franchise opportunities - 20/20 Magazine

18 VISION MONDAY/JUNE 16, 2008IN THE NEWSwww.visionmonday.comNEWS VIEWSMIDO: ’08 Figures Up 1 Percent, Focus on New DatesMILAN, Italy—Mido organizers reportedthat attendance at the 38th edition ofthe show, which was held here May 9through May 12, was nearly 46,000, anincrease of 1 percent over 2007.They said Italian attendance was up,particularly on the first two days, includingan increase of 30 percent on theshow’s opening day, Friday, compared tothe previous year’s Italian attendance.Organizers said that the number of foreignvisitors remained steady.The mood of the show was fairly subdued,given the strength of the Euro versusthe dollar, and the general economicclimate of the U.S., which had impact onAmerican companies’ purchases of European-madegoods and their expenses forthe show. Heavy buying activity amongretailers and distributors from such highgrowthmarkets as the Middle East, Russiaand Eastern Europe and Asia wasreported by many exhibitors.Mido’s total of 1,246 exhibitorsspanned 54,640 square meters of netFrom left are the press conference’s moderator,with Safilo Group’s Vittorio Tabacchi, president ofANFAO, Visibilia’s Dan Emanuel Levi, VP ofANFAO, and an Italian fashion journalist.exhibition space, an increase of 15 percentfrom 2006.As previously reported by VM, Mido’s2009 exhibition will take place in Milanat a new time during the calendar yearand will be held from March 6 to 9; anew Mido Business Forum is plannedfrom Sept. 4 to 6 in Rome.During a press conference prior to thestart of the show, Safilo Group’s VittorioTabacchi, head of ANFAO, said theThe Design Lab at Mido.change was made “to better reflect thefashion sensitivities and need for Marchand September timing of the leadingcompanies in thesector.” During theshow, the new timingwas a majortopic of discussionamong factories,eyewear suppliersand retailers.One internationalshow, the Vision-XDubai exhibition inthe Middle East,said it had changedits show timing in2009 to mid-Mayfrom its traditionaltiming in March, asa result. Organizersof other European and international showsdeclined comment to VM at presstime.—Marge AxelradPPG and Intercast Highlight Growthof Trivex and NXT in EuropeA Sterling Franchise Can Take Youto the Next LevelWant to supercharge your optical business by belonging to a national chain?Or do you simply dream of being your own boss? Here’s your chance!A Sterling Optical franchise gives you:• Big-company savings and buying power• National and regional cooperative advertising• A comprehensive system for easy operationMr. MAGOO and associated character names, images and other indicia aretrademarks of and copyrighted by UPA Productions of America, Inc. All rights reserved.• Promotions that build traffic and increase profits• Point-of-sale customer retention programs• Access to exclusive group vision plansWe have buyers ready inNY, NJ, PA, MD, VA and CA!Call Scott Finn today at 1-800-856-9664to learn more about franchising opportunitieswith Sterling Optical!www.sterlingoptical.comMILAN, Italy—PPG Industries(NYSE:PPG) andIntercast Europe S.r.ljointly announced theirplans to support thegrowth of the Trivexlens material and thedebut of a larger rangeof NXT Rx Sunlensesduring the Mido show.In addition to the testimonyof two Europeanbusiness partners, whodiscussed their reasonsfor choosing Trivex andRudy Project’s Simone Barbazza,marketing manager, explains hiscompany’s philsophy and use ofNXT Rx Lense materials.Intercast’s Francesco Pellegrini, PPG’s Christine Camsuzou andNathan Troxell.Jenkiz Saillet, business manager,Novacel Ophthalmique talkedabout his company’s involvementwith the Trivex material.NXT for their productofferings, executives atPPG introduced the new“Trivex. True to Life”marketing materials,now available to Europeaneyecare professionalsto present thelens materials’ benefitsto their consumers.Intercast Europe isnow a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of PPGIndustries, part of theOptical Products strategicbusiness unit sinceApril 2006.