May 19, 2023 | News
Francesco Milleri (l), Chairman and CEO at EssilorLuxottica, and Patrick Chalhoub (r), Group President at Chalhoub Group, at EssilorLuxottica’s offices in Milan, Italy. Photo credits: EssilorLuxottica
EssilorLuxottica and Chalhoub Group signed a joint–venture for the development of direct eyewear retail in the GCC region. The agreement aims to shape the eyewear category and achieve new levels of customer service through combining EssilorLuxottica’s eyewear expertise, technology, and brands, with Chalhoub Group’s deep understanding of the region’s consumers and delivery of unforgettable experiences. The new partnership represents an important step for EssilorLuxottica in raising the segment’s visibility and standards by increasing consumer engagement with high quality premium brands. It will also support Chalhoub Group’s expansion into the rapidly growing eyewear category utilising the Group’s expertise in luxury retail.
Francesco Milleri, Chairman and CEO at EssilorLuxottica, commented: “We are pleased to partner with
Chalhoub Group to grow the eyewear category in the highly dynamic region that is the GCC. This move will allow us to complement our existing and deeply rooted network of customers in the region, whom EssilorLuxottica is committed to continue serving with high quality products and solutions. Leveraging on Chalhoub Group’s extensive knowledge and retail presence in the region, we will raise the visibility and quality of the entire industry and reinvent the omnichannel consumer journey together, resulting in a more engaging retail experience for consumers.”
Patrick Chalhoub, Group President at Chalhoub Group, stated: “As we expand into the eyewear
category, we are entering a new vertical that has significant potential for growth and innovation with a high demand from our regional luxury consumers. EssilorLuxottica is a partner of choice with their fashionable, elegant products, and brand portfolio; their core values of helping people to “see more and be more”, alongside their growth ambition in the GCC region, complements our Group’s purpose to inspire and delight customers.”
A series of mono–brand and multi–brand stores will be launched in the GCC for EssilorLuxottica’s core and
iconic global eyewear brands, including Ray–Ban, Persol, and Oliver Peoples, allowing the brand to expand
its global footprint in the GCC region. The unique luxury multi–brand eyewear concept, David Clulow – born in the United Kingdom and well–known among Middle Eastern consumers from London – will also be introduced with new stores set to focus on an elevated customer experience, with unmatched service, along with the best in eyeglass technologies.
May 5, 2023 | News
Hoya Vision Care announced the roll out of a new myopia education platform for Ophthalmologists and Optometrists. The advanced learning platform, accessible globally, went live in late April. The goal of the platform is to provide independent continuing education and share the latest developments in myopia management to Ophthalmologists and Optometrists across the globe, in the efforts to fight the growing global problem of myopia in children.
The content will incorporate the latest evidence-based research, insights and knowledge from a variety of sources including global experts and recognized organizations including the World Society of Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (WSPOS) and the International Myopia Institute (IMI) which Hoya has strong collaborative relationships with.
“The new global educational platform rolled out by Hoya Vision Care supports our mission to work collaboratively with the eye care community to address the growing rise of global myopia in children,” said Pascal Blaser, Global Medical Affairs Manager Myopia at Hoya Vision Care. “As a leader in myopia prevention, treatment and management this platform is just another step in our continued quest to advance awareness and education in the field of myopia.”
May 2, 2023 | News
Latest findings released, for the first time, show sustained myopia control efficacy of the lens in children, saving more than one and a quarter dioptres of myopia over four years. Four–year data follows the recent publication of the three–year clinical trial findings in American Journal of Ophthalmology, which also highlights evidence of continued myopia control efficacy of the lens
EssilorLuxottica presented the four–year clinical trial results of its myopia control lens Essilor Stellest for the first time at the 2023 ARVO annual meeting in New Orleans, United States. The findings show that Essilor Stellest lenses continue to exhibit strong efficacy in slowing myopia progression and axial eye elongation in children in the fourth year.
The clinical trial which began in 2018 was conducted at the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in Wenzhou, China. The study assessed the four–year increase of myopia and axial eye length of children who wore spectacle lenses with highly aspherical lenslets (HAL). Essilor Stellest lenses are based on the optical design of HAL lenses.
The key findings from the study include:
– HAL lenses saved more than one and a quarter dioptres of myopia on average over four years, demonstrating conclusive evidence of their effectiveness in slowing down myopia progression in children in the fourth year.
– Myopia progression and axial eye elongation in children wearing HAL lenses was slower compared to a
modelled control single vision lens group, again indicating sustained myopia control efficacy of the lenses in the fourth year.
– HAL lenses remain effective in slowing myopia progression and axial eye elongation in older children (11–16 y.o.) in the fourth year.
The four–year results were presented by Dr. Björn Drobe from EssilorLuxottica’s R&D team. Dr. Yee Ling Wong from the R&D team presented findings from a study that evaluated the eye growth of children wearing spectacle lenses with aspherical lenslets and with single–vision lenses in comparison to eye growth patterns in non–myopic children in Wenzhou, China.
These findings concluded that the eye growth pattern in 9 out of 10 children wearing HAL lenses full–
time was similar or slower than that of non–myopic children, after two years. The release of the four–year data follows the recent publication of the three–year clinical trial findings in the medical journal American Journal of Ophthalmology, which also highlights evidence of continued myopia control efficacy of the
lens in slowing down myopia progression in children over three years.
When children switched to HAL lenses in the third year after two years of wearing single vision lenses, myopia progression and axial eye elongation decreased significantly, compared to children wearing single vision lenses. The link to the article can be found here.
Norbert Gorny, co–Chief Operating Officer at EssilorLuxottica, said, “We are proud to share the latest findings from our four–year study of the Essilor Stellest lens at ARVO, which demonstrate that the myopia control effect of the lens is sustainable over four years. We look forward to sharing additional data with the scientific community. Such encouraging, evidence–based findings will significantly help to enhance scientific understanding and clinical interest for myopia control solutions like the Essilor Stellest lens globally. To move the needle further, we will continue to advance myopia research, deliver innovative solutions, build partnerships to strengthen awareness and education, share insights and expertise at key conferences, and much more.”
Apr 25, 2023 | News
Source: SIOF
Organised by the China Optometric & Optical Association, and co-organised by the Orient International Exhibition Co Ltd of Hong Kong, the 21st China (Shanghai) International Optics Fair, the most sizeable optical trade fair of Asia, ended on a high note with a record number of visitors attending the three-day event. The fair drew 88,285 times of visiting, underscoring Shanghai as a prime trading platform for the global eyewear industry
The fair took place on 1-4 April 2023 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Centre again, occupying all the 4 exhibition halls with a massive gross exhibition area of 75,000 square meters. Hall 2 was the prestige international product hall. Halls 1, 3 and 4 are the showcase place for Chinese exhibitors. In order to facilitate buyers to place orders on their desired products after viewing on site.
Source: SIOF
Don’t miss out CIOF 2021 and SIOF 2022
Let us meet up again at CIOF 2023, September 11 – 13, Beijing, the 34th China International Optics Fair. CIOF 2023 is another leading annual optical exhibition in Asia, and also a sizeable and influential optical exhibitions in the world. It’s a great place to know about future trends from leading eyewear forecasters. It’s also known as a good platform for global suppliers to showcase their latest products and technology, and for buyers to see the latest style eyewear, and future trends in autumn.
The next SIOF, the 22nd China (Shanghai) International Optics Fair, is scheduled to take place from March 11 -13, 2024. It is going to be another big event in optical industry to be held in the spring of the year, when the buying season begins. Please keep track on the updated information on our website: www.orientexhibition.com.hk
Apr 13, 2023 | News
Source: Innovative Eyewear
Innovative Eyewear the developer and retailer of smart eyewear under the Lucyd, Nautica, and Eddie Bauer brands, announced that it has launched a new iOS/Android app called Lucyd. The Lucyd app enables a voice interface for ChatGPT on their smart eyewear.
The user can ask questions to ChatGPT through microphones already built into the glasses and hear the responses through their stereo speakers. The app is device agnostic and works with many other hearables, including, but not limited to, AirPods. Additionally, the app may be used via a streamlined visual interface on any smartphone to enhance accessibility.
“We are excited to be the first company to provide ChatGPT enabled smart eyewear. With our new Lucyd app, which is free to our eyewear customers, we are continuing to make smart eyewear more accessible and functional than ever before,” says Harrison Gross, CEO of Innovative Eyewear. “A great pair of smartglasses is defined by three key factors: fashion, tech, and suitability for all-day wear. The Lyte 2.0 collection successfully addresses these factors and now provides access to the world’s most popular AI assistant. By connecting to ChatGPT with your voice on Lucyd smart eyewear, you can access a wealth of detailed research on just about any subject, making it one of the most powerful mobile learning systems available.”
As recently announced, Lucyd Lyte 2.0 eyewear is now available in 15 distinct styles.. With the Lucyd app, all of these frames provide on-the-go access to ChatGPT. Lucyd smart eyewear makes it easy to use ChatGPT by combining the strength of a natural language AI bot with the natural ergonomic interface of speaking and listening on a handsfree wearable.
Apr 7, 2023 | News
A new study from NORC at the University of Chicago, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Diabetes Translation found that Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) across multiple domains were associated with vision loss.
The study is entitled “Association Between Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and Examination-Based Vision Loss vs Self-Reported Vision Measures” published in JAMA Ophthalmology,
The study also evaluated results from examination-based versus self-reported vision measures. The data showed there were no differences in associations when comparing examination-based and self-reported measures. This is important as self-reported data are collected more frequently than examination-based data, and study results suggest that using self-reported vision data can be used as a proxy measure to track trends in SDOH and vision locally and over time.
Five key domains for SDOH evaluated in the study include:
- economic stability (income, employment status, food security status)
- education access and quality (educational attainment)
- health care access and quality (health insurance, having a primary care provider or routine place to go for health care)
- neighborhood and built environment (owning a home, living in an urban or rural residence)
- social and community context (marital status)
People with higher odds of vision loss include those persons who were widowed, divorced, separated, or never married. Individuals with Medicare, Medicaid, other government insurance recipients, or those who have no insurance had 22-155 percent higher odds of vision problems compared to persons with private insurance. Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, or non-Hispanic other race/multiracial individuals had higher odds of vision loss than non-Hispanic White individuals. Additionally, those with low or very low food security had significantly higher odds of self-reported poor vision.
Conversely, individuals who were employed, had higher levels of income and education, owned a home, or had a primary care physician, had lower odds of vision loss.
