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May 14, 2019

Safilo and David Beckham Announce 10-year Eyewear License Agreement

Safilo Group and global icon David Beckham announce a global ten-year agreement for the eponymous license for sunglasses and prescription glasses. The first David Beckham eyewear collection will launch in January 2020.

“Safilo has a long history of creating high quality eyewear brands. I wear sunglasses all the time and this is a category that I love. So, it’s important to me to work with a partner who cares as much about the design and craftsmanship of the product as I do,” said David Beckham. “I’m really enjoying the process of creating a collection with the Safilo team – and I can’t wait to launch it next year.”

“It is a great honour for me to welcome to our portfolio this brand that carries the name of one of the most famous and successful players in the world,” said Angelo Trocchia, CEO of Safilo Group. “With this ten-year license, Safilo is set to create a top global male brand in the premium segment, complementary to the other prestigious men’s brands already present in our portfolio, working in synergy with the extraordinary power of David’s global audiences to further strengthen the presence of Safilo in the digital universe.”

Source: Safilo

May 14, 2019May 13, 2019

New Look Vision Reports 19th Consecutive Quarter of Comparable Store Sales Growth

New Look Vision Group reported financial results for the 13 weeks ended March 30, 2019.

Q1 2019 Financial and Operational Highlights:

• Revenues increased by 2.4% over last year to $71.5 million.

• Comparable store sales orders were up by 2.6%, compared to the first quarter of last year, marking the 19th consecutive quarter of comparable store sales growth.

• Adjusted EBITDA reached $11.6 million, an increase of 2.3% over last year and increased 1.4% on a per diluted share basis to $0.74.

• Adjusted cash flows from operating activities were $11.2 million, an increase of 4.4% over last year and an increase of 4.3% on a per diluted share basis to $0.72.

Antoine Amiel, the President and CEO of New Look Vision, stated that: “In Q1 2019, New Look Vision Group delivered its 19^th consecutive quarter of comparable store sales growth and record free cash flow. The prior year’s debt deleveraging momentum carried into the first quarter of this year, positioning the company to resume consolidating the fragmented Canadian retail optical market, with eight stores acquired since the beginning of the year.”

Click HERE for the full press release including the financial report.

May 14, 2019May 15, 2019

Disruptive Coastal Contacts Founder Re-enters Eye Care Industry

It appears that Coastal Contacts founder, Roger Hardy, is at it again.

After a five-year hiatus, which happens to coincide with the typical duration of a non-compete clause in a business purchase agreement, Roger Hardy, the founder of British Columbia based Coastal Contacts is getting back into the online vision correction device sector.

Hardy Capital, an investment firm founded by Hardy, announced the acquisition of LD Vision Group Inc., an online contact lenses seller headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Richmond, BC and Buffalo, NY. LD Vision was owned by a trio of brothers. Terms of the deal were not announced.

Hardy was the founder of the disruptive marketer Coastal which was acquired by Essilor in 2014 for $450 million and later renamed as “Clearly”.

Hardy Capital expects to announce broader expansion plans into the eye care industry in the months ahead. The purchase of LD Vision Group is the second investment in the eye care category by the group. In 2018, Hardy made a seed-stage investment in millennial sunglass online brand, Privé Revaux.

The LD Vision website touts “Easy prescription submission, fast prescription verification by real humans, and reduced clicks and pages to view from start to receipt…”

According to media reports, Hardy sees opportunity in online testing to generate eyewear prescriptions and eliminate the need for consumers to take more time-consuming tests with actual doctors.

Notably, Hardy expects to announce broader expansion plans into the eye care industry in the months ahead.

View the Full news release HERE.

More information on LD Vision Group.

May 13, 2019May 13, 2019

New Look Vision Announces Hearing Care Initiatives

New Look Vision Group Inc. announced that it has entered into agreements to launch hearing care initiatives on a pilot project basis in certain of its retail optical locations in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia. In Quebec, beginning in May 2019, services offered will include hearing screening and full professional auditory services provided by the audiologists of Polyclinique de l’oreille, and complete hearing aid services provided by Le Groupe Forget, audioprosthetists, both managed by Les services de Location Hearing Care of America (“SLHCA”) . Avenir Hearing will provide the services outside of Quebec, starting in June 2019.

Antoine Amiel, President and Chief Executive Officer of New Look Vision stated “Hearing care has been a long-time endeavour of New Look Vision’s based on successful precedents, particularly in Europe. The patient demographics and journey is strikingly similar to eye care. It is a natural extension of the services we can deliver in our existing stores. Our chosen partners share our values and outlook. Everyone at New Look Vision is very much looking forward to working and learning with them”.

Steve Forget, President and Chief Executive Officer of SLHCA inc. said that “This agreement will allow Groupe Forget, Audioprosthetists and Polyclinique de l’oreille to have new points of contact with potential patients and excellent visibility.”

Dr. Denis LeBlanc, President of Avenir Hearing added “Avenir Hearing, with our purpose to restore the hope, health and happiness of all those affected by hearing loss, is very happy to have partnered with a like minded company such as New Look Vision. We look forward to our first wave of clinics and the positive impact we will have on people’s lives.”

Click HERE for the full press release.

May 13, 2019May 13, 2019

EssilorLuxottica and Delfin Sign Settlement Agreement to Solve Governance Issues

EssilorLuxottica announced that EssilorLuxottica and Deflin S.à.r.l. agreed upon a settlement agreement to overcome the governance issues and set the basis for a renewed start of profound collaboration between Essilor and Luxottica. The agreement settles any existing dispute among the parties.

The Board of Directors of EssilorLuxottica unanimously supported and approved this agreement aimed at immediately making the Group’s structure more efficient and effective from an operational standpoint.

The equal-powers governance, set forth in the Combination Agreement and the Board Rules, is remaining in place until the date of the shareholders’ general meeting to be called in 2021 to approve the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020.

According to the agreement, Leonardo Del Vecchio and Hubert Sagnières empowered Francesco Milleri (Deputy Chairman – CEO of Luxottica Group) and Laurent Vacherot (CEO of Essilor International) with the responsibility to develop and implement the EssilorLuxottica strategy and integration process, accelerating the simplification of the new Group by integrating the two operating companies within the next 12 to 24 months. The Board also confirmed the search for a new CEO.

As a result of this agreement, all existing claims will be waived and legal proceedings will be terminated, including the request for arbitration filed by Delfin before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce on March 27, 2019.

In light of this agreement, Valoptec decided that it will withdraw the proposal submitted on April 18, 2019 for the appointment, at the Shareholders’ Meeting convened for May 16, 2019, of one additional Director of EssilorLuxottica and will vote against the proposals submitted by certain institutional investors for the appointment of two additional Directors.

As previously stated, the Board recommends that the shareholders vote against all the remaining proposed additional resolutions which, if approved, would result in a clear breach of the Combination Agreement and in a potential disruption for the activities of the Board.

Click HERE for the full press release.

Safilo and David Beckham Announce 10-year Eyewear License Agreement

New Look Vision Reports 19th Consecutive Quarter of Comparable Store Sales Growth

Disruptive Coastal Contacts Founder Re-enters Eye Care Industry

New Look Vision Announces Hearing Care Initiatives

EssilorLuxottica and Delfin Sign Settlement Agreement to Solve Governance Issues

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