Given the very competitive nature of the American optical retail market, MITANI CORP. decided that it would be better off in the wholesale end of the eyeglass business. As a result, its wholly owned SPECTRON, INC. subsidiary sold its 28 EyeWorld stores in New England and New York state to market leader LENS-CRAFTERS. Fukui prefecture-based Mitani reportedly made a profit of $28.6 million on the sale of the Natick, Massachusetts company's stores. Early this year, the trader, which bought Spectron in the 1980s, plans to establish a U.S. subsidiary to wholesale Brazilian-made eyeglasses.
An exchange rate of ¥117=$1.00 was used in this report.aaaaaa