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20 VISION MONDAY/JUNE 16, 2008IN THE NEWSwww.visionmonday.comNEWS VIEWSMarchon Signs Calvin Klein, ck Calvin Klein for JapanNEW YORK & TOKYO—Calvin Klein,Inc. (CKI), a wholly-owned subsidiary ofPhillips-Van Heusen Corporation[NYSE: PVH] has announced that MarchonEyewear, Inc. will have the exclusivelicense to design, manufacture, anddistribute both the Calvin Klein Collectionand the ck Calvin Klein sun andophthalmic eyewear lines in Japan as ofOct. 1, 2008, giving the eyewear companytotal global licenses for the brand.Marchon has held the license for theVision-X Dubai Moves 2009Show to New Dates in MayDUBAI, U.A.E.—DubaiWorld Trade Centre(DWTC), organizers ofVision-X Dubai, the 10thOptical and OphthalmicExhibition and Conferenceheld annually inDubai, United ArabEmirates, has announceda date change for nextyear’s event.The largest trade exhibitionfor the optical andophthalmic industry inthe region will now takeplace from May 17 to 19 in 2009.The event was originally set to takeplace next February. Stated Lucy Clarke,project manager, DWTC, “We havedecided to change the dates of Vision-XDubai in response to the shift in dates ofother key worldwide exhibitions for inthe industry. This will benefit bothexhibitors and visitors alike and the generalconsensus was that May is the preferredtime for the industry to meet inthis region. With Vision-X Dubai furtherestablishing itself as a must attend eventit is crucial for an optimal timing that suitsindustry demand.”Scene from Vision-X Dubai 2007.Vision-X Dubai will again be held atDubai International Convention andExhibition centre. The show featurestwo sub-sectors: Vision Opticare, createdto facilitate the growing needs on theregion’s eyecare specialists, featuring thelatest in ophthalmic, optometric andtechnical equipment, instruments andmachinery, and Vision Lifestyle, featuringfashion eyewear and accessoriesincluding the latest in branded eyewearas well as unique international designs.For further information, please contactLucy Clarke at (ph): +971 4 3086904 orvisionx@dwtc.com. ■■CHICAGO—Prevent Blindness America(PBA) kicked off its second annual onlineauction as part of its 2008 fundraisingefforts.This year’s PBA Online Auction is nowopen for bidding at www.preventblindness.cmarket.com.The auction will rununtil June 20, 2008 and features a catalogof items ranging from vacation getawaypackages, Walt Disney World tickets,sunglasses, autographed sports andtelevision memorabilia, and much more.All proceeds support Prevent BlindnessCalvin Klein Collection and ck CalvinKlein sunwear and ophthalmic lines forall countries except Japan since 1992.“The Calvin Klein Collection and ckCalvin Klein offerings have been prominentbrands in Marchon’s portfolio formany years outside of Japan,” said AlBerg, president and CEO of Marchon.“We are proud of the significant businesswe have built around the world andlook forward to further developing theproduct offering and distribution of bothCalvin Klein Collection and ck CalvinKlein eyewear in Japan.”The new Japanese eyewear businesswill be overseen by Marchon’s vice presidentand managing director for AsiaPacific, Fred Humphrey, with the firstck Calvin Klein product from Marchondebuting in Japan at the 21st InternationalOptical Fair Tokyo (IOFT), to beheld Oct. 1 to 3. The Calvin Klein Collectioneyewear will be previewed shortlythereafter.“We are very pleased to be expandingour partnership with Marchon to includeJapan,” said Tom Murry, president andCOO of Calvin Klein, Inc. “Japan is animportant market for us and I am sureMarchon will operate this business ascompetently and successfully as theyhave in the rest of the world over thepast 15 years.”The Calvin Klein Collection eyewearfirst launched in Japan in 1995 by NikonEyewear Co., Ltd., followed by ckCalvin Klein eyewear in 1997. NikonEyewear announced in September 2007their plan to exit the eyewear business,but assured that they will continue toprovide service for all Calvin Klein productsthey supplied to the market, accordingto a joint statement from CKI andMarchon. ■■Prevent Blindness America Launches2nd Annual Online AuctionAmerica’s mission of healthy vision andsaving sight.“Because of the great success we hadfrom last year’s online auction, we areexcited to launch this year’s auction withnew merchandise, gift certificates, andmemorabilia,” said Hugh R. Parry, presidentand CEO of Prevent Blindness America.“We want to thank all of our friendsthat generously donated items this yearto help with this fundraiser. And, I want toinvite everyone to go online and help supportour sight-saving mission.” ■■ASCO Launching RevampedWeb Site Sporting New LookNew Ga. Law Impacts Opticians:Registration Date of Aug. 31 SetROCKVILLE, Md.—ASCO, the Associationof Schools and Colleges ofOptometry, launched a revamped Website in May at www.opted.org.The Web site joins ASCO’s online-onlyjournal, “Optometric Education,” and itsnewsletter, “Eye on Education,” whichHave you seen VM WebTV today?www.includes news about ASCO, memberinstitutions, the group’s corporate contributorsand the Partnership Foundation.According to ASCO, “The Web sitehas a fresh new look and organization,which the staff believes is also muchmore user-friendly.” ■■.comATLANTA—In May, Georgia Gov.Sonny Perdue signed a bill into law thatrequires anyone wishing to apply to takethe practical examination to be licensedas a dispensing optician based on experienceto register as an apprentice withthe state’s licensing board.The new law, HB 241, is scheduled totake effect on July 1. It sets an Aug. 31deadline for registering to allow priorhours/years to count toward apprenticeship—whichmeans that any opticiancurrently working in the field who maywish to sit for the opticianry licensureexamination any time in the futureneeds to register by that date in order toreceive credit for his or her practicaltraining and experience.Anyone not registering by Aug. 31 willbe required to begin his or her two-yearapprenticeship all over, according to thelaw. Those applying to take the opticianryexam based on education from a recognizedschool are not affected by thenew legislation.For more details, see the OpticiansAssociation of Georgia Web site atwww.oagonline.org. ■■