The company has begun talks with a number of franchisees.
Sources inform ''Globes'' that Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) plans to set up an optician chain in Israel The chain will be branded “Kodak Vision Center,” and the company has begun talks with a number of franchisees. It has also not ruled out the option of acquiring an existing optician chain.
Kodak currently markets multifocal lenses in Israel, although the distribution is limited to a select number of shops, rather to chains such as Optica Halperin or Opticana. The lenses are competitively priced. Kodak is planning a massive entry to the Israeli market by gaining control of sales channels, through which it will market products manufactured in the UK and Spain.
Kodak has around 700 shops in the UK under the Kodak Vision Center brand, all of which are private businesses that have been amalgamated under one retail chain. Kodak will try to introduce a similar model in Israel and plans to form a chain of 60 opticians. Kodak will offer the shops financing for advertising and information services, in exchange for a commitment by chain members to buy their supplies from the company.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on May 23, 2006
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