Danish company Design Eyewear Group has acquired six French eyewear brands from KNCO, strengthening its presence in France and entering the strategic kids' eyewear segment.
Design Eyewear Group takes over François Pinton and Karavan, two iconic creator brands, as well as Karavan Kids and Kaliboo, focused on children’s frames. The acquisition also includes two well-established licensed children’s brands: Jacadi and Catimini. This diverse portfolio reflects both creative identity and product variety, ranging from high-end adult frames to playful children’s collections.
KNCO has long been a major player in French eyewear, thanks to its strong position in the kids' segment and its distinctive creator brands. Its local roots and product expertise have helped build a robust distribution network and long-standing industry recognition.
This move allows Design Eyewear Group to expand its geographic footprint in Europe, deepening its presence in France—one of the most dynamic optical markets. It also marks the company’s entry into the children’s eyewear segment, a high-potential category with specific product demands.
Approximately 15 KNCO employees will join the Danish group, including four designers and product managers. Retaining this team ensures continuity in creative direction and product knowledge. It also supports a smooth integration into Design Eyewear Group’s existing commercial and customer service structures.
Following its acquisition of MENRAD in June and licensing agreements with Jaguar, JOOP!, and Morgan, this new step reinforces the group’s multi-brand strategy. It reflects a commitment to both organic and external growth, focusing on brands with strong identity and complementary market segments.
Because it marks a pivotal moment in the consolidation of the European eyewear market. It shows how French creator brands and KNCO’s kids' eyewear expertise are being integrated into a bold, growth-driven strategy by Design Eyewear Group.
Further reading :
Linda Farrow doesn’t do nostalgia. With the Iconic Collection, the British house revisits its founding vocabulary — the forms that defined it in 1970 — and reengineers them for a generation that never saw the originals. This is not a reissue. It is a restatement. A Return to Origins That Refuses to Romanticise Founded in […]
There is something almost paradoxical about EssilorLuxottica’s stock market trajectory in 2026. The group continues to post sales figures most companies would envy — +11.7% at constant exchange rates in Q3 2025, +11.2% for the full year, and +10.8% again in Q1 2026. Yet over six months, its share price has erased more than 40% […]
What Paloceras built with the Pebble series, then translated into prescription eyewear with Nouvelle Fiction optical, now reaches its third chapter: a sunglasses collection that preserves the house’s sculptural grammar while turning it toward the light. Nouvelle Fiction Sun is not a spin-off. It is a continuation — on its own terms. From Optical to […]
Thirty years after their debut, Oakley Jackets are no longer just evolving. They are redefining what sports eyewear can be — and what it represents. In 1994, Oakley introduced a frame that didn’t exist before. Wraparound, bold, engineered not to please but to perform. In 2026, that same mindset expands into a broader vision: a […]
Rome, at the end of the day. Light moves across the façades, catches the acetate, then settles on a gold detail: a heart. With Dolce & Gabbana Devotion SS26 eyewear, the Italian house shapes a collection where the gaze becomes a language, and emotion takes the form of a symbol that is instantly recognizable. Here, […]
Valentino Spring Summer 2026 eyewear brings sunglasses to the forefront of the House’s wardrobe. This season, Valentino builds on instantly recognizable codes — the VLogo, archival stripes, and its signature red — and translates them into sharp silhouettes that move between graphic and refined. Strong cat-eye frames, studded ovals, and slim metal designs enhanced with […]