TIDMTEK
Tekcapital plc
28 December 2022
28 Dec 2022
Tekcapital Plc
("Tekcapital", the "Company" or the "Group")
Innovative Eyewear, Inc. Provides Year-end Review
Tekcapital Plc (AIM: TEK, OTCQB: TEKCF), the UK intellectual
property investment group notes that Innovative Eyewear, Inc.
("Innovative Eyewear") (NASDAQ: LUCY; LUCYW), a developer and
retailer of cutting-edge smart eyewear and operator of the Lucyd(R)
and Nautica(R) brands for smartglasses, announced on 27 December
2022 a summary of its activities in 2022 including innovations in
R&D, new business partnerships, and significant team expansion.
The Company believes these developments have furthered its goal of
building the global standard in smart eyewear.
Set out below is a copy of Innovative Eyewear's announcement and
to view a video of CEO Harrison Gross explaining these
developments, please click here .
Product Launches & Tech Development
In 2022 Innovative Eyewear completed development on the
following products:
1. Digital Try-on Display. A Lucyd-branded digital retail
fixture that provides a virtual try-on experience to in-store
clients at our partner retail stores. The proprietary software that
operates the kiosk was designed and created in house and performs
as smoothly as leading VTO (virtual try-on) applications developed
by companies that focus solely on this software vertical. The
Company is able to remotely update the Displays with new brand
content and glasses styles, and the tablet can also be scanned to
download the Company's Vyrb mobile app, making it a comprehensive
Lucyd brand experience in all deployed locations. Launched early in
2022.
2. Cordless Charging Dock. This patent-pending accessory was
developed in house, launched in 2022 and is a first in the
smartglass space. It allows the customer to charge their Lucyd
glasses simply by dropping them on their nightstand. The Dock
includes three additional USB ports to enable the user to charge
their phone, smartwatch, tablet and smartglasses simultaneously
with one device.
3. 2022 Frame Collection. In 2022 we introduced four new models
of our flagship product, including our Lucyd Lyte Jupiter model,
which is leading the industry in terms of product weight. Weight is
a proxy for comfort when it comes to eyewear, and the Jupiter model
weighs just 28 grams, which is tied for the lightest smart eyewear
on the market. Central to the luxurious look and feel of this new
collection was the design and creation of new proprietary hinges
that enable a more seamless appearance to the frames, which are
being rolled out across all models. The launch of this collection
also brought the number of Lucyd frame varieties to 16 total, which
makes the Company's offering the most diverse in the space.
4. The Company is pleased to announce it has completed initial
production of its second generation product, Lucyd Lyte 2.0, slated
to launch in Q1 2023. The Lyte 2.0 carries several new features
including high-end styling from the Company's new design team, a
four-speaker array for immersive audio, and the longest playback
time of any smart eyewear device, with 12 hours of music playback
and talk time per charge. The battery life of the Lyte 2.0
surpasses the vast majority of true wireless audio devices in any
form factor.
5. The Company has completed the development of a live streaming
feature to its Vyrb social application for iOS and Android, which
brings live audio chatrooms to the beta app. This will enable Lucyd
glasses wearers to create and enjoy live audio events right on
their smart eyewear, and this utility is also useful for real-time
team communications.
6. The Company had six US design patents and one US software
utility patent granted in 2022, as well as one Chinese patent
granted, to protect its eyewear designs and software utilities. The
Company has also filed new patents in 2022 in the US, Canada and/or
China to protect its recently released Lucyd Dock and several
pending products. The Company's total number of pending and issued
patents now stands at 47.
Partnerships
1. In late 2022, Innovative Eyewear acquired a multi-year,
global license to the Nautica brand for smart eyewear and related
accessories. Along side the transaction, the owner of the Nautica
brand, Authentic Brands Group, is assisting the Company with
introductions to Nautica.com, independent Nautica store operators
and buyers, and the Sports Illustrated online store. The Company
has finished designing a dozen styles for an initial line of
Nautica Smart Eyewear and expects to launch the line in H1
2023.
2. Lucyd products began to be carried on the Dick's Sporting
Goods (DSG) main website in March 2022, as a trial for
consideration for an in-store presence. DSG is the largest sporting
goods retailer in the US with 800+ stores.
3. Lucyd products began to be carried on Academy Sports +
Outdoor's mainsite, the second largest sporting goods retailer in
the US with 260+ locations.
4. Lucyd partnered with Everest.com, a new sporting goods
marketplace, to offer Lucyd Lyte glasses to their rapidly growing
customer base.
5. In 2022, the Company grew its retail presence to 250+ locations carrying Lucyd Lyte in-store.
6. The Company conducted a successful research project to
identify two additional manufacturing partners to provide supply
chain redundancy for its smart eyewear.
Team Expansion
1. The Company hired Joaquin Abondano as VP Ecommerce and
Product Sourcing. Joaquin is a very experienced digital marketer
and product developer who has launched a significant number of
products on digital marketplaces that have generated substantial
direct to consumer sales. His expert level knowledge of Amazon
systems is expected to improve the company's direct to consumer
brand awareness and advertising ROI.
2. The Company also hired Jan Cory as VP optical sales. Her
background with over a decade of experience building Luxottica's US
business makes her an excellent fit for growing the retail presence
of Lucyd products in the optical channel.
3. Furthermore, the Company hired two leading eyewear designers
in 2022. One comes from a leading global sunglass brand, bringing
their heritage of classic and timeless sunglass design to the team.
The other designer has a background designing eyewear for some of
the world's leading fashion brands, bringing high fashion
experience to the team.
The Year Ahead
There have been many significant developments and product
improvements in 2022, and we believe the coming year will bring
many more key advancements for the Company, with the following
products anticipated to go live in 2023:
1. The launch of the second generation Lucyd Lyte 2.0 product
line with improved sound, battery and styling. Lyte 2.0 will be
launched initially in 15 sunglass and 6 blue light styles. This
launch includes several styles of smart eyewear designed
specifically for women and youth, a key differentiator from other
smart eyewear collections.
2. The launch of Nautica Powered by Lucyd smart eyewear and
introduction into many Nautica points of sale around the world,
kicking off what the Company expects to be a powerful combination
of its user-friendly Bluetooth technology with iconic fashion
brands.
3. The introduction of the Lucyd Bluetooth temple into new
eyewear verticals such as sport wrap frames and rimless frames,
which are minimal or non-existent on the market.
4. The full commercial release of the Vyrb social audio
application and the addition of in-app purchases, content
monetization and creator tools to the app.
5. An updated website with a vastly improved prescription
ordering process to make it easier to purchase Rx-upgraded Lucyd
products.
6. A dedicated wholesale website for the Company's retail
partners to be able to conveniently learn about and stock Lucyd
products.
In sum, these developments and forecasted releases position the
Company well to achieve its mission to Upgrade Your Eyewear(R) in
2023.
About Innovative Eyewear, Inc.
Innovative Eyewear is a developer and retailer of cutting-edge
smart eyewear, under the Lucyd(R) and Nautica(R) brands. True to
our mission to Upgrade Your Eyewear(R), our Bluetooth audio glasses
allow users to stay safely and ergonomically connected to their
digital lives, and are offered in hundreds of frame and lens
combinations to meet the needs of the optical market. To learn more
and explore our continuously evolving collection of smart eyewear,
please visit www.lucyd.co .
Tekcapital currently owns 5,189,086 shares (approximately 71%)
of 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)/Abigail Wayne / 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 Innovative Eyewear, Inc., 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 Innovative Eyewear
Inc., Lucyd and/or Tekcapital may vary materially from those
described explicitly or implicitly in the relevant forward-looking
statement. Other than as required by relevant regulation or law,
neither Innovative Eyewear Inc, 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.
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END
NRAUBRRRUBUUUUA
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 28, 2022 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
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