Opal Demetz welcomes Weinberg Capital Partners to its capital

The impact fund of Weinberg Capital Partners is acquiring a minority stake in Opal Demetz, a specialist in design and distribution of prescription eyewear frames.

Founded in 1995 by François Fort, the Lyon-based company Opal Demetz began designing and distributing frames for opticians by positioning itself in the children’s eyewear market. After successfully undertaking the challenge of making children’s eyewear both technical and playful through exclusive top-ranking licenses, Opal Demetz has established itself in other niche segments tailored to opticians’ needs.

With its €45 million of revenue and nearly 150 employees, Opal Demetz is currently the European leader in eyewear frames for children and adolescents, the French leader in affordable products and, since 2015, an expert in the sports segment with the acquisition of Demetz. This success is attributed to its glasses and goggles prominently used by athletes.

The Group’s collections bring together high-profile brands, a variety of models, affordable prices, and genuine expertise. Opal Demetz’s ambition is to offer to opticians high-value-added collections and services, including quality after-sales service, to optimize their daily operations. Opal Demetz outsources the production of its frames to subcontracting partners, with a centralized logistics organization at its own 3,350 m² site in Limonest (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).

With the arrival of Weinberg Capital Partners as a shareholder, the Group’s ambition is to accelerate its development through the launch of new collections and new activities, and to accelerate its international expansion, while reinforcing its sustainable commitment around two main pillars: responsible production and the gradual decarbonization of its business. This commitment to growth is reflected at the start of the year in the merger with Roussilhe, a French designer, manufacturer and distributor of eyewear frames based in Oyonnax (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes). With Roussilhe, Opal Demetz is acquiring a new expertise: French know-how, with the intention of revitalizing the traditional eyewear industry, thus meeting the challenges of sustainability in the sector.

This new shareholder structure also brings about a change in the management: François Fort, the company’s founder, hands over his role as CEO to his son, Guillaume Fort, while retaining the position of Chairman and remaining an active member of the supervisory board.

This marks the sixth investment for the WCP Impact Dev #1 fund.