All Eyewear Intelligence articles in Volume 24 No. 7+8

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    Eyewear Intelligence: Vol 24 - No 7+8

    11 April 2023

    Mister Spex counts on upmarket move and cost control to return to profits after mixed 2022 | Marcolin posts 12% topline growth and stable margins for 2022 | KRYS GROUP up 5% in 2022, announces 2028 plan and targets | Afflelou driven by historical banner optical sales in Q2 | Eyewear stocks start 2023 on the right foot | Alcon jockeys for market share in reusables, sees mid-single digit percentage contact lens growth | Arts Optical reports flat sales but higher profit ratios | Italia Independent pushes back approval of 2022 results amid debt restructuring deal | Change of leadership at opti | A look at MIDO CSE Awards’ RoW winners Environmental sustainability and the eye care industry | How dirty is greenwashing? A legal perspective

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    DEG moves French team to Paris’s center

    7 April 2023

    Danish-based Design Eyewear Group (DEG) is moving its French subsidiary’s headquarters to the fourth “arrondissement” of Paris. The new location will host the French teams for customer relations, European sales and marketing, and design. DEG owns three French eyewear brands (ALIUM, FACE A FACE and WOOW). Overall, the group employs ...

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    Italia Independent pushes back approval of 2022 results amid debt restructuring deal

    7 April 2023

    The Italia Independent Group (IIG) said it is postponing the board-of-directors meeting called to approve 2022 results until May 29 from March 28, after recently reaching a debt restructuring deal with creditors. The Italian eyewear group said the postponement of the board meeting is necessary because the auditor still has ...

  • Arts Optical
    Article

    Arts Optical reports flat sales but higher profit ratios

    7 April 2023

    Hong-Kong based eyewear manufacturer Arts Optical has reported flattish revenues, with total sales down by 0.7 percent year-on-year to 1,144 million Hong Kong dollars (€133 m) as progress in the distribution and lens units almost entirely offset declining sales from the key OEM division (see chart). Arts Optical ...

  • News briefs

    Tokai partners with Pacific Artisan Labs in the U.S.

    7 April 2023

    Japanese-based lens maker Tokai Optical has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Pacific Artisan Labs (PAL) for the U.S. market. The partnership, effective June 1, will initially focus on the launch of Tokai’s NeuroSelect lens designs. The lens was developed with neuroscience technology, enabling the creation of designs based on ...

  • Europa Eyewear
    News briefs

    American frame maker gets capital infusion

    7 April 2023

    Blue Point Capital Partners is investing in Europa Eyewear. The American company manufactures frames for 11 proprietary trade and consumer brands, the most recent of which are STATE and American Optical. It says it operates the largest eyewear factory in the U.S. The company has remained in the hands of ...

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    Alcon jockeys for market share in reusables, sees mid-single digit percentage contact lens growth

    6 April 2023

    Alcon is seeking to gain market share in the reusable contact lens segment, while also continuing to capitalize on the overall market trend of consumers moving towards daily lenses and away from reusables, management indicated in the company’s capital markets day with analysts. Alcon management noted that its market share ...

  • News briefs

    Myopia management events thrive

    6 April 2023

    Myopia Profile, an Australian-based “information center” in clinical myopia management, has announced the launch of Myopia Action Month, a series of events for eye care professionals. Slated for September 2023 and sponsored by CooperVision, EssilorLuxottica and Johnson & Johnson, the digital event will include a number of new video resources, ...

  • LEOO
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    French eyewear companies open their doors to ECPs

    5 April 2023

    LEOO, the association of French optical products manufacturers, is launching “Manufacture Tours,” a one-day event on June 5 where 30 companies in the sector will offer guided tours of their facilities to eyecare professionals (ECPs) in different regions. The operation aims to showcase French know-how in the production of lenses ...

  • News briefs

    HOYA expands MiYOSMART range with sun lenses

    5 April 2023

    HOYA Vision Care has announced the expansion of its myopia management lens’ range with the addition of two sun lenses. Dubbed MiYOSMART Chameleon for the photochromic lens and MiYOSMART Sunbird for the polarized lens, both products will be based on the D.I.M.S technology that the group developed for its MiYOSMART ...

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    Eyewear stocks start 2023 on the right foot

    4 April 2023

    Stock prices of eyewear companies were off to a good start of the year, with an average growth of 13 percent on a non-weighted basis in Q1 2023 compared with Q4 2022. It is the first time in more than a year that their average value significantly increased, overperforming the ...

  • News briefs

    Essilux announces record level of employee shareholding

    4 April 2023

    EssilorLuxottica has announced that 58,000 employees subscribed to its employee shareholding plan last year, representing a 65 percent subscription rate among eligible staff. At the end of the year, a total of 72,000 employees in 85 countries hold a share in the group compared with 63,000 in 2020 and 67,000 ...

  • News briefs

    Mister Spex appoints new chief marketing officer

    4 April 2023

    Omnichannel retailer Mister Spex has announced the appointment of Davide Croci as its new chief marketing officer, effective April 1. Croci comes from Flixbus, an international travel company where he last served as vice president of marketing, sales and commercial development. He will report directly to Mirko Caspar, co-CEO of ...

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    Some optimism among U.S. ECPs

    3 April 2023

    The effect of the uncertain economy has been slight on 68 percent and great on 25 percent of eyecare professionals (ECPs). This according to a survey highlighted by Vision Monday and conducted in March by Jobson Research on a sample of 296 ECPs – some independent, some in one of ...

  • News briefs

    Essilux-Bulgari eyewear license to expire at the end of the year

    30 March 2023

    Italian news agency Ansa and other media in the country report that the eyewear license between Bulgari, a brand of the LVMH group, and EssilorLuxottica will not be extended when it expires at the end of this year. It seems very likely that Thélios, the eyewear division of LVMH, will ...

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    Marcolin posts 13% topline growth and stable margins for 2022

    30 March 2023

    Ahead of its shareholders’ meeting in April, the Marcolin group has released positive preliminary results for 2022 that confirmed the Italian group’s topline growth and stable profit ratios despite challenging market conditions. Total revenue went up by 20.1 percent year-on-year to €547 million in reported terms, translating into a 13.2 ...

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    How dirty is greenwashing? A legal perspective

    30 March 2023

    This article will briefly explain the current legal perspective of environmental claims used by corporates to market their products or services, in particular on a business-to-consumer level.

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    Article

    Mister Spex counts on upmarket move and cost control to return to profits after mixed 2022

    29 March 2023

    Announcing mixed full year results for 2022 earlier this week, including a relatively weak Q4 performance, Mister Spex stressed that it still gained market share last year in Germany, its core market. The company also underlined improvements in its product mix, with more lenses and high added-value frames, and the ...

  • News briefs

    Bernhard Nuesser joins Acuitis’ group as general manager

    28 March 2023

    Héron Optique & Audition, the retail group operating Acuitis and other retail banners in the optical and hearing aids’ sectors, has announced the appointment of Bernhard Nuesser as its managing director. The Swiss executive has held a number of senior management positions at Essilor since 2013, including president Europe, global ...

  • News briefs

    Essilux to invest $11m in support of future U.S. optometrists

    28 March 2023

    Against the backdrop of a lingering shortage of eye care professionals in the U.S., EssilorLuxottica has announced that it would invest $11 million in the next two years in support of future optometrists in the country, in partnership with the Association of Schools and Collegues (ASCO). The budgeted amount includes ...