Retail News CRM

Tag: eyewear

  • Owndays may be sold, fetching US$300 million

    Owndays may be sold, fetching US$300 million

    L Catterton Asia Advisors, the Asian arm of the namesake consumer-focused buyout firm, is exploring a sale of Japanese eyewear retailer Owndays Inc., people with knowledge of the matter said.

    L Catterton Asia has invited investment banks to submit proposals and will soon pick an adviser, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The private equity firm is considering divesting the asset with its partner Mitsui & Co. in a sale that could fetch about $300 million, the people said.

    Established in 1989, Tokyo-based Owndays designs and manufactures optical eyewear glasses and runs 156 stores across Japan, its website shows. It has another 206 stores abroad at locations including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Australia. The company had 2,200 employees as of last February.

    In 2018, L Catterton Asia teamed up with Mitsui and its subsidiary to invest in Owndays for an undisclosed sum, according to a press release at the time.

    Deliberations on the sale of Owndays are at an early stage, while L Catterton and its partners could decide to keep the business, the people said. Representatives for L Catterton Asia and Owndays declined to comment, while a representative for Mitsui said the company hasn’t acknowledged details on the sale of Owndays at this moment.

  • Japanese Eyewear Brand Owndays expands India presence

    Japanese Eyewear Brand Owndays expands India presence

    Japanese eyewear brand OWNDAYS, one of the largest players in the fashion eyewear space, is now expanding its India footprint. The company announced the launch of a new store at Inorbit mall, Mumbai, others being in Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chandigarh.

    Currently, the company has a global presence of 350 stores spread across 12 countries including Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia. OWNDAYS’ India presence is in collaboration with GKB Opticals, which is a big name to reckon with in Indian Eyewear Industry already.

    Owndays will offer a range of around 1,500 styles from basic to functional, stylish, and fashionable eyewear for men and women starting at Rs. 2,990. With 24 brands under the parent company, Owndays offers eyewear for children, young adults, millennials, and the elderly.

    Established in Tokyo, Japan in 1989, Owndays Co., Ltd has redefined the world of optics by following Simple Pricing, Quick Servicing, and Value. With more than 1,500 designs of frames ranging from basic and functional, to stylish and fashion-forward.

    Owndays outlets have a list of a unique set of pointers to grab your interest:

    • State of the art Japanese eye testing equipment, that helps complete the process in almost half the time the regular testing process takes.
    • The company has a unique 20-minute process feature with over 2,000 lenses stocked in the store which allow glasses to be processed within 20 minutes after the eye check.
    • Pricing is simple and uncomplicated with price of best suitable lenses (minus customised ones) included with the frame

    Speaking on the launch Sanjay Malhotra Business Head – India, Owndays said, “We are thrilled to be opening yet another outlet in India as the demand for quality eyewear at affordable price is increasing considerably and our product has been loved by Indian customer’s youth and matured alike. The fact that we are even opening during the Covid environment shows that we are bullish about Indian market as we have been received exceptionally well in the country”.

    OWNDAYS Outlets in India:

    BANGALORE: Indiranagar & Phoneix Marketcity Mall

    CHENNAI: Palladium Mall

    HYDERABAD: Sarath City Capital Mall

    KOLKATA: South City Mall

    CHANDIGARH: Elante Mall

     

    Lees ook:

  • Owndays partners with Wagyumafia to launch new eyewear range

    Owndays partners with Wagyumafia to launch new eyewear range

    Eyewear retailer Owndays has launched a new sunglass range branded Chateaubriand in collaboration with restaurant brand Wagyumafia.

    The collaboration model is all about portraying the theme handmade in Japan with simple and basic in mind, the company says.

    The Chateaubriand collection has two types of sunglasses, both with a bold “Chateaubriand” logo on the temple. The normal type features a heavy- duty acetate black frame made from thick fabric and transparent green lens. The sporty type has a light gray frame and a polarised lens.

    Meanwhile, the restaurant has created a special VIP set menu where customers can “enjoy this collaboration of sunglasses and a gorgeous meal” with Wagyumafia and Owndays.

    Wagyumafia is an exclusive restaurant brand set up by Takafumi Horie and Hisato Hamada. Wagyumafia operates eight restaurants around the world with its mission to educate consumers and the restaurant industry on the appropriate application of high-end Japanese Wagyu beef.

    Bookings are strictly limited.

    Lees ook:

  • David Beckham launches eyewear line with Safilo

    David Beckham launches eyewear line with Safilo

    Football legend David Beckham has launched his own eyewear collection, Eyewear by David Beckham, in partnership with Safilo Group.

    Made in Italy, the collection features both optical frames and sunglasses with clean, modern silhouettes and a focus on “timeless” frame styles. His collection has been described by critics as “contemporary with traditional craftsmanship.”

    Last year, Safilo Group and David Beckham signed a global 10-year agreement to license for sunglasses and prescription glasses.

    “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,” said Beckham. “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.”

    Eyewear by David Beckham’s Spring/Summer 2020 Collection will be available to buy at selected retailers from March.

    Lees ook:

  • Gentle Monster, Huawei team up over smart eyewear

    Gentle Monster, Huawei team up over smart eyewear

    South Korean eyewear label Gentle Monster has partnered with Chinese tech giant Huawei to produced connected eyewear.

    The networked eyeglass frames allow wearers to answer calls without picking up their phone, and feature antennae, noise-reduction microphones and speakers tucked behind the ear.

    “Smart eyewear is different than the smart phone or the smart watch,” said Gentle Monster co founder and CEO Hankook Kim. “The smart eyewear is on our face … It is normal but actually it is slightly different. We believe the small difference changes everything.”

    The label, known for its trendy and futuristic individualised store designs, has 18 locations selling both futuristic and more conservative eyewear.

    “If you want to see how it looks on normal people, you can look at me,” said Kim.

    “I really appreciate Huawei because they realise that eyewear comes first and smart comes later,” he added.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Zoff Hong Kong eyewear chain boosting Convenience

    Zoff Hong Kong eyewear chain boosting Convenience

    Zoff Hong Kong may have only six stores for now, but the Japanese eyewear brand is proving a standout for local licensee Convenience Retail Asia.

    Victor Fung, chairman of the listed Fung Group affiliate, says Zoff Hong Kong has enjoyed “remarkable success” since CRA opened the first store in November 2017 at Cityplaza in Taikoo Shing. The five stores opened since are all in high-traffic locations popular with trendy young clientele, including one at Langham Place.

    Zoff’s business model is to offer customers a constantly refreshed range of frames to suit all styles, high quality frames at affordable prices and made onsite within a fast turnaround time. Fung says this is ideal for the new generation of consumers, always on the go.

    Zoff stores carry more than 2500 different frames and new items are introduced biweekly.

    The chain has also launched themed promotions, including a selection with popular actress and model Kiko Mizuhara and collections themed on Disney, Star Wars and Andy Warhol.

    CRA has invested heavily in brand advertising for the new chain, including outdoor advertising, prize promotions and joint marketing initiatives with other brands within the Fung Group.

    While CRA did not detail the chain’s financial performance, the company noted in its annual results that Zoff had contributed to both revenue and profit growth.

    “The group is proud to be the only licensee for the Zoff franchise in the world,” said Fung. “This fast-fashion eyewear chain, with its eye-catching blue-and-white branding, is highly regarded among Hong Kong’s young generation. Under the group’s guidance, Zoff has truly energised the Hong Kong eyewear market since entering in late 2017.”

    More Zoff stores are scheduled to open this calendar year.

    “The group remains bullish about the prospects for Zoff. Despite a number of competitors entering the market, our first-mover status and Hong Kongers’ affinity for the famous Zoff brand continue to drive healthy growth,” he said.

    Lees ook:

  • John Jacobs India aims to bag Rs 500 cr revenue by March 2021

    John Jacobs India aims to bag Rs 500 cr revenue by March 2021

    Lenskart’s eyewear brand John Jacobs is looking to garner Rs 500 crore in revenue in two years as it strengthens its retail presence and expands the product portfolio. The brand, which has eight stores currently in Delhi, Pune and Bengaluru, will add six more in the next two months and aims to set up about 50 stores by March 2021. “John Jacobs has been witnessing strong growth, we expect to close this fiscal with a topline of Rs 180 crore. By March 2021, we expect our revenues to touch Rs 500 crore,” Manan Duggal, Business Head, John Jacobs said.

    According to a report, about 40 percent of the sales is driven by online channels, with the rest coming from offline stores.

    Last year, Lenskart had said it will invest US$ 4 million in John Jacobs to fuel the brand’s expansion plans.

    “We are aggressively growing our presence both in online and offline. The brand is already retailing through Lenksart outlets (over 450 in more than 100 cities). The aim is to take the number of our own stores from 8 now to 50, by March 2021, covering all major metro cities,” he said, adding that the store expansion will entail investment of about Rs 10-15 crore.

    John Jacobs is also in discussions with fashion retail chains for distribution of its products.

    “In terms of online reach, we are already there on Lenskart and Amazon.in and will soon be available on Flipkart as well,” Duggal said, adding that the brand is aggressively expanding its product portfolio as well.

    John Jacobs recently introduced a new eyewear delivery model where the brand delivers eyeglasses, fitted with powered lenses, in a 20-minute timeframe.

    The service, currently available in select stores in Bengaluru, will be expanded to Delhi and Pune as well, Duggal said.

    He further said that with the new service, the brand expects to “see 30-40 percent upside in orders”.

  • Balenciaga launches first in-house eyewear line with Dover Street Market

    Balenciaga launches first in-house eyewear line with Dover Street Market

    French luxury house Kering has launched its first in-house Balenciaga eyewear line at British Dover Street Market stores. The new collection is exclusive to the DSM chain in the US, UK, Japan, Singapore and China, as well as the brand’s e-commerce channel. The high-end products are valued between US$290–570, with both sunglasses and prescription frames available.

    The Balenciaga eyewear line represents the first in-house Kering Eyewear product range. Previous Balenciaga collections were produced under Marcolin Eyewear, the creator of shades for numerous luxury labels.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Victoria Beckham signed eyewear license deal with Marchon Eyewear

    Victoria Beckham signed eyewear license deal with Marchon Eyewear

    Marchon Eyewear and Victoria Beckham Ltd have entered into an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement for sun and optical eyewear. New collections developed under the agreement will roll out globally beginning Fall next year. The collections will be developed in Italy to align with Victoria Beckham’s brand aesthetic. Paolo Riva, CEO of Victoria Beckham Ltd, said the new partnership with Marchon comes “as we work towards reaching our global potential and expanding the brand following a series of strategic partnerships and appointments since our new shareholders Neo Investment Partners joined the business at the end of last year”.

    “Eyewear is synonymous with our founder and this license will allow us to scale our presence in the eyewear retail market and capitalise on Marchon’s technical innovation, expertise in product development and global distribution network.”

    President and CEO of Marchon Eyewear Nicola Zotta added: “We believe that the Victoria Beckham brand is on the rise and quickly becoming one of the most influential in the industry. We are committed to the success of this partnership and look forward to producing eyewear that characterises the brand’s trend-forward designs and contributing to the brand’s continued global growth.”

    The new line is planned to be sold globally in select department stores, specialty stores, and premium sun and optical retailers, as well as in Victoria Beckham retail locations and online at victoriabeckham.com.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Jins store opened a spectacular store in Shanghai World

    Jins store opened a spectacular store in Shanghai World

    Japanese eyewear brand Jins has opened a striking new store in the Shanghai World Financial Center. The Jins store was designed by Tokyo-based architect Junya Ishigami without any external entrance and features concrete counters that appear to float in the air, set against a stark, industrial setting, sporting hundreds of fashionable glasses frames. The counters are supported by heavy H-beams attached to a bowed steel sheet that covers the shop floor.

    The store is lit by strong 4000-Kelvin suspended luminaires that bring the bare walls into stark contrast. Ishigami commented, “I wanted to make a void space within a shopping mall.”

    Jins traditionally hires independent designers to fit out its retail areas.

    Jins founder and CEO Hitoshi Tanaka said: “I prefer working with architects on a space because they make more of an impact.”

    Lees ook:

  • Docomo invests in semiconductor startup QD Laser

    Docomo invests in semiconductor startup QD Laser

    Japanese mobile giant NTT Docomo, through its subsidiary NTT Docomo Ventures, has invested in QD Laser for an undisclosed amount.

    QD Laser – which was founded in 2006 as an offshoot of Fujitsu Ltd with funding from Mitsui Ventures – develops and manufactures semiconductor lasers, retinal scanning laser eyewear, and other products based on quantum dot laser technology.

    By leveraging its nanocrystal technology, the Kanagawa-based firm achieved mass production of quantum dot lasers capable of operating stably even at high temperature.

    In 2018, QD Laser applied its technology to incorporate a compact laser projector with extremely small output into a spectacle-type device, and commercialized what was claimed to be the world’s first retinal scanning laser eyewear that directly projects an image onto the user’s retina for image display.

    The technology for projecting a direct image onto the retina using a laser does not require the user to focus their eyes to see an image, so it is expected to improve the quality of life of patients with ametropia or corneal opacity and weak-sighted individuals.

    The technology can also be applied for realizing natural-looking augmented reality (AR) that people with normal vision can experience.

    Docomo said it has high expectations for potentials of the retinal scanning laser eyewear developed by QD Laser for resolving various social issues and contribute to creating new services through AR.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Safilo appoints new CEO

    Safilo appoints new CEO

    Eyewear manufacturer Safilo has appointed a new CEO this week, following the sudden departure Luisa Delgado, who relinquishes her role at the Italian firm for personal reasons, as of 28 February 2018.

    The maker and distribution of luxury sunglasses has named Andrea Trocchia as its new CEO. Trocchia will become director of the Safilo group on 1 April 2018.

    Until a new CEO is appointed, Safilo’s President Eugenio Ranzelli will take charge of the business in the interim, Safilo said in a press release. The firm added that Delgado’s contract was terminated by mutual agreement with the group’s board.

    Delgado’s severance package will be worth €1 million, plus vested stock options and other non-monetary benefits.

    Trocchia will join Safilo Group S.p.a. as a director at the beginning of April. He will be included in the list put forward by Multibrands Italy BV, the eyewear group’s holding company, to be appointed CEO of Safilo Group S.p.a. at the next AGM on 24 April 2018.

    Trocchia was previously chairman and CEO of Unilever Italia, a role he held since 2013. Before this, he was chairman and CEO of Unilever Israel. After an MBA at the STOA’/MIT in Naples and a PhD in aeronautical engineering at the University La Sapienza in Rome, Trocchia began his career at Unilever in 1991, in the supply chain and sales departments.

    Safilo has been experiencing difficulties for several quarters. It claims to be still affected by the termination of its Gucci eyewear licence, which took place in December 2016.

    At the end of the 2017 financial year, consolidated net sales were €1.047 billion, down €194 million (-15.6%) at constant exchange rates compared to the 2016 financial year. At the time of reporting last months, Safilo said the “sales decrease reflects both the transformation of the Gucci licence into a supply contract, for a total of €155 million (-12%), and the deployment of a new IT system for the global management of orders and stocks at the start of the year.”

    Lees ook:

  • Safilo signs distribution deal for Thailand and Cambodia

    Safilo signs distribution deal for Thailand and Cambodia

    Safilo continues to expand internationally, boosting its presence in Asia.

    The Italian eyewear manufacturer has signed an exclusive distribution agreement for Thailandand Cambodia, adding to its international distribution network, now extending to 42 countries.

    Safilo, which is controlled by Dutch investment fund Hal, issued a press release announcing the signing of the deal with Supreme Eyewear, a major local distributor with a 40-year presence in the business. The term of the agreement was not indicated.

    “The distribution agreement for Thailand and Cambodia marks a further step in the development of the Asia Pacific region. It supports the acceleration in the growth of Safilo’s Emerging Markets unit, as per Safilo’s 2020 Strategy,” wrote the group, which hopes as a result to earn “significant market share in highly interesting countries.”

    Supreme Eyewear will distribute all of the brands featured in Safilo’s portfolio – more than 30 labels – from the most accessible ones, like Polaroid and Havaianas, to premium names such as Elie Saab, Dior, Fendi, Jimmy Choo, Givenchy and soon also Moschino.

    Through this geographic redeployment, Safilo is seeking to compensate for the loss of the Gucci license, which still weighs heavily on its financial performance, as shown by the third quarter 2017 , which recorded a revenue of €245.1 million, equivalent to a 14.9% shortfall (-12.3% at constant exchange rates) compared to the same period a year earlier.

    Lees ook:

  • Kering Eyewear, Cartier launch collection

    Kering Eyewear, Cartier launch collection

    Jewellery retailer Cartier has teamed with Kering Eyewear for its latest eyewear collection.

    Presented at the Silmo International Optics and Eyewear Exhibition in Paris, it marks the official start of the companies’ licensing agreement.

    Described as “timeless”, the collection has three main components, Santos de Cartier, C de Cartier and Panthere de Cartier, and introduces new shapes that aim to “redefine the art of eyewear”.

    Effective from January 2, the licensing partnership will see the two luxury groups co-operate to to create a platform for product development, manufacturing and worldwide distribution of Cartier Eyewear.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Cartier owner Richemont has acquired a minority stake in Kering Eyewear, which has also integrated the Manufacture Cartier Lunettes entity in France.

    In June, a lawsuit was filed against Kering, accusing it of false advertising, unfair competition and fraud for claiming its China-produced eyewear had been made in Italy. Kering has denied all charges.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore eyewear market looking at U$400m, says report

    Singapore eyewear market looking at U$400m, says report

    The Singapore eyewear market is expected to reach US$400 million in value in the near future, says a new study.

    The Ken Research report notes amplified demand for premium eyewear brands as consumer awareness grows, with an emphasis on individualisation.

    “The market is transitioning toward a large number of diverse products and short product cycle,” says Singapore Eyewear Market by Type (Spectacles & Contact Lenses), by Sunglasses and Eyeglasses and by Sales Channel – Outlook to 2021.

    Also, the market is set to benefit from a $49 billion merger announced by spectacles maker Luxottica and lens manufacturer Essilor, especially with an expected strong demand for prescription spectacles and sunglasses because of an aging population and increasing awareness about eyecare.

    The research also notes a 1.3 per cent increase in people with myopia. The aging population has also strengthened demand for spectacles to correct presbyopia and for ready-made reading glasses. Presbyopia has increased by 3.3 per cent.

    Despite continuous growth over the past five years, e-commerce has only a meagre share of the Singapore eyewear market, says the study.

    While more than 75 per cent of customers prefer to buy eyewear products at optical shops, higher use of mobile devices and the internet have encouraged major companies to start offering their products online, the latest being Owndays and Zoff.

    The report also provides information on frames, glass, contact lenses and distribution channels as well as major industry players.

    Lees ook: