FGX Signs Levi's Brand to Eyewear

FGX International has teamed up with the Levi's brand to launch a unisex collection of branded Levi's eyewear for both sunglasses and optical. Read more.

FGX Recalls 215,000 Children’s Sunglasses

FGX International has recalled 215,000 children’s sunglasses because of violation of lead-paint standards. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission press release, the paint contained excessive quantities of lead. Advise your patients to contact FGX International toll-free at (877) 277- 0104 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at www.fgxi.com and click on “Recall” for more information. Photographs of the sunglasses can be seen at http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2014/FGX-International-Recalls-Childrens-Sunglasses/. A list of the sunglasses being recalled can be found at http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fgx-international-recalls-childrens-sunglasses-due-to-violation-of-lead-paint-standard-273941261.html.

FGX Expands Distribution

FGX International, a leading eyewear designer and marketer (think Foster Grant), will use Eby-Brown to distribute its eyewear and sunglasses to some 13,500 U.S. convenience stores. Read more.

FGX International to Launch Foster Grant Ad Campaign

FGX International will launch next month an integrated multi-million dollar national advertising Foster Grant eyewear campaign. The campaign, created by MMB of Boston, features Brooke Shields. The television campaign will include multiple commercials for Foster Grant Reading Glasses and a new collection of Crystal Vision Reading Glasses. In a nod to the brand’s history, the campaign will feature the well-known “Who’s that behind those Foster Grants?” tagline, which was recognized by Advertising Age as one of the Top 100 Advertising Campaigns of all time. Read more.

FGX Buys Suntech

FGX International, a subsidiary of Essilor International, acquired the 41-year-old Suntech Optics Inc. The acquisition included the purchase of Naked Eye Enterprises and Bugaboos Eyewear. Suntech, a formerly privately held company in Vancouver, sells Infokus and Solair brands of sunglasses and reading glasses to more than 2800 Canadian retailers in the drug, grocery and mass channels of distribution. Bugaboos Eyewear owns and designs Ryders Eyewear,  currently serving over 1800 retailer locations in North America, South America and Europe. FGX International’s eyewear brands include Foster Grant, Gargoyles, Solar Shield, Magnivision, Corinne McCormack and Anarchy and licensed brands including Ironman, Dockers, Nine West, Body Glove and Disney.

FGX Donates 1.5 Million Pairs of Eyewear

Eyewear maker and marketer FGX International reportedly donated more than 1.5 million pairs of reading glasses and sunglasses in 2011 and 2012. The eyewear products were given to Restoring Vision, which distributes them in developing countries. The eyewear provided by FGX and Restoring Vision provides a cost-effective method of improving productivity and quality of life of the poor in the developing world. Reading glasses enable individuals to improve productivity and enable them to earn a greater income, thereby avoiding poverty. Restoring Vision’s efforts also empowers developmentally challenged individuals in the United States, enlisting them to sort through the different magnification strengths of reading glasses prior to distributing them to developing countries. Read more.

Foster Grade Relaunches Its "Who's Behind..." Campaign

FGX International has launched a multi-million dollar national advertising campaign for its Foster Grant eyewear brand--featuring Brooke Shields, who was recently signed as the new face of Foster Grant. The television campaign launches nationwide this fall and will include multiple commercials for the Foster Grant sunglasses and reading glasses collections. In a nod to the brand’s history, the campaign will feature the well-known “Who’s that behind those Foster Grants?” tagline, which was recognized by Advertising Age as one of the Top 100 Advertising Campaigns of all time. Read more.

Brooke Shields Gets Behind Foster Grant

Brooke Shields will be the new face behind Foster Grant, according to a press release from  FGX International Inc. Shot in Los Angeles by famed director and photographer, Dave Myers, the new campaign captures the rich, established heritage of the Foster Grant brand.  The advertising campaign launches nationwide this fall and will include multiple television commercials and print advertisements for the Foster Grant sunglasses and reading glasses collections. In a nod to the brand’s history, the campaign will feature the well-known “Who’s that behind those Foster Grants?” tagline, which was recognized by Advertising Age as one of the Top 100 Advertising Campaigns of all time.Read more.

Essilor Finally Controls Stylemark

The Essilor subsidiary, FGX International, recently acquired the outstanding shares in Stylemark.Based in Ormond Beach, Florida, $140-million Stylemark sells more than 30 million readers and sunglasses in nearly 30,000 retail outlets, mainly in the food, mass retail, drugstore and department store segments. It boasts a large portfolio of licensed brands, including Nine West, Dockers, Reebok, Hello Kitty and various Disney properties. The company asserts that the acquisition will enable FGXI to consolidate, to enter the fast-growing department store segment, and to improve the efficiency of its supply chain.

FGX Donates Glasses to Hiatians in Need

FGX International, a leading designer and marketer of non-prescription reading glasses and sunglasses, has donated approximately $5.7 Million in reading glasses to support charitable causes both in America and worldwide. Most recently, FGX International donated 47,000 pairs of reading glasses, to be used to support ongoing recovering efforts in Haiti and on medical missions around the world. One half of the donation, comprised of both Magnivision and Foster Grant branded readers, will benefit CURE centers in Haiti and Africa, a project of the Lions Club International Foundation. The remaining half will be sent on medical missions to other third world countries in need.