In the waning moments of 2024, I find myself reflecting on the year in optical. We saw a lot of mergers and acquisitions both in the manufacturing and retail sectors. Essilor, VSP, CloserStill, Belden, Fielmann Group, and more were buying. We also saw several new brands, such as Press Eyewear, Uncommon from ClearVision, and Bridge from Prodesign.
Many of us lost friends and colleagues in the industry as well in 2024. My good friend, Robert Bell, was one of many we sadly said goodbye to this year. Robert’s dedication to various vision charities, including Project Homeless Connect, reminds us all how wonderful it feels to give back to our communities. We will be airing an encore episode of my podcast with him later this week.
We saw the end of Vision Expo East in New York City (for the foreseeable future), with a move to Orlando, starting this coming February. We saw a number of small regional trade shows pop up throughout the US, like SIOS in Dallas and the announcement of the Eyeball in Palm Springs coming up on January 25th. We saw The Loft not only announce they are staying in New York City in March (13-15), but working with high-end companies to create an Eyewear Design Week that same week throughout New York, along with Tarrence Lackran’s EYECON Show that same weekend (14-16). Internationally, we saw shows like MIDO, SILMO, opti, 100% Optical, and BOLD grow even bigger, and pardon the pun, bolder, showcasing what in-person optical trade shows can be.
What else might 2025 have in store for us all? Who knows? What will the Trump administration agenda mean for tariffs and for that matter, talent in The U.S.? What other countries will follow with their own tariffs on American goods? What will conflicts in Ukraine, and the Middle East mean for travel and trade, let alone immigration?
What we do know, is that The Optical Journal will be here to try and help you make sense of the ever-changing optical world. We will be here supporting the talent and visionaries who make this such a wonderful and addicting industry. We will continue our travels, showing you as much of the optical world outside the U.S. as we can as well. We hope you will continue to make us part of your optical journey in 2025.
All the best to you and yours for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2025!
Daniel
