Liquidators Selling ECCA

[Chris Ryser]

Press Releases in the optical

HONG KONG--The provisional liquidators of defunct Moulin Global Eyecare Holdings reportedly will decide next month whether to sell or keep the San Antonio-based Eye Care Centers of America chain, according to local newspapers here. An executive of liquidator Ferrier Hodgson, Rod Sutton, was quoted as saying that if 380-store ECCA were sold, a buyer would be chosen by next month.

SAN ANTONIO--Eye Care Centers of America saw its net income slide in this year’s third quarter ended Oct. 1; the chain posted a net loss of $400,000 for the first nine months of 2005. In Q3, ECCA had total revenues of $101 million, up from $98.7 million in the same period last year

[eromitlab]

yeh... I heard there was a group of investors in my territory last week. There is talk (rumored, at least) that they want to expand from 380 to almost 500 or more stores.

... but, they better think about fixing the house before putting on an addition, IMHO.

They [ECCA] are also adamant about pushing this trivex lens they bought into, despite luckluster sales (and the fact that almost every private optical in our area has dropped trivex because of no interest or sales)... they don't seem to get it that if our patients don't want to buy it... they can't sell it. I still can't understand why they don't bundle it with the kids frames instead of polycarb, that would more than cover the 20% penetration that they are looking for. I have no problems with trivex, and it's a good lens material, but the claims the company makes about it being superior to every other lens out there does really chap my a**. I even heard one retail associate in a store I visited say it was the only "perfect" lens on the market... I think the marketing kool-aid fools our employees more than the patients.