Mike, I agree with Zap. Blame E all you want, but X-Cell (and everyone else they've bought) "sold out." If you want to get mad at somebody/(thing) complain about the indy's that ARE selling out to them. ( And no, I don't work for E.)
What I would like to know is why aren't the companies that are for sale known about until after E buys them?? Are they listed as 'For Sale' somewhere?? Wall street Journal, NY Times, etc. Is there something 'fishy' going on??
Our strategy
HubertSagnières, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, explains Essilor's strategy
To allow as many people as possible to see well to improve their quality of life
To succeed in this mission and ensure the Group's long-term development, Essilor has established a growth strategy based on four main pillars: innovation, conquest of the middle of the range, international growth via acquisitions and stimulation of demand to increase market size.
- Innovation at all levels - products, services and marketing - is the driving force behind our strategy and the basis for the quality of our relationship with our customers, whether optical professionals or wearers.
- We are also working to conquer the middle of the range, in developed countries, but especially in high-growth countries where the middle classes' standard of living is increasing, marking a real change in market scale.
- We are pursuing a policy of acquisitions and partnerships with prescription laboratories and distributors, to increase our market share and strengthen our networks around the world.
- Finally, we also conduct initiatives at a very early stage in the value chain to offer information, check-ups and supply lenses, in regions of the world where access to optical care is difficult.
copied from ---------------------> http://www.essilor.com/en/Group/OurS...s/default.aspx
When you have a spare billion or two in the bank and competent "Mergers and Acquisitions" people you find things out.
I assume some people are payed top bucks for industrial intelligence gathering, monitoring the financial situation of desirable companies worldwide etc...
Pretty standard stuff actually.
"Strictly speaking, there are no enlightened beings; only enlightened activity." -Shunryu Suzuki
I think it is naive to say the companies that Essilor bought were simply "for sale", some of them may have been but not all. Some of the businesses that they bought were coerced to sell. Essilor or any huge conglomerate has many ways to throw their weight around to convince you to sell.
Essilor and Hoya both made us an offer and we turned them both down. It would have meant a really nice car, a boat, a second house in an exotic location...
But we said "no thanks". It also means giving up what I love to do.
I can't say I would never not sell though, honestly (the decision is not only mine). We are growing fast, and worth more every year. If they made a better offer we would consider it depending not only on the $ but also what my non-compete clause would be. I don't want to work for either company though, I wouldn't want to be a partner. Its just business, really.
Do you think Essilor would be allowed to "coerce" lets say Tokai - Japan to sell? Do you think their "weight" and money would matter in the slightest?
The Japanese would kick their a$$ out so swiftly (and politely as Japanese tend to) that they won't be able to say a single bonjour…
Sometimes it is just not about money.
I remember being at SOLA when Essilor started buying up wholesale labs. At the time many of us believed that they were making a big mistake and that the other wholesale labs would see this as a threat and unite against them. The fact is that we were wrong - very wrong. Not only did wholesale labs not fight back, it soon became apparent that a large number of lab owners wanted that big check for themselves. This is America, and sadly in America money talks louder than anything else.
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I've been hearing whispers over the past couple of days, nothing that I can put my finger on, but "something" is happening and there might be some blowback and unintended consequences. There comes a point when the FTC and the Justice Department start to get interested when one company owns and/or controls a significant portion of a manufacturing sector in the US. Especially when the owner/controller is a foreign-owned company.
The next couple of months should be interesting, to say the least.
I've heard a whisper or two about EyeMed creating it's own lab system using ELOA. Time will tell.
Bidding war?
Several labs offer a discount for Eyemed to get the lab work. By offering a better price, making the plan a bit more profitable for the office.. the lab is hoping to win the rest of your work as well.
While Eyemed has promoted the ELOA network as having this discount, many other labs match.
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
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