Brits hail strong Silmo

British companies enjoyed success in Silmo this year, further cementing the case for exhibiting at  and visiting  the Paris show.

Provis chairman Ron Hamilton said the journey from Scotland was well worthwhile after it achieved its biggest single order with a sale of more than 1.5m daysoft UV 58% lenses.

‘The competition was against mid-water lenses so we are especially delighted since this is a major endorsement of our strategy to offer both high and mid-water content lenses,’ he said.

Continental Eyewear was equally impressed with business at Silmo. ‘Friday was the best day we have ever had at a trade show,’ said sales and marketing director Neal Grimason.

The company launched 14 new frames within its X-Eyes collection, featuring ‘plastics, lots of colour and bold sizes’.

Robert Morris, managing director of William Morris London, exhibited at Silmo for the first time and was pleased with the response of visitors. ‘We’re really happy with the reaction to the brand which we’ve been developing over the past 12-18 months.’ By Saturday he had signed distribution deals in three European countries.

Howard Librae, managing director at Brulimar, was promoting his latest pan-European licence deal with Warner Bros, which sees the company developing new ranges for Superman and Batman.

‘We’ve always been big on kids’ brands and we’ve built a solid reputation in this area,’ he told OPTICIAN, adding that children’s products now accounted for around half of Brulimar’s business. He added that he had also just signed licences for urban street brands, Bench and Hooch.

In terms of emerging trends, British representatives felt that eye fashions continued to be chunky although vintage styles were continuing to sell well.

Blue Gem brand division co-ordinator Steve Evans also observed that slender frames are less popular than they used to be. 'People want the chunky plastic look, especially in the European market,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Cutler & Gross manager Kyle Shipstone predicted a 60s revival. ‘There’s a lot of 70s large aviator styles and plastics but the next big thing will be a look back to the 60s.’