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March 22, 2019February 21, 2019

WestGroupe to Launch Helly Hansen Eyewear Collection

WestGroupe announces the new agreement with Helly Hansen eyewear for the distribution of optical and sun collections for North America. The initial launch in March will begin in Canada featuring the optical collection, followed by sunwear in the spring and the USA launch in 2020.

Celebrating more than 140 years of innovation, Helly Hansen has been making professional grade gear to help people stay and feel alive for almost 140 years. The optical and sunglass collections embrace the DNA of the brand and takes its inspiration from the apparel, appealing to active people who like the outdoor and a sporty lifestyle.

The unisex optical collection features 15 iconic styles, each in 3 colours, ranging in materials of Titanium, stainless steel and TR-90. Each style comes with a protective case and lens cloth.

The sunglass collections feature various lens coatings. There are 2 segments in the sunwear collection: Lifestyle and Sport sun. New for 2019, the Helly Hansen Sport Sun collection features a range of interchangeable active lenses.

Source: WestGroupe

March 22, 2019March 22, 2019

New Look Vision Announces Appointment of Senior VP, Omni Channel

New Look Vision Group announced the appointment of Jean-Michel Maltais, MBA, as Senior Vice President, Omni Channel, to take effect on March 11, 2019.

Mr. Maltais is an international executive with over 20 years experience in multi-channel retail marketing and technologies, principally in the United Kingdom. A native of Quebec, he is a graduate of Université Laval (BEng Electrical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering) and Cranfield School of Management (MBA). He began his career at a major Canadian aerospace company.

Antoine Amiel, President and Chief Executive Officer of New Look Vision, stated that: “We welcome Jean-Michel to the senior management team. His experience and track record, as well as his international perspective, will greatly strengthen and enhance New Look Vision’s technological and marketing strategic outlook and execution abilities in the coming years.”

Click HERE for the full press release.

March 21, 2019May 20, 2026

OWP Men: Masculine Lightness

Slim lines and a cool double bridge give style 7507 its simple and masculine look. Made of high-quality, ultra-light trogamid, the front leaves nothing to be desired in terms of wearing comfort. The cool tones of the aluminium lugs and the straight pure titanium temples add strength to the clear character.

OWP men’s styles concentrate on quality materials, technical sophistication and maximum comfort.

Distributed by Lanctôt: www.rlanctot.com

March 21, 2019March 13, 2019

A Visual Simulator Lets Patients Experience How Their Vision Will Improve Before Surgery

Patients will be able to experience how surgery will improve their vision before-hand, thanks to a new wearable visual simulator.

The Spanish group led by Maria Vinas at the Institute of Optics, National Research Council in Madrid, used adaptive optics based on deformable mirrors and tunable lenses to develop SimVis, a visual simulator to reproduce the visual quality that patients would experience with real multifocal intraocular lenses.

Adaptive optics simulators are particularly useful for testing vision in patients new lens designs, since the testing can be done “prior to delivering surgical corrections to the patient or even manufacturing the lenses.”

The purpose of SimVis is for patients to “try” intraocular lenses before they get the surgery, so they know what they are buying, and remove some of the uncertainty with the results of cataract surgery.

The simulator is controlled by wireless tablet with the ability to adjust the lenses and record the results in real-time. The simulator’s performance was measured by bench tests and with seven cyclopleged patients. “We found a general good correspondence between the through-focus performance with the real and simulated M-IOLs, both optically (on bench) and visually (measured VA in patients),” the article said.

The results were published in the February issue of Scientific Reports. The technology has been patented by 2EyesVision S.L., a company founded by the researchers. Their current objective is to miniaturize the design of the simulator and create a more practical design.

March 20, 2019May 19, 2026

New Look Vision Group Reports Record Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year End Fiscal 2018

New Look Vision reported record results for the fourth quarter and yearly periods ended December 29, 2018.

Q4 2018 Financial and Operational Highlights

Revenues increased by 5.4% over last year to $71.1 million. This results mainly from the impact of the acquisition of Iris, as well as comparable store sales growth.
Comparable store sales orders were up by 0.8%, compared to the fourth quarter of last year. This marks the 18th consecutive quarter of comparable store sales growth.
Adjusted EBITDA reached $13.6 million, an increase of 8.3% over last year and increased 6.1% on a per diluted share basis to $0.87.
Adjusted cash flows from operating activities were $13.3 million, an increase of 9.3% over last year and an increase of 6.3% on a per diluted share basis to $0.85.
Net earnings attributable to shareholders reached $3.1 million, compared to $2.8 million last year, the increase being attributable to higher EBITDA, partially offset by higher depreciation, financial expenses and income taxes. Net earnings on a per diluted share basis were $0.20, compared to $0.18 last year, an increase of 11.1%.
Adjusted net earnings attributed to shareholders (defined as net earnings adjusted to remove the impact of acquisition-related costs, equity-based compensation and other non-comparable costs) were $3.7 million, compared to $3.5 million for the same quarter last year. Adjusted net earnings per diluted share were $0.24, an increase of 4.3% over the same quarter last year.
The financial performance of the Group allowed it to maintain its quarterly payments of dividends to shareholders of $0.15 per share.

Click HERE for the full press release.

WestGroupe to Launch Helly Hansen Eyewear Collection

New Look Vision Announces Appointment of Senior VP, Omni Channel

OWP Men: Masculine Lightness

A Visual Simulator Lets Patients Experience How Their Vision Will Improve Before Surgery

New Look Vision Group Reports Record Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year End Fiscal 2018

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