New Look Eyewear has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire certain optical assets and business of Optic Direct, carrying on business under the Greiche & Scaff banner in Quebec. The acquisition is expected to close on or about October 1, 2014.

Founded in 1976, Greiche & Scaff has grown to become an established and well-recognized enterprise in Quebec’s optical retail markets. The assets and business to be acquired by New Look include 49 corporately owned stores in Quebec, 42 of which are in the greater Montreal region, and an integrated lens processing facility in Montreal. Revenues for the 12 months ended March 31, 2014 amounted to approximately $30.7 million.

The purchase price of the assets and business of Greiche & Scaff is $17.75 million, subject to customary price adjustments. New Look has entered into various financing arrangements to finance the acquisition, including a $10 million increase of its senior secured debt facility with its bank syndicate to $53 million and a “bought deal” private placement agreement for the issuance of 500,000 subscription receipts at a price of $20 per receipt with a syndicate of Canadian investment firms.

“This is an important building block in our strategic plan for participating in the consolidation of the Quebec and Canadian retail optical markets,” stated Antoine Amiel, vice-chairman of New Look. “It solidifies our Quebec base, particularly in the metropolitan Montreal region, and results in the acquisition of an additional established and respected banner in the retail optical market. It also gains us significant operating efficiencies.”

“We will continue to operate the Greiche & Scaff business as a separate banner and store network within the New Look/Vogue Optical umbrella,” added New Look President Martial Gagné. “We very much look forward to working with the Greiche & Scaff employees, associated optometrists and opticians and welcoming them to our group.”

The acquisition of Greiche & Scaff is subject to the usual closing conditions, at which time the 500,000 subscription receipts issued pursuant to the private placement are expected to be automatically converted into 500,000 Class A common shares of New Look.

Last November, New Look acquired the largest integrated optical retailer in Atlantic Canada, Vogue Optical, for about $74 million.

The popular brand Converse Eyewear will soon be easier to find in Canada, as REM Eyewear announces an exclusive distribution agreement with FYidoctors.

“I am personally thrilled to be expanding our already-strong relationship with REM Eyewear and adding the Converse line to our growing list of exclusive brands in Canada,” said FYidoctors’ CEO Dr. Alan Ulsifer. “Converse is one of the most highly recognized brands and the lineup of frames they have delivered is truly exciting for our company.”

REM Eyewear, the worldwide licensee of Converse Eyewear for over 25 years, selected FYidoctors as the exclusive Canadian distributor because of their commitment to outstanding customer service and their growing network of optometrists.

This distribution agreement will greatly increase the availability of Converse Eyewear throughout Canada through the FYidoctors network of over 200 locations and over 400 optometrists between its corporately owned and Vision Source Canada locations. Additionally, FYidoctors will continue to distribute the brand nationwide to interested retailers.

“All of us at REM Eyewear are excited to expand our partnership with FYidoctors and the Converse Eyewear collection will be a great addition to their current distribution of our John Varvatos collection. FYidoctors has been a great partner and we are looking forward to a long future together,” says REM’s President Steve Horowitz.

Silhouette International is now represented in South America with its own subsidiary located in São Paulo, Brazil.

The branch office sells private label Silhouette eyewear as well as adidas and adidas Originals eyewear licensed brands. The subsidiary – the 14th of the Austrian family-owned company – also has its own warehouse. “We want to provide that service in Brazil that our customers the world over know – delivery within 48 hours – which is why we decided to set up our own warehouse in Brazil, in addition to our warehouses in the U.S. and at our headquarters in Austria,” said Silhouette International CEO Daniel Rogger.

“Brazil and South America have great potential and that is why it is important to us to handle this market ourselves. Our distribution partners have done a good job getting things set up over the past decades. The time has now come for us to take the helm,” said Rogger. He sees Silhouette’s future markets to be primarily in Asia, the CEE countries and South America, without losing sight of the company’s existing core markets in Europe and the U.S., which is still the biggest market for the Austrian eyewear manufacturer.