Last checked at 29 Sep 2021 14:17
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.
29 September 2021
Tekcapital Plc
("Tekcapital", the "Company" or the "Group")
Portfolio Company Update: Lucyd Ltd ("Lucyd")
Retail Distribution Growth
Tekcapital Plc (AIM: TEK, OTCQB: TEKCF), the UK intellectual property investment group focused on transforming university discoveries into valuable products to improve quality of life, is pleased to announce that portfolio company Lucyd's U.S. operating subsidiary, Innovative Eyewear, Inc., has added 21 retail optical stores to its customer base as a result of its recent participation at Vision Expo West.
As a result of its attendance at the Expo, the total retail store count carrying Lucyd frames has grown to 85 direct retailers, in addition to 31 indirect retailers in Canada via Lucyd's distribution agreement with Marca Eyewear's 8 Points Inc. subsidiary.
Lucyd's goal is to have its eyewear carried in stores across North America and Europe by the end of 2022, and it is aggressively expanding its footprint, by improving its optician-centric business practices, and through the introduction of a co-op marketing program.
Significant interest has been expressed by customers and optical businesses for the six new styles of Lucyd Lyte launched this month, and Lucyd is planning to expand brand awareness with the introduction of virtual try-on kiosks in retail stores, to facilitate customer education and product sell-through. These kiosks will be remotely updated to reflect new style additions to the Lucyd product line, and refreshed regularly with new video content. The kiosk will allow for a sterile, touch-free shopping experience, as it runs through an automatic cycle of superimposing all Lucyd frames to the viewer's face in a virtual mirror, as opposed to traditional eyewear shopping where a customer touches and wears a number of different frames that have been handled by the public.
Harrison Gross, Lucyd cofounder and CEO said, "We are very excited to report the rapid growth of our optical store customers and look forward to additional new product launches and other developments in 2021. Not only are we offering groundbreaking smart eyewear, we are offering innovative merchandising support through a co-op marketing plan focused on the forthcoming try-on kiosk."
About Lucyd and Innovative Eyewear Inc.
Lucyd's mission is to Upgrade your Eyewear® with advanced ergonomic frames that are easy to use, fun to wear, and help you stay safely connected to your digital life. The Lucyd brand and IP portfolio are exclusively licensed to and operated by Innovative Eyewear, Inc. To learn more, or order Lucyd Lyte, please visit https://lucyd.co.
Tekcapital currently owns 100% of the share capital of Lucyd Ltd and approximately 81% of the share capital of its U.S. operating subsidiary, Innovative Eyewear, Inc.
For further information, please contact:
Tekcapital Plc | Via Flagstaff | |
Clifford M. Gross, Ph.D. | ||
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser and Broker) | +44 (0) 20 3470 0470 | |
Richard Morrison/Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance) Rob Rees (Corporate Broking) | ||
Flagstaff Strategic and Investor Communications |
| +44 (0) 20 7129 1474 |
Tim Thompson/Andrea Seymour/Fergus Mellon |
About Tekcapital plc
Tekcapital creates value from investing in new, university-developed discoveries that can enhance people's lives and provides a range of technology transfer services to help organisations evaluate and commercialise new technologies. Tekcapital is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: symbol TEK) and is headquartered in the UK. For more information, please visit www.tekcapital.com.
LEI: 213800GOJTOV19FIFZ85
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release is for informational purposes only. The information herein does not constitute investment advice nor an offer to invest and may contain statements related to our future business and financial performance and future events or developments involving Lucyd or Tekcapital that may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "look forward to," "anticipate" "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," "will," "project" or words of similar meaning. We may also make forward-looking statements in other reports, in presentations, in material delivered to customers, stakeholders and in press releases. In addition, our representatives may from time to time make oral forward-looking statements. Such statements may be based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of Tekcapital or Lucyd's management. Please note that these are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and factors, including, but not limited to those described in various disclosures. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements of Lucyd and/or Tekcapital may vary materially from those described explicitly or implicitly in the relevant forward-looking statement. Neither Lucyd nor Tekcapital intends, nor assumes any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated.