Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care.
Luxottica Group S.p.A. is an Italian eyewear conglomerate and the world's largest company in the eyewear industry. It is based in Milan, Italy. Its best known brands are Costa, Ray-Ban, Persol, Oliver Peoples and Oakley.
Specsavers Optical Group Ltd is a British multinational optical retail chain, which operates mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australasia and the Nordic countries. The chain offers optometry and optician services for eyesight testing and sells glasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses. It also sells hearing aids. In the United Kingdom in 2012 it had the largest single market share of the four major opticians, with 42% of the market.
Vision therapy (VT), or behavioral optometry, is an umbrella term for alternative medicine treatments using eye exercises, based around the pseudoscientific claim that vision problems are the true underlying cause of learning disabilities, particularly in children. Vision therapy has not been shown to be effective using scientific studies, except for helping with convergence insufficiency. Most claims—for example that the therapy can address neurological, educational, and spatial difficulties—lack supporting evidence. Neither the American Academy of Pediatrics nor the American Academy of Ophthalmology support the use of vision therapy.
The General Optical Council (GOC) is an organisation in the United Kingdom which maintains a register of opticians and regulates the services provided by dispensing opticians and optometrists. The stated function of the GOC is "to protect the public and promote high standards of professional conduct and education amongst opticians".
The College of Optometrists is the professional, scientific and examining body for optometry in the United Kingdom, working for the public benefit. Their headquarters is at 41-42 Craven Street, London WC2, of which no 41 is a Grade II listed building.
Essilor International is a French-based international ophthalmic optics company that designs, manufactures and markets lenses to correct or protect eyesight. Its headquarters is in Charenton-le-Pont, France.
An eye care professional (ECP) is an individual who provides a service related to the eyes or vision. It is any healthcare worker involved in eye care, from one with a small amount of post-secondary training to practitioners with a doctoral level of education.
The School of Optometry and Vision Science is one of the professional schools at the University of Waterloo. It is a school within the university's Faculty of Science and is the larger of the two optometry schools in Canada. The School is the only English speaking Optometry School in the country; the Francophone Université de Montréal program operates in Quebec.
Lone Star Funds, legal name of main entity Lone Star Global Acquisitions, Ltd. is an American private equity firm that invests in distressed assets in the U.S., Canada and internationally. The founder of Lone Star established its first fund in 1995 and Lone Star has to date organized 21 private equity funds with total capital commitments since inception of over $85 billion. Lone Star's investors include corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, foundations, fund of funds and high-net-worth individuals. Lone Star Funds has affiliate offices in North America, Europe and Japan.
Andell Holdings is a private investment firm and one of the nation's leading family offices. Andell invests directly in private and public companies and real estate, acquiring control and minority stakes, as well as with top-tier investment managers. Andell's real estate platform includes a variety of investments across all asset classes and throughout the capital structure. Andell has been helmed by co-founder Andrew Hauptman since its inception in 1998.
VSP Vision Care (VSP) is a vision care health insurance company operating in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It is a doctor-governed company divided into five businesses: “eye care insurance, high-quality eyewear, lens and lens enhancements, ophthalmic technology, and connected experiences to strengthen the relationship between patients and their eye doctors.” It has about 80 million people worldwide and is the largest vision insurance company in the United States.
Transitions Optical is a U.S.-based company known for manufacturing photochromic lenses. The company was founded in 1990.
Hubert Sagnières, born on 10 May 1955 in Vienne, France, is a company executive of French and Canadian nationality. He was chairman and CEO of Essilor International from 2012 to 2018 and became executive vice-chairman of EssilorLuxottica while keeping his role of chairman of Essilor International when Essilor merged with Luxottica in 2018.
Raymond A. Applegate is an American optometrist and a co-founder of International Congress on Wavefront Sensing and Aberration-Free Refraction Correction. He is the Borish Chair in Optometry at the University of Houston.
FramesDirect.com is an international online eyewear retailer. The company sells eyewear products such as eyeglasses, prescription sunglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses through its website. FramesDirect.com sells designer and brand name eyewear products with over 60,000 models displayed on its website. Founded in 1996, FramesDirect.com was one of the earliest online optical retail stores.
Newk's Eatery is an American chain of fast casual cafés which operates over 100 restaurants in 13 states.
Clearly is an online retailer of contact lenses, eyeglasses and sunglasses. The company was acquired by EssilorLuxottica Canada, and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are one of the largest online contact lens retailers in North America, and the largest seller of prescription eyeglasses online in the world.
EyeCarePro Inc. is a digital marketing company focused on optometrists in the US and Canada. The company's CEO is Daniel Rostenne. The company's target audience includes eye care professionals, family practices and corporate groups. Services include client management systems and a variety of web and digital marketing services geared toward eyecare professionals.
An eyewear retailer or eyewear store is a retail businesses selling eyewear and often providing optometry services. Eyewear retailers may sell any number of different products, including sunglasses, spectacles, contact lenses, sports eyewear, and safety and protection eyewear.
