Eyewear chain Pearle is launching a new, premium chain: it will convert about 100 Dutch former Eye Wish stores to Pearle Studios with more premium brands.
GrandVision posts stable turnover retaildetail.eu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from retaildetail.eu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Pearle and
Eye Wish, does not seem to be affected much by the Covid crisis. In its first quarter, sales remained more or less stable.
Higher profits
GrandVision achieved sales of 889 million euro in the first three months of the year, approximately 1.5 % less than in the same period last year. Adjusted gross profit even increased from 41 million euros to 79 million euros. Almost all eyewear stores are open again today, Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad reports.
Meanwhile, the legal battle between GrandVision and its intended new owner
EssilorLuxottica is nearing its conclusion. The court of arbitration in Geneva is expected to rule on the case in June. The Dutch company wants to force the French-Italian eyewear group to go through with the takeover for the agreed price of 7.2 billion euros.
Grandvision brings sustainable eyewear brand Karün to Europe retaildetail.eu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from retaildetail.eu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Pearle and
Eye Wish, has been hit hard by the corona crisis in the past year. The group even had to close the financial year with a loss.
Store closures
GrandVision generated sales of 3.48 billion euros in 2020, a decrease of 12.2%. The compulsory store closures in various countries weighed heavily on the results. E-commerce revenues grew by 85%.
Gross operating profit (EBITDA) decreased by 43.1% to 266 million euros. Below the line, the group posted a net loss of 45 million euros, writes De Telegraaf. In 2019, there was still a net profit of 195 million euros. Despite the poor results, there was a recovery in the second half of the year. The loss is actually entirely attributable to the first six months of the financial year.