By Staff
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 11:45 AM
GLENDORA, N.J.—Lincoln Road Advisors Inc., an investment company operated by optical industry veteran Eric Bertrand, has acquired the holding company
Refac Optical Group, which owns the
U.S. Vision optical business, from its majority owner ACON Investments. U.S. Vision operates roughly 375 optical locations in licensed retail spaces at J.C. Penney, Meijer, Boscov’s and Optical Center/AAFES Exchange locations. Bertrand, a former chief executive of OptiCare Health Systems of Connecticut and Vision Center at Meijer, confirmed the acquisition by Lincoln Road to
VMAIL earlier today. He is the principal at Lincoln Road, and also manages the digital marketing agency
Mod Op.
By Staff
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 12:24 AM
SCHIPHOL, the Netherlands—GrandVision NV (EURONEXT: GVNV) reported late last week that its full-year 2020 revenue dropped by 12.2 percent at constant exchange rates to €3,481 million (FY19: €4,039 million) with a comparable revenue decline of 14.1 percent. Adjusted EBITA (EBITA before non-recurring items) fell 43.1 percent at constant exchange rates to €266 million (FY19: €475 million), and the retailer’s EBITA margin fell 411 basis points to 7.7 percent.
By Staff
Friday, February 26, 2021 12:15 AM
VANCOUVER, British Columbia—
CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (OTCQB: DOCRF), a telehealth software company, announced last week that it has agreed to acquire
VisionPros, a vertically integrated digital eyewear platform and e-tailer, based here.
By Staff
Thursday, February 25, 2021 12:27 AM
LAVAL, Quebec—
Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC) will expand its board of directors with the addition of two designees from the Carl Icahn Group as part of an agreement with the
investor's group, which said earlier this month that it has increased its ownership stake in the health care company to almost 8 percent. In a separate announcement Wednesday, Bausch reported that “despite unprecedented business challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic … Bausch Health finished the year strong and outperformed the high end of [its] latest revenue guidance range.”
By Staff
Thursday, February 25, 2021 12:18 AM
CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—During a meeting of the EssilorLuxottica board of directors on Wednesday, it was decided to propose the nomination of 12 individuals to compose its future board of directors, including Leonardo Del Vecchio, as a non-independent director.
By Staff
Wednesday, February 24, 2021 12:24 AM
GENEVA, Switzerland—
Alcon (SIX/NYSE:ALC), a global leader in eyecare, reported Tuesday that its worldwide sales for the fourth quarter rose 2 percent on a reported basis to $1.9 billion. The increase was 1 percent on a constant currency basis.
By Staff
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 12:18 AM
PARIS—
Kering Group (PARIS: KER), the global luxury group overseeing fashion brands Gucci and Saint Laurent, reported overall consolidated revenue for fiscal 2020 of €13,100.2 million, a drop of 17.5 percent on a reported basis and 16.4 percent on a comparable basis.
By Staff
Monday, February 22, 2021 12:24 AM
NEW YORK—Solstice Marketing Concepts LLC, parent company of the
Solstice Sunglasses retail chain, said last week that it has filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition for relief in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan. According to the company’s announcement, Solstice Sunglasses is the second-largest retailer of sunglasses in the U.S., and it is planning to complete a financial reorganization and emerge from bankruptcy.
By Staff
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 12:24 AM
LAVAL, Quebec—
Bausch Health Companies issued a statement Friday in response to the news that activist investor Carl Icahn had accumulated a sizable stake in the health care company, as Icahn Capital noted in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late last week.
By Staff
Wednesday, February 10, 2021 12:27 AM
NEW YORK—
EssilorLuxottica (Euronext: EL) has made moves to restart the European Union’s review process of its proposed acquisition of
GrandVision, (Euronext: GVNV) and the regulatory commission overseeing the review has responded to the actions by setting a new April 12 deadline to rule on the deal.
By Staff
Tuesday, February 9, 2021 12:18 AM
JENA, Germany—
Carl Zeiss Meditec generated revenue of €368.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020/21, ending Dec. 31, 2020. This represents a rebound to the company’s pre-pandemic revenue of €369.7 million in the year-ago period, and a decline of just 0.2 percent, or a 2.6 percent increase when adjusted for currency effects. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased to €73.4 million versus €56.8 million in the prior year. The EBIT margin was 19.9 percent versus 15.4 percent year-ago.
By Staff
Tuesday, February 9, 2021 12:15 AM
CALGARY, Alberta—
FYidoctors, a leading optometrist-controlled eyecare company, said Monday that it has acquired Aesthetic Medical Network Inc. (AMNI), a network comprised of Canada’s leading aesthetic medicine doctors. Through the new partnership, AMNI will have the opportunity to further position the network and its members as the leading experts in the Canadian medical aesthetics space. In addition, FYidoctors said the deal will allow the network “to fuel future expansion plans, funding further market development and practice support initiatives.” The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
By Staff
Thursday, February 4, 2021 12:18 AM
PALM SPRINGS, Fla.—
My Eyelab, a retail brand of
Now Optics, has reported that it experienced “tremendous growth this past year” with the opening of 28 new locations. This raised its total optical locations to 99 stores, 48 of which are franchised and 51 corporate-owned and operated, according to its announcement. In addition, My Eyelab last year signed 57 new franchise deals, a 200 percent increase in new units compared with 2019, which the company attributed to the 23 “discovery days” it held last year for potential franchisees, according to the announcement.
By Staff
Wednesday, February 3, 2021 4:30 PM
CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France, and SAN RAMON, Calif.—
EssilorLuxottica (Reuters: ESLA.PA) and
CooperCompanies (NYSE:COO), two of the world’s leading vision care companies, said late Wednesday that they have entered into an agreement to create a 50/50 joint venture for the acquisition of
SightGlass Vision, a U.S.-based life sciences company focused on developing innovative spectacle lenses to reduce the progression of myopia in children. EssilorLuxottica and CooperCompanies will leverage their shared expertise and global leadership in myopia management to accelerate the commercialization of SightGlass Vision spectacle lenses.