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Wednesday, 22 May 2013 |
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Safilo and Essilor have announced a ten-year licensing agreement for the design, manufacture and worldwide distribution by Essilor of polarized ophthalmic lenses under the Polaroid brand for use with eyewear products in general.
Roberto Vedovotto, CEO of Safilo Group, commented: “We are very proud to start this long-term partnership with Essilor, a Group that has been driven by innovation in the development of lenses for more than 160 years. We consider this project an extraordinary opportunity for Polaroid not only to confirm its credibility and worthiness as a reference brand for the protection and improvement of eyesight, but also to extend its application to eyesight correction, in order to always offer consumers throughout the world best-in-class products.”
Hubert Sagnières, Chairman and CEO of Essilor, commented: “We are delighted to team up with Safilo for the worldwide development and promotion of Polaroid’s lenses. The strength of the Polaroid brand is a key lever in drawing people's attention on the importance of protecting their eyes from the sun and in growing the polarized category within the mainstream consumer segment. This new collaboration will allow us to bring together Essilor’s strong know-how and leadership in ophthalmic lenses with Polaroid’s strong recognition on polarization.”
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Tuesday, 14 May 2013 |
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 Essilor has acquired a majority stake in EyeBuyDirect.com, according to the French daily newspaper Le Figaro. Founded in 2005 by Roy Hessel, CEO, the site is a leader in online sales of prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses and eyewear accessories in the United States, but it also operates in China and Hong Kong.
"With this transaction, Essilor deepens its penetration in this segment," commented Bryan Garnier, an analyst CercleFinance.com, stating that if the online distribution accounted for only 3% of the U.S. market for optical products in 2011, sales jumped 31% to $1.1 billion. He also said: 'Through its online stores operated directly, Essilor has full control of its distribution network and its customer relationships'.
Previously, Essilor acquired in 2010 a majority stake in FramesDirect.com which was created in 1996. FramesDirect.com realised 3 years ago a revenue of about $10 million. Essilor also founded an independent division "Global E-Commerce Business" based in Austin (Texas) with the objective to develop an e-commerce activity in the United States and abroad.
In April 2010, Essilor with the assistance of Framedirect.com, proposed MyOnlineOptical.com, an online tool for U.S. eyecare professionals to compete in the market for online sales.
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Wednesday, 01 May 2013 |
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Luxottica's strong growth continued into 2013 and the Group has a positive and optimistic outlook for its future performance. The first quarter of 2013 saw positive growth in terms of both net sales and profits and confirmed the Group’s expectations in terms of robust and continued growth, particularly in emerging markets (+17% at constant exchange rates).
Net income for the first quarter of 2013 increased to Euro 159 million (+10.5%) from adjusted net income of Euro 144 million reported in the first quarter of 2012. Net sales in the period reached approximately Euro 1.9 billion (+5.6% at constant exchange rates), with double-digit growth in emerging markets (+17% at constant exchange rates). The Group’s operating income for the period rose to Euro 275 million (+7.7%).
During the first quarter of 2013, Luxottica experienced in Australia excellent performance in both the specialised sun store chain (Sunglass Hut) and optical stores (OPSM), producing increased comparable store sales of 16.1% at Sunglass Hut and 9.6% at OPSM.
Andrea Guerra, Chief Executive Officer of Luxottica, commented: "Looking forward to the next few months, we will continue to invest in our expansion. In particular, the emerging markets are expected to be one of the main drivers of growth, sustained by ongoing investments in people and brands, and by expanding the Retail Division via acquisitions and better penetration of existing channels, especially in Southeast Asia and Latin America."
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Tuesday, 30 April 2013 |
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Essilor International recently announced consolidated revenue of €1,276.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2013. Compared with first-quarter 2012, this represented an increase of 2.1%, excluding the currency effect. This included acquisitions and local partnerships, which added 1.9%, and additional revenue resulting from the change in the method of consolidation for Essilor Korea, which added 0.2%.
In the second quarter, Essilor acquired a minority stake in Advanced Optical Supplies, a prescription laboratory in Victoria, Australia, which generates approximately AUD1,000,000 in revenue.
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Wednesday, 10 April 2013 |
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Essilor has inaugurated a new production line for standard ophthalmic lenses at its Dijon plant in France. It is an investment of over four million euros in high-tech industrial processes.
The new production line is used to manufacture single-vision high-index corrective lenses (i.e. very thin lenses for the correction of such visual defects as myopia or hypermetropia) marketed under the Airwear®, Ormix® and Stylis® brand names. The new cutting-edge industrial processes implemented at the Dijon plant consist of a new line for hard coating (ensuring lens resistance and protection) and vacuum coating (providing anti-reflective and anti-UV properties), thus permitting the manufacture of high performance lenses.
This investment contributes to strengthening Essilor's position on the French market where the group has 11 production sites and is currently finalizing the construction of an Innovation and Technology Centre in Créteil. The Group's industrial footprint also includes a network of locally based prescription laboratories, ensuring the delivery of high performance and innovative lenses in record time.
"This inauguration reflects Essilor's commitment to high-quality French manufacturing. Essilor is an industrial group that has successfully developed and exported its expertise to support its worldwide development. This investment in Dijon illustrates our determination to continue our tradition of industrial performance, which has been a part of our DNA for over 160 years," stated Essilor France Managing Director, Nicolas de Lambert.
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Monday, 25 March 2013 |
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 Bausch + Lomb, owned by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), relating to the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.
The proposed IPO could raise as much as USD 1.5 billion and is expected to value Bausch & Lomb at about USD 9 billion to USD 10 billion, Reuters reported earlier in March.
Warburg Pincus continues to explore a private sale of the company and is working with Goldman Sachs to find a buyer, a source had told Reuters.
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