Last Friday, July 18^th, ClipInfo announced the sudden passing of Dr. Francis Jean president founder of Iris The Visual Group.  See the link below to read the full story published on the 18^th.   

Ceremonies in his memory: 

July 30^th in Montreal

Centre Mont Royal

2200 Mansfield

3:00 – 5:00 pm (reception to follow)

 

 

According to the information M2L Media obtained, Dr. Francis Jean, founder and president of IRIS, The Visual Group, died suddenly yesterday. More details about the circumstances of his death and his career to follow.

 

Our sincerest condolences to his family, loved ones, and the IRIS team.

 

President and founder of IRIS The Visual Group, Dr. Francis Jean, died suddenly yesterday, July 17, in Jasper, Alberta, at the age of 56. Dr. Jean experienced discomfort while cycling in the IRIS Challenge, an activity he created to raise funds for cancer research.

 

In a press release, IRIS officials, naturally in a state of shock, expressed great sadness, describing Dr. Jean as an exceptional leader with a big heart, a passion for life, and remarkable generosity. “Thanks to him, IRIS was built on strong values,” they said.

 

A graduate from McGill University with a bachelor in Neurophysiology and from the University of Montreal with a degree in Optometry, Dr. Francis Jean opened his first practice in 1986 in his hometown of Baie-Comeau, Quebec. He always dreamed of creating the largest network of optometrists, opticians and ophthalmologists in Canada. And he pulled it off brilliantly, by first founding a buying group then adopting the IRIS trademark in 1990.

 

IRIS presently has 166 locations across Canada, with most being in Quebec and in the West, and is starting to expand into the Ontario market, where is has 14 places of business. Its network includes over 238 opticians, 280 optometrists and five ophthalmologists. The group also has two laser surgery clinics, one in Quebec and one in British Columbia. Annual sales in 2012 were $132 million.

 

Dr. Jean is survived by his wife, Denise; his sons, Jonathan and Guillaume, and daughter, Marilanie; his parents; his brother and sister-in-law; and his nieces and nephews.

 

We would like to extend our condolences to his family and friends as well as to the IRIS team. Funeral arrangements are being made in Baie-Comeau, Quebec.

 

For more details, click HERE to read the IRIS press release.

 

Click HERE to read an interview with Dr. Jean, published in the September 2008 issue of Opt!k Magazine, reproduced posthumously.

Essilor unveils its plans for Coastal, as the integration process for this recent acquisition gets underway.

 

Coastal founder Roger Hardy will act as advisor for the next three years, but Roy Hessel will serve as CEO, while remaining president of online initiatives for Essilor.

 

“The Internet complements traditional distribution channels, which remain the only ones able to provide added value in taking measurements and supporting wearers,” said John Carrier, president of Essilor of America, in an interview with VMail. “We are vigilant that the development of online sales in the optical industry does not come at the expense of wearers’ safety.”

 

Consequently, Coastal will continue with simple prescriptions and Essilor, whose name will not be visible on the Coastal website, will not add Varilux to Coastal’s product mix. “This brand requires the professionalism of ECPs,” said Carrier. Coastal will nonetheless be able to offer Transitions products.

 

Furthermore, Essilor will halt the “physical” expansion of Coastal’s stores, which had begun to open brick-and-mortar stores in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Essilor even plans to divest itself of these stores.

 

The program of giving away free pairs of eyeglasses with a purchase will also be stopped. It would not reflect the value of optical industry services, according to John Carrier.

Source:

http://www.visionmonday.com/latest-news/article/vmail-exclusive-essilors-carrier-discusses-strategy-for-newlyacquired-coastalcom-1/

 

The acquisition of Transitions Optical by Essilor has now been finalized. The transaction, announced in Capsule DotClip on August 9, went through all the approval steps. Since acquiring 51% of the shares of PPG, Essilor has become the sole owner of Transitions Optical. The transaction is valued at $1.73 billion.

 

Various changes in Transitions’s senior management have been announced.  Rick Elias, Senior vice-president Optical and Specialty Materials and Chief Executive Officer, is retiring. Dave Cole, after working for 24 years at Transitions, is going back to PPG as vice-president of the Packaging Coatings Unit. Paddy McDermott is now the new president of Transitions. Finally, Bertrand Roy, senior vice-president of Strategic Partnerships at Essilor, will lead the Transitions Optical Business Unit for the Essilor group. All these changes are becoming effective today, April 1, 2014.