q1
Johnson & Johnson reported contact lens sales totaling $969 million in the first quarter of 2026, up by a reported 5.5 percent and 2.7 percent higher at constant currency growth, as growth was fueled by the continued strong performance of the Acuvue-Oasys 1-Day family of products and strategic pricing actions. ...
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ArticleKering Eyewear expects 'execution' and AI glasses to drive next growth phase
Kering presented yesterday ReconKering, its strategic turnaround plan, to investors during its Capital Markets Day (CMD) in Florence, Italy. “ReconKering is designed to restore clarity, rebuild execution discipline and place the Group back on a long‑term leadership trajectory,” the official release reads. Luca de Meo, who took over the CEO ...
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MiÓptico acquires Cecop’s French business
MiÓptico has acquired the business of Cecop in France, Modas en Gafas first reported. With these additional 400 independent opticians, the buying group will exceed 1,000 members. Founded in 2017 by Florent Carrière, a French optician with previous experiences at Carrefour optical stores and Afflelou, MiÓptico operates both as a ...
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Zeiss Vision Care US names new head of retail
Zeiss Vision Care has announced the appointment of Emi Cardarelli as Vice President and Head of Retail in the US market. Cardarelli joins the company after a short career break. She previously held senior leadership roles at Kenvue, previously Johnson & Johnson, Unilever and Walmart.
