Alain Mikli, the biggest French supplier of designer prescription spectacles, has taken over Sporoptic Pouilloux.The French company holds the global license for Vuarnet sunglasses, named after the late French ski champion, Jean Vuarnet, who won the 1960 Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley. It made big losses in the past two years on annual sales of about €10 million, well below the levels reached in the 1980s, after the brand became the official supplier to the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984, challenging the leadership of Ray-Ban on the U.S. market. Mikli is making investments to develop the Vuarnet line further but has no plans to enter the sports retail sector (more in our newsletter EyeWear Intelligence)

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