Seiko Selling Optical Products Divsion to Hoya?

**sharpstick777** · 04-10-2012, 04:37 PM

From Vision Monday...

TOKYO— Seiko Epson Corp. (6724: Tokyo) and (7741:Tokyo) announced that they have today agreed to begin
negotiations about a transfer to Hoya of Epson's optical products business. The proposed transfer aims to promote global expansion of the business by combining the assets of the two parties, according to a joint statement issued by the companies. Seiko and Hoya said that based on today's agreement, they are looking to conclude a contract at the earliest opportunity. The companies also said Hoya has come to an agreement with Seiko Holdings Corp. concerning an alliance about sales of eyewear products.

Say it ain't so...

**Fezz** · 04-10-2012, 04:52 PM

Oh no!!!

Thanks for totally ruining my life!

**sharpstick777** · 04-10-2012, 05:08 PM

Originally Posted by Fezz

Oh no!!!
Thanks for totally ruining my life!

Me too. Me too.

**Now I See** · 04-10-2012, 05:47 PM

Great...just great....now I'm going to go cry in my beer!

**Johns** · 04-10-2012, 05:50 PM

Seiko is being sold? You mean if my watch breaks, I won't be able to get parts?????

**Now I See** · 04-10-2012, 05:51 PM

LOL...better buy the lot!!!

**EyeMaster** · 04-10-2012, 09:46 PM

HOYA will truly become, "The Free Form Company" if they purchase all the assets of Seiko-Epson since they hold key patents to all most all of the freeform technology used today.

Oh well, better that HOYA buy's them than Essilor. Is Essilor slipping, how did they miss this one?

**WFruit** · 04-10-2012, 10:58 PM

See also: http://www.seiko.co.jp/en/news/press...12041012045601

And: http://www.4-traders.com/HOYA-649134...ve-b-14262961/

So I know at least two phone calls I'm making tomorrow...

**sharpstick777** · 04-11-2012, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by EyeMaster

HOYA will truly become, "The Free Form Company" if they purchase all the assets of Seiko-Epson since they hold key patents to all most all of the freeform technology used today.

Oh well, better that HOYA buy's them than Essilor. Is Essilor slipping, how did they miss this one?

I don't think Seiko would sell to anything but another Japanese company. Seiko has always had amazing technology, but lacked the marketing guts to make it well known. They invented Free-form in 1993, although it wasn't called that unil 1997.

Although Hoya has a few wonderful products, I have never enjoyed the way they do business. Seiko has always been terrific to work with, flexible, and have a willingness to listen. Even if they said no, at least they did so thoughtfully, so I had great respect for them.

**Quince** · 04-13-2016, 01:35 PM

This has finally effected us directly.... my Seiko lab is closed and now when I call customer service I get automatons to put me on hold, no access to warranty information, and have already received a package of product we did not order with another establishments billing. Way to go.

Hoya has great product, our rep is incredibly well informed and educated, and we love working with non-Lux, as most small businesses do, but things are about to change. Hoya has terrible availability and even worse customer service. If I order by phone or online, my shipping takes twice as long as anywhere else and half of my orders come in wrong.

So thanks to Hoya for ruining a good thing we had going with Seiko. Here we come Younger! The more you expand your product selection, the easier this transition becomes. I hope the rest of you are having better luck with the service change-over.

**djal** · 05-26-2016, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by Quince

This has finally effected us directly.... my Seiko lab is closed and now when I call customer service I get automatons to put me on hold, no access to warranty information, and have already received a package of product we did not order with another establishments billing. Way to go.

Hoya has great product, our rep is incredibly well informed and educated, and we love working with non-Lux, as most small businesses do, but things are about to change. Hoya has terrible availability and even worse customer service. If I order by phone or online, my shipping takes twice as long as anywhere else and half of my orders come in wrong.

So thanks to Hoya for ruining a good thing we had going with Seiko. Here we come Younger! The more you expand your product selection, the easier this transition becomes. I hope the rest of you are having better luck with the service change-over.

Quince, tell me about availability!! We switched to Hoya Canada a few years ago and now have to deal with gray and brown polarized like the old days; no other color options... I told them idk how many times to get their beautiful Polatech polarized tints from Japan... At first they never heard of the products... When I go on the Japanese site of Hoya I just want to cry!! So many great products nowhere to be seen in North America. Wouldn't it be better to get new management (Japanese people) at Hoya Canada/USA which would come directly from Hoya in Japan? Then I think/hope we would have a first class Hoya company with all these innovative products from Japan and not a second class Hoya like I feel we have now! Not only that... it would finally be able to compete head to head with big "E" bc of so many options/products to offer !http://minamioptical.blog13.fc2.com/blog-entry-431.html

**ThatOneGuy** · 05-26-2016, 01:01 PM

Hoya took some really hard hits after that tsunami years ago. I think it hurt moral pretty bad, as their service did go to poo afterward. This Seiko buyout might result in much better service from Hoya as they remember what it is like to work again, like someone said earlier, it opens up great technologies to be applied to hoya concepts. Not a bad deal, in my opinion.

**Quince** · 05-28-2016, 02:53 PM

Oh that link is such a tease! I can only hope someday we will be given the same options. Btw, if you translate the page, it makes for a hilarious read! And I agree completely that Hoya's current lack of availability is their biggest downfall in competing with Essilor.

**djal** · 05-28-2016, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by Quince

Oh that link is such a tease! I can only hope someday we will be given the same options. Btw, if you translate the page, it makes for a hilarious read! And I agree completely that Hoya's current lack of availability is their biggest downfall in competing with Essilor.

Indeed... but forget about the same options in the future... we left Essilor 2 years ago bc of the directions they are taking and I've been after Hoya Canada to be up to par with Hoya Japan. They just told me a few days ago in a very polite way to shut up and let them run the company like they whish. Obviously we, as practitioners, are on the battle field and know what PXs want or better create a demand when there is none because of products being innovative... No go, they just prefer the status quo! I'm sure in Japan, Hoya has no clue how the company is ran in North America. In my opinion the head people should be Japanese... just like Japanese car factories here have Japanese at the helm.

Just one example, the new Sensity will challenge Transition 7 big time... when it will come out this fall it will be almost 2 years since it has been introduced in Asia, Europe and Africa!! I could go on and on but one more example they have in Asia, the nice Suntech Misty where the gray becomes only a light gray! Many of my PXs have been asking for "a light tint transition" well I could tell them "the company I deal with has it but not here in North America" ; "you can go on the net on a Japanese site like Rakuten and order it if you want"... "but sorry our CEOs here never thought it could sell in USA/Canada"! https://www.vc.hoya.co.jp/products/o...r/suntech.html So... we are stuck I'm afraid with a second class (or perhaps third class?) Hoya company here for a LONG LONG time. And I haven't talked about the POS they also have in Japan... sooo 1st class compared to crapy stuff they offer us here!!! That link is the official Hoya site in Japan.... unbelievable products there... enjoy! Obviously "Kaizen" is not a word in the vocabulary of our friends at Hoya North America! This is the SFT Ice. An AR with the residual reflection (less than 1%) being white... How the Japanese promote it? They tell the ladies if they have a light cosmetic tint in their lenses no residual reflection in blue or green will interfere... the blending with the skin will be ideal/optimal! This is their POS... Pure Genius! Beside you have the Retinex tints which are created to block uv + blue light... in all colors and intensities... incredible! And at the bottom the career colors for office/computer work... reminiscent of BPI EVA tints!! Enough the more I show the more I get depressed!

お選びいただいたレンズカラーが表面反射で邪魔されないクリアコートです。

HOYAさんの

**djal** · 06-05-2016, 07:06 PM

Quince, do you deal with Hoya now? I'd really like to chat with you about how I'm trying to rock the boat at Hoya USA... I think if many join the bandwagon they might make a move. If it's only me who is outspoken the chances of seeing things move/change are virtually zero! I just can't see us going back to big "E"...

**Sphinxsmith** · 07-21-2016, 01:59 PM

Does anyone have experience with the new system? Has the turn around or customer service suffered at all? Prices? Etc.

Thank you!

cs

**sharpstick777** · 07-21-2016, 02:53 PM

Its in chaos. Terrible turn around, and statements. A few weeks ago all the job listing for Hoya America in the Texas distribution facitiliy, switched to Seiko America. Which tells me they don't really have a plan yet of what they are doing.

Originally Posted by Sphinxsmith

Does anyone have experience with the new system? Has the turn around or customer service suffered at all? Prices? Etc.

Thank you!

cs

**Craig** · 07-23-2016, 04:09 PM

Sounds like it is time for LenSync lenses! We are close to having a complete digital lens offering at independent labs around the world with a unique portal that gives complete control of the order to the ECP; you can control the finish choices remotely and see in real-time the lens design choosen along with the thickness in 3D.
We can control all the finishing equipment today and the surfacing is not far off.