Luxottica Group and Prada have announced a 10 year renewal of their exclusive license agreement for the design, production and worldwide distribution of prescription frames and sunglasses. The partnership between Luxottica and Prada Group illustrates a deep and on-going commitment to true Italian excellence based on creativity, craftsmanship and innovation, according to the announcement.

“We are extremely proud of our collaboration with Prada Group and the beautiful and innovative frames we are creating together,” said Adil Khan, Luxottica’s CEO of markets.”

Patrizio Bertelli, Prada CEO, added, “We are very pleased to announce the renewal of our co-operation with Luxottica which, thanks to its leadership in the international markets, is the ideal partner to boost our brands’ identities.”

Source: http://www.luxottica.com/en/luxottica-group-and-prada-group-renew-eyewear-license-agreement

Coastal Contacts Inc., the world’s largest online eyewear retailer has announced a rebrand of ClearlyContacts.ca to Clearly™. The rebrand marks one year since Essilor acquired the Canadian founded eyewear brand.

“We are now the largest online eyewear retailer in the world and in a lot of ways, we simply outgrew our name.” said Roy Hessel, CEO of Clearly. “The name Clearly aligns with our overall mission to help people see clearly.”

In an interview with VuePoint, Hessel said the new brand direction is more than a name change, “When we acquired Clearly a year ago, we gained an amazing platform and an outstanding team. We knew we had a business that had the potential to go beyond selling just contacts and frames at an affordable price to one that could join the fight against poor vision worldwide. This year, we have expanded our focus to include educating our customers about vision health and have made greater investments in the eye care industry. We made some significant changes to our platform and the way we interact with our customers. We believe the safety and best correction of our customers is paramount, and we provide products that meet these criteria.”

Hessel told Vuepoint that Clearly is looking to build relationships and collaborate with eye care professionals in Canada, “By working together to address unmet needs in vision care access and education, we can affect positive change while growing the market for the benefit of all stakeholders. We have stepped up and shifted the purpose of our company from selling product at a discount to championing proper eye health. This begins with a comprehensive eye exam through eye care professionals.”

“We recommend consistent comprehensive eye exams and believe a proper Rx starts with an exam by an ECP,” says Hessel. “As leaders in vision correction, we share a common goal with eye care professionals to ensure access to better eye health education. The need is great and there is a role for each of us to play.”

With the rollout of the rebrand, customers will notice a wider selection of lenses to choose from, including KODAK BlueReflect Lens. With the expansion of lens offerings, Clearly will also integrate lens education throughout its order process allowing customers the chance to choose which lenses they’d like to purchase for their particular needs. Additionally, Clearly has launched a style service where by appointment, vision ambassadors will make frame and lens recommendations based on a customer’s prescription, photo, style preference, and sizing.

For more information visit: www.Clearly.ca

Essilor announced the names of 16 student grant award winners from North American Optometric schools based on entries to a case study competition.  Each of the winners receives a $1,000 grant.  Among the winners is University of Montreal student, Zoé Lacroix.  The National honour went to New England College of Optometry student, Luke Cyr.

Entries were judged on dispensing skills, application of Varilux lenses to patient needs, analysis of the case(s) and analysis of the lens design and performance.

 

Fernando Silva has been named the new North American Vice President. He has served as President of Marca Eyewear for the past twenty years, based in Toronto, acting as the master agent for Marcolin brands, Alain Mikli, Moncler and other high end collections. Fernando Silva has an extensive experience in the eyewear industry with a focus on luxury and fashion brands.

Kering Eyewear is part of the Kering Group, a world leader in apparel and accessories which develops an ensemble of powerful brands such as Gucci, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Puma.