Hong Kong smart eyewear company seeks “billions of dollars” in damages from Meta-Essilux
Solos Technology, a Hong Kong-based smart glasses company, is suing Meta Platforms, Meta Platforms Technologies, Oakley, Luxottica of America and EssilorLuxottica USA for “willful direct and indirect patent infringement” of its own “foundational technologies.” The case was filed with the US District Court of Massachusetts on Jan. 23, 2025, and ...
The European eyecare sector remains an attractive M&A market
There were 28 company transactions – including full takeovers and acquisitions of minority stakes – in the eyecare and eyewear sector in Europe in 2025, according to a recent report by Houlihan Lokey, a global investment bank monitoring the sector and other consumer markets. The company was involved last year ...
Macron’s Davos shades put Henry Jullien in the spotlight
French president Emmanuel Macron did not go unnoticed at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this week. He wore a pair of high-end reflective aviator sunglasses during his speech, indoors. The unusual look was intended to cover a burst blood vessel in his eye, his office explained.
Johnson & Johnson Q4 contact lens sales grow 7.6%
Johnson & Johnson generated sales from its contact lens business of $1,008 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, up by a reported 7.6 percent compared to the year earlier and 5.3 percent higher at constant currency rates. Sales growth was driven by market growth, the continued strong showing of ...
Italy’s eyewear sector ramps up export promotion efforts
Italy’s eyewear industry has ramped up efforts to promote its products overseas, as tariffs, geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty bite, but new markets also provide opportunities.
Opti finds momentum in stubbornly stagnant German optical market
The organizers of the opti trade show have announced that 21,972 trade visitors took part in the 2026 edition that took place from Jan. 16 to 18 in Munich, up by 4 percent from the previous year, confirming positive impressions from exhibitors. Visitors from outside Germany accounted for roughly 20 ...
ZEISS targets cognitive overload with clearer lenses
ZEISS Vision Care is unveiling several novelties at the opti trade show starting today in Munich, Germany, of which the most important is ZEISS NeurOptix, a new lens technology designed to reduce cognitive overload. The technology is at the core of ZEISS ClearMind, a new prescription lens aimed at 35+ ...
Kenyan retail startup aims for scale and impact in East Africa
Backed by Japanese and Indian investors and by a French optical retail veteran, Kenyan optical retail startup Mamy Eyewear plans to grow from five stores in Nairobi to over 100 locations in East Africa within five years, leveraging AI-powered eye exams and affordable pricing to address the region’s critical shortage of eye care services.
Meta and Essilux reported AI glasses capacity doubling no easy task
Meta and EssilorLuxottica are discussing boosting their Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses annual production capacity to 20-30 million units to address growing demand, Bloomberg reported yesterday. The leak came from people familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous, which may also mean that it is a deliberate communication strategy ...
Nicola Zotta returns to VSP to lead Marchon/Marcolin integration
VSP Vision has appointed Nicola Zotta as its President of Eyewear and Managing Director of both Marchon Eyewear and Marcolin, the Italian eyewear maker whose acquisition was completed at the end of last year.
Eyewear industry stock up 8.9 percent in Q4, 6.2 percent in FY2025
As usual at this time of the year, we complement our quarterly analysis of the stock listed eyewear companies in the last quarter with our market capitalization ranking as we enter the new year. You will find the corresponding tables below.
Meta pauses international Ray-Ban Display launch amid AR supply-chain crunch
Meta has postponed the international launch of its Ray-Ban Display AR glasses, citing overwhelming US demand and waitlists extending into 2026. The delay highlights critical supply chain bottlenecks in waveguide production and memory chips, as the smart eyewear market reaches a tipping point for consumer adoption.
Gentle Monster throws legal challenge at fast-growing K-eyewear challenger
Gentle Monster is taking legal aim at Blue Elephant, another South Korean eyewear brand successfully surfing the “hallyu”, the global K-pop culture trend, albeit at much lower price points. IiCombined, the mother company of Gentle Monster, reportedly filed a criminal complaint against its competitor with South Korean authorities in December ...
US tariffs weigh heavily on Sun Hing H1 results
Sun Hing Vision Group sales increased by 2.9 percent year on year to 421 million Hong Kong dollars (€46m) for the half year ended Sept. 30, 2025 “despite the overall poor operating environment,” the company stressed. The H1 performance, however, marks a sharp deceleration from the 27.6 percent topline growth ...