Blog - Page 550 of 887

July 2, 2019July 2, 2019

Safilo Announces Closing of Solstice Transaction and Confirms Expiration of Dior License on December 31, 2020

Safilo Group announces the closing of the transaction to sell its USA retail chain Solstice to Fairway LLC as previously reported on Optik NOW.

Furthermore, Safilo also confirms that the license agreement for the Dior and Dior Homme collections of sunglasses and optical frames will end at its expiry date of 31 December 2020.

Safilo has been creating, producing and selling Christian Dior eyewear for over 20 years, establishing, nurturing and confirming its standing as one of the most appreciated brands in the industry, based on its highest quality craftsmanship and distribution, and selling more than 30 million pieces of Dior eyewear over that period. In the fiscal year 2018, the Dior license accounted for roughly 13% of Safilo total sales.

Safilo Group Chief Executive Officer Angelo Trocchia stated: “During two decades of the Dior eyewear license, Safilo has created collections that have made history in the eyewear sector. Our Company has 85 years of expertise, with a commitment to and passion for the industry which we are proud of. To build an even stronger Safilo for the future we are ready to continue leveraging on our human capital and the solid foundations of our attractive and balanced license portfolio, as well as our proprietary brands which are growing in line with our plan. We will fully focus on our unique creativity, technology skills and people to expand even further our brand portfolio, already enriched with the renewals of key brands such as kate spade new york, Tommy Hilfiger, havaianas, and Fossil, among others, and with the recently signed license agreements with Levi’s, Missoni, and David Beckham. We remain fully committed to our 2020 Group Business Plan, aiming to reignite sales growth focusing on key geographies, brands and channels while recovering operating performance enabled by our cost reduction program. We are on track with our goals and will further accelerate our journey towards restoring an adequate and sustainable level of profitability by 2020 which will enable us to effectively manage this license exit,” concluded Angelo Trocchia.

Safilo will present a new Group Business Plan by the end of 2019.

Source: Safilo

July 2, 2019June 28, 2019

CooperVision MiSight 1 Day Team Honoured with 2019 BCLA Industry Award

A trio of myopia management visionaries has been honored with the prestigious British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) Industry Award for their work developing, researching and commercializing the innovative CooperVision® MiSight® 1 day contact lens. John Phillips, Stuart Cockerill and Paul Chamberlain were recognized at the BCLA Clinical Conference & Exhibition closing gala dinner, selected from a field of finalists who have all made immeasurable contributions to the field.

Myopia is projected to affect the vision and ocular health of approximately five billion people by 2050, more than doubling today’s numbers1. The rising prevalence of this condition, also known as nearsightedness or short-sightedness, is sparking the need to go beyond solely providing vision correction, to also deliver accessible, effective methods to slow the progression of myopia in children.

These factors led the three pioneers to each play a substantial role in developing and commercializing the MiSight® 1 day contact lens, which is now worn by more than 10,000 children around the world.

“Myopia management has been described as the ‘next contact lens revolution’—something more evident than ever at this year’s BCLA Conference. However, it takes inspiration, vision and dedication to integrate new technology into a commercially viable approach,” said James Gardner, Vice President, Global Myopia Management for CooperVision. “The foresight and years of effort from John, Stuart and Paul are well deserving of recognition from their peers and the industry. Yet they’ll be the first to tell you the honor is not about them—it’s about the thousands of children who are benefiting from that work every day. It’s this attitude that gives us hope that we can truly make an impact, working alongside ECPs to take on myopia.”

Click HERE for the full press release.

June 28, 2019June 21, 2019

Essilor Partners with Bollywood Icon on SEE NOW Campaign

Bollywood actor, Shri Amitabh Bachchan is the face of a new campaign called “SEE NOW”, which raises awareness on eye-health with the ambition of closing the gap between preventable vision loss and service delivery in India.

Deployed across five key districts in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, the campaign is expected to reach tens of millions of Indians with a simple request: go and get your vision checked.

Vision loss: an extreme problem in India

Almost half of all drivers have impaired vision, creating a public safety issue;
Women account for 67% of vision problems, but are 40% less likely to access services;
Vision impairment is the second highest risk factor for learning difficulties in children;
Poor vision accounts for $37 billion in lost annual productivity.

The central solution lies in raising awareness of the importance of eye health, as well as on the safe and simple services that are available. Amitabh Bachchan has chosen to support this campaign to help raise awareness and urge people to go and get their vision checked at government approved services. He is a proud wearer of glasses and hopes that this will encourage others to wear glasses without any stigma.

Watch the video with English subtitles:

With the help from Sightsavers and Essilor 2.5 NVG, the campaign has also profiled “eye heroes” who work to restore vision and fit glasses.

SEE NOW has developed a sustainable campaigning model that will increase the salience of vision and drive demand for services across India through the use of innovative online and offline tactics. Leveraging the influence of Shri Amitabh Bachchan, it will deliver a targeted communications campaign to Indians to get their vision tested.

Click HERE for the full press release.

June 27, 2019June 26, 2019

Polaroid Eyewear Sponsors NYC Pride

Polaroid Eyewear announces its silver sponsorship of NYC Pride, the official host of WorldPride 2019 and Stonewall 50, along with a slew of other Pride-related activations throughout the Pride month of June.

Leveraging on its inclusive brand message SEE BEYOND, Polaroid Eyewear, the only eyewear brand participating in NYC Pride, will be present with a uniquely designed branded float that will navigate its way through the official 2019 NYC Pride March on Sunday, June 30^th, expected to be the largest LGBTQI+ Pride March in history. Four hundred “friends of the brand” are being invited to register to march wearing WorldPride-themed Polaroid Eyewear T-shirts alongside the Polaroid Eyewear float.

Polaroid Eyewear will also have a presence at other local NYC Pride events, Pride Island (June 29 and 30th) and PrideFest (June 30). At the retail level, the brand is partnering with Bloomingdale’s on a Pride-themed pop-up shop activation and has designed dedicated NYC Pride Stonewall window cling posters for use by its optical retailers in New York City and other select Pride-celebrating cities. The brand will also be present with Pride-themed imagery on digital billboards in the heart of Times Square on June 27^th, 28^th and 30^th. In addition, the brand is developing a Pride-themed social media campaign that will take over the brand’s Instagram account (@polaroideyewear).

Click HERE to read the full press release.

June 26, 2019June 26, 2019

Clinical & Refractive Optometry Appoints Dr. Justin Kwan Editor-in-Chief

Justin Kwan, OD, FAAO, has been appointed in the new role of Editor-in-Chief of Clinical & Refractive Optometry Journal (CRO) effective July 1, 2019.

Dr. Kwan is an accomplished optometric educator, researcher and published author. He is currently a private practice clinician at Professional Eye Care Center in Niles, Illinois.

After graduating from the University of California Berkeley School of Optometry, he completed a dry eye and cornea / contact lens research fellowship and residency at Southern College of Optometry (SCO) where he also taught for seven years as an Assistant and Associate Professor.

At the University Eye Center, Dr. Kwan served as chief of the contact lenses service and directed the dry eye clinic. His professional passions include dry eye, keratoconus, refractive surgery, orthokeratology, myopia control and multifocal contact lenses. Dr. Kwan was recognized in 2018 as a “Young Optometrist of the Year” by the California Optometric Association.

In addition to his experience as a reviewer for many professional journals, he brings a passion for optometric education to his new role, which befits the educational mission of Clinical & Refractive Optometry.

Click HERE for the full press release.