Blog

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020

Essilor Vision Foundation Canada Supports Frontline Healthcare Workers with PPE Donation

Essilor Vision Foundation Canada (EVFC) has partnered with Essilor Canada to donate 10,000 goggles and protective glasses and 20,000 face shields in support of the efforts of frontline healthcare workers in Canada. This equipment will help keep frontline workers safe while they care for their patients and battle the ongoing pandemic. This donation is part of Essilor’s broader activities to support our communities through these difficult times.

The federal government as well as 19 hospitals and healthcare organizations throughout Canada have received the equipment. As the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved, so too have the protocols and practices for personal protective equipment (PPE), with a growing focus on eye protection. EVFC encourages everyone to take the necessary steps to ensure their safety and the safety of those around them.

“As a responsible organization, we remain committed to working with stakeholders to support efforts to battle this pandemic,” says Christophe Perreault, President of Essilor Canada and chair of EVFC. “During these unprecedented times, we have created assistance programs and training initiatives to help our partners within the industry cope and recover. We’ve also provided prescription eye protection to those treating patients and provided essential services through our national network of laboratories.”

“Essilor Vision Foundation Canada wished to help our country through this pandemic with what it does best, protect, correct and enhance the vision, and thus the lives of Canadians,” says Simon Robert, Executive director of Essilor Vision Foundation Canada.

Click HERE for the full press release.

June 6, 2020June 9, 2020

CNIB Foundation Launches Tactile Brand

During National AccessAbility Week (May 31-June 6), the CNIB Foundation launched the organization’s tactile branding project, a new aspect of the brand that’s not designed to be seen.

“It makes perfect sense for the CNIB Foundation to have a tactile brand; I think it’s an original idea,” says Christine Malec, Participant, CNIB Foundation.

The tactile brand was a part of a collaboration between members of the community with sight loss and Zerotrillion, a global creative agency, with the idea of making the brand itself more inclusive. Together, they explored what the CNIB Foundation represents – empowerment, inclusiveness, innovation, passion, collaboration, and integrity – and created a brand that tells a story that you can feel, touch and engage with.

“Inclusive design is as much about the process as it is the product,” said Adam Fierman, Creative Director, Zerotrillion. “This branding wasn’t created for the CNIB Foundation; it was created by members of the community it serves – Canadians impacted by blindness. Their diverse stories and experiences drove the design and led to a result that is personal and deeply meaningful. We are so proud to have participated in this process and we are truly touched by how much it means to the CNIB Foundation and to everyone who feels the brand.”

The timing of this launch is intentional. In a world moving very quickly towards ‘contactless’ everything, the CNIB Foundation believes this is the right time to ensure the world does not forget the importance of inclusive design and that some members of the community must still navigate the world through touch.

“There are already far too many examples of the challenges that many ‘contactless’ measures have had on people who are blind or partially sighted,” said Suzanne Decary-van den Broek, Executive Director, CNIB Foundation Ontario South (GTA). “For example, grocery stores and pharmacies have printed signs and floor stickers to help ensure physical distancing measures are met. These measures are inaccessible for someone with sight loss and, in fact, have placed many people in dangerous and degrading situations.”

As we move to a more contactless way of living, society could inadvertently rebuild barriers the CNIB Foundation and the people it serves have spent more than 100 years tearing down. Now is the time to ensure Canadians are aware of the importance of the tactile experience for their neighbours, family members and colleagues who are blind or partially sighted.

The concept became reality at the CNIB Toronto Community Hub, which was designed to be a welcoming, fully accessible, inclusive space for participants to access innovative programs (e.g. career support, tech training, book clubs, youth groups) in a community setting.

Click HERE for the full press release.

June 5, 2020June 4, 2020

Vision Expo Announces New Virtual EYE2EYE Series Topics

Vision Expo released the expanded schedule of upcoming Virtual EYE2EYE Series topics. The series, which launched in mid-April as reported on Optik NOW, and is inspired by Vision Expo’s EYE2EYE educational series, will continue into July with weekly “Coffee Talk” sessions on Wednesdays at 12:15 p.m. EST. Each interactive, virtual conversation is moderated by an industry expert and features vision community leaders and luminaries as panelists providing guidance and actionable business strategies to help eye care providers protect their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Content will range from panels originally scheduled for Vision Expo East 2020 presented in adapted formats, as well as new, timely conversations addressing current challenges in the vision community related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To learn more about the Virtual EYE2EYE Series, visit west.visionexpo.com/virtual-eye-2-eye.

To register for an upcoming Coffee Talk, click here.

The Virtual EYE2EYE Series schedule is highlighted below:

Coffee Talk – Wednesdays at 12:15 p.m. ET

June 10: The Next Generation of Eyewear

June 17: Open Your Eyes! Taking Steps to be an Ally of Diversity & Inclusion

June 24: Vision Expo Honor

July 8: The Next Generation of Retail Speed Dating with Edward Beiner

July 15: Incorporating Sports Vision & Performance Into Your Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic

To pre-register for Vision Expo West, taking place Sept. 23–26 in Las Vegas, visit visionexpowest.com and be sure to follow along on all of Vision Expo’s social media channels, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Source: Vision Expo

June 4, 2020June 4, 2020

OneLocal Releases COVIDsafe.Services

OneLocal commissioned a survey of 1,072 respondents to understand how consumer behaviour is changing with COVID-19. The survey found that 80% said they would not enter a small business unless they complied with safety regulations, while 89% believe it is necessary for all businesses to share their safety measures. Enter COVIDsafe.services, a new tool for North American optometrists that addresses evolving safety protocols. OneLocal has developed this free online resource where optometrists can both access and share the latest COVID-19 regulations.

“We’ve been speaking to small businesses, and even those who have since reopened, or maybe never closed at all, are struggling to get people through the doors,” said Maggie McIntyre, Director of Operations at OneLocal. “People are saying ‘why should I walk into a store and risk my health when I can just order online?’ We’re hopeful COVIDsafe.services will give consumers an alternative to buying online because we truly believe that small businesses are the key to restarting the economy”.

Businesses can access tailored safety checklists to navigate COVID-19 government regulations. For optometrists, there is a set of mandatory protocols that they must say they are following before they can share it with their customers. Once they are following these guidelines, they can then create a public profile for their customers to see. Another thing businesses get is a COVIDsafe badge that they can post on their website, which summarizes the safety procedures they are following.

Click HERE for the full press release.

June 3, 2020June 3, 2020

Safilo Completes Acquisition of 70% Stake in Blenders Eyewear

Safilo Group announces the closing of the acquisition of the 70% stake in the equity of the California company Blenders Eyewear.

Blenders Eyewear has built an advanced e-commerce platform, with unique digital and social media skills, achieving fast and profitable growth. The Company generates approximately 95% of its current business through its proprietary direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform. More on the acquisition reported on Optik NOW HERE.

Blenders Eyewear closed 2019 with net sales of USD 40.7 million, up 38% compared to the previous year and with a 3-year CAGR of 174%.

Angelo Trocchia, Safilo’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “The closing of the Blenders acquisition represents a big leap forward for us on the 360° digital transformation strategy we presented in December last year and which we are now accelerating in all its three key components, from the launch of the latest technologies in the B2B and CRM fields to the strengthening of digital and social marketing capabilities, to the Direct to Consumer distribution.

We are working in difficult times, turning around our business in a challenging and fast-evolving marketplace and I am firmly convinced that a focused execution of our strategies will put our Company in a stronger position, better equipped to meet our challenges head-on and to be frontrunners in some of the new business opportunities that lie ahead.”

Chase Fisher, founder and CEO of Blenders Eyewear, commented: “We are super excited to have finalized our union with Safilo, ready to progress faster than ever on our growth and development projects.

We, at Blenders Eyewear, have seen and are experiencing this digital escalation. Our results were very solid in the first quarter of the year, with sales up more than 30%, and further accelerating in April and May. Together with Safilo, we aim to continue scaling up our digital capabilities, constantly improving the customer journey and experience, alongside pioneering new ways of engaging with ever more demanding consumers, building profitable traffic and conversion.”

The overall consideration for the 70% controlling interest in the Company is USD 63.9 million (corresponding to Euro 57.5 million).

Chase Fisher will retain full ownership of 30% of the equity interests and, pursuant to the contractual terms, these remaining equity interests are subject to customary reciprocal put and call options which can be exercised starting from 2023. Chase Fisher will remain CEO of Blenders Eyewear which will continue to run out of its San Diego home.

The acquisition has been entirely financed through the utilization of the Euro 60 million second tranche of the Euro 90 million subordinated loan provided by Safilo’s reference shareholder, Multibrands Italy B.V.

Click HERE for the full press release.