Blog

July 30, 2020July 30, 2020

Smith Announces New GM, Additional Hires and Promotions

Smith, one of Safilo Group’s own core brands, announces the appointment of Francesco Rinaldi Ceroni as General Manager. Francesco joins the company following more than 13 years in the eyewear industry across wholesale and retail, serving most recently as VP International Strategy & Business Development at Costa Del Mar. Under his new role at Smith, he will lead the global business across all commercial channels out of the Portland headquarters, reporting to Angelo Trocchia, CEO of Safilo Group.

“We welcome Francesco who is a highly experienced professional in the industry, with strong entrepreneurial skills and successful background,” commented Angelo Trocchia. “As we focus on executing our new business plan, we see tremendous opportunities to further develop our own core brands and I am confident that Smith will go from strength to strength under Francesco’s leadership.”

Following his successful tenure as Bike Category Manager for the last few years, Jon Raymer is promoted to the new position of Senior Marketing Manager at Smith. Under his new title, Jon oversees the entirety of the marketing team, social media, public relations and partnerships with contracted agencies, reporting to Francesco.

In addition, Allie Flake joins the Smith team as Eyewear Category Manager to support, strengthen and grow the sport eyewear and optical channels. Allie has over a decade of experience in the eyewear industry, supporting the product development at Oliver Peoples, Fox Head, ROKA Sports, and Costa Del Mar. She reports to Graham Sours, Category Director at Smith.

Tuomas Kronqvist is appointed Smith CFO and Ken Salvador is promoted to Senior Finance Manager at Smith.

Click HERE for the full press release.

July 27, 2020July 27, 2020

FYIdoctors Adds Sixth Clinic in Downtown Vancouver

FYidoctors, announced that downtown Vancouver based, Keefer Place Eye Care, is the latest clinic to operate under the FYidoctors banner.

Keefer Place Eye Care. led by Dr. Raymond S. Chow, has been in operation for over 15 years. They serve clients in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

“We are always pleased to welcome new clinics to the FYidoctors family, furthering our reach across Canada and helping enhance lives,” said Dr. Alan Ulsifer, CEO and Chairman of FYidoctors. “We look forward to providing Dr. Chow and his team at Keefer Place Eye Care with added value and continuing to deliver exceptional eye care for their patients.”

Dr. Chow received his Doctor of Optometry from the University of Waterloo and brings to his practice over 30 years of experience. He is dedicated to providing his patients with the most up-to-date technologies and therapies, and holds a specialty in orthokeratology.

“At Keefer Place Eye Care, our goal has always been to provide a full range of optometry services alongside an exceptional experience,” said Dr. Chow. “In order to continue facilitating this, we look forward to our partnership with FYidoctors and the added benefits this will provide to both our patients and community.”

The addition of Keefer Place Eye Care marks FYidoctors’ sixth clinic in Downtown Vancouver.

Click Here to view the full press release from FYidoctors.

July 21, 2020July 21, 2020

EssilorLuxottica Launches Legal Action Against Acquisition Target.

The Franco-Italian giant, EssilorLuxottica alleges that GrandVision has not been forthcoming in providing operating results in view of the COVID pandemic., in a legal proceeding launched July 18th. At issue is the financial impact of the COVID pandemic on business operations, and the possibility of renegotiating a new valuation based on a decline in revenues and profit.

EssilorLuxottica had agreed to buy the rival optical chain nearly one ear ago by purchasing the 76.2 per cent stake from Hal Holding.

The Netherlands-based retail chain counters they are committed to finalizing the acquisition in the timetable specificed in the purchase agreement from one year ago.

A company statement responds, “GrandVision strongly disagrees with these claims and has responded accordingly. GrandVision continues to support EssilorLuxottica with the shared objective to obtain regulatory approval for the closure of the Transaction within 12 to 24 months from the announcement date of 31 July 2019”.

While the acquisition hopes to ad about 7,400 stores globally and more than 39,000 employees to the group. the agreement has been under evaluation by European competition authorities concerned it could lead to reduced competition and higher prices for consumers. European competition authorities are demanding that EssilorLuxottica sell retail stores in Italy and in either France or the Netherlands in order to finalize the sale.

July 17, 2020July 13, 2020

Italian Renaissance S.V.P.!

Italy has long been at the heartbeat of creative design for optical fashion frames. Optik Magazine contributor Jean-François Venne reports on the devastating impact of the COVID pandemic on the Italian frame industry. He spoke to four Italian companies, and discovered how the industry is only now beginning to show signs of emerging.

For the first time since its inception 30 years ago, Mad in Italy halted production mid-March. “We did it a week before the government gave the order, because it became clear that the situation was getting worse,” says CEO Yachal Mom. Some employees in Belluno, Veneto, continued to fill customer orders from home. Sales, however, have fallen off a cliff. Yachal Mom doesn’t expect them to pick up again anytime soon, even after the mid-May relaxation of stay-home orders.

“The pandemic struck at the worst possible time,” notes Giovanni Vitaloni, president of MIDO and ANFAO (National Association of Optical Goods Manufacturers). “The industry was getting ready to showcase its new collections and meet with customers at MIDO. Both promotion and sales suffered.” Mr. Vitaloni pointed out that 90% of Italian frames are exported and worldwide demand has collapsed. This is an unprecedented and totally unpredictable situation. Mr. Vitaloni estimates that the 800 or so Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Italian optical industry will report a 30-50% drop in revenue.

At Blackfin, customer service and administration have continued to operate during the pandemic, but manufacturing has been at a standstill for more than a month since late March. Sales have dried up. “Orders from our key markets in Europe and North America suddenly stopped,” says Nicola Del Din, President and CEO. Blackfin’s production resumed on April 21, but at a slower pace. The eyewear manufacturer in the Veneto region of Italy accelerated the launch of its new collection by a month. “We want to show that we’re dynamic, quick and optimistic about the future,” says Del Din.

Mario Locatelli, editor of eyewear designer magazine, Blink, expects a slow recovery in frame sales. He points out that companies are dealing with the shock of the postponement of MIDO and Vision Expo East, without knowing if the next SILMO and Vision Expo West will go ahead as scheduled. “Without these major gatherings, eyewear manufacturers will have to find new sales channels,” he says.

Read the full article by Jean-François Venne, which is available in the June-July issue of Optik Magazine.

Click HERE to read the article.

July 16, 2020July 16, 2020

US Study Finds Colour Deficiency Glasses May have Enduring Impact

A UC Davis Eye Center study, in collaboration with France’s INSERM Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute, published as a report in Current Biology, found that patented glasses engineered with spectral notch filters enhance colour vision for those with the most common types of red-green colour vision deficiency (“anomalous trichromacy”).

Notably, the ability to identify and experience expanded colour was also demonstrated when test subjects were not wearing the glasses.

At least eight in 100 men (8%) and one in 200 women (0.5%) suffer from red-green colour vision deficiency (CVD), totaling approximately 2.6 million in Canada and 350 million worldwide.

The study evaluated the impact of spectral notch filters on enhancing the chromatic responses of observers with red-green CVD over two weeks of usage. The filters (EnChroma glasses) are designed to increase the separation between colour channels to help people with colour blindness see colours more vibrantly, clearly and distinctly.

In the study of 10 male CVD participants wore the special filter glasses or placebo glasses. Over a two-week period, they kept a diary and were re-tested on days 2, 4 and 11 but without wearing the glasses.

The researchers found that wearing the filter glasses increased responses to chromatic contrast response in individuals with red-green colour blindness. It is unclear how long the improvement lasts without wearing the filters.

“Extended usage of these glasses boosts chromatic response in those with anomalous trichromacy (red-green colour vision deficiency),” said John S. Werner, professor of ophthalmology and a leader in vision science at UC Davis Health. “We found that sustained use over two weeks not only led to increased chromatic contrast response, but, importantly, these improvements persisted when tested without the filters, thereby demonstrating an adaptive visual response.”

The study authors believe the findings suggest that modifications of photoreceptor signals activate a plastic post-receptoral substrate in the brain that could potentially be exploited for visual rehabilitation.

Note:

Study lenses were provided by EnChroma.
One study author, holds shares in EnChroma.

Link to full study HERE.