News

Canadian investment firm Hardy Capital has acquired LD Vision Group, an eyecare retailer. No financial terms were disclosed. Canaccord Genuity Petsky Prunier, with a team led by John Fang, was financial adviser to LD Vision Group on the deal. LD Vision has offices in Canada and Buffalo, New York.

PRESS RELEASE

Vancouver, British Columbia April 24th, 2019 (_Newswire) – Hardy Capital, a Canadian investment firm, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of LD Vision Group. LD Vision Group is North America’s second largest independent direct retailer in eyecare. Powered by a proprietary end-to-end technology platform, LD Vision Group manages a family of brands that has delivered 2.7 million orders to more than 1.1 million customers. In 2018, the company generated approximately $50 million in revenues.

Roger Hardy, CEO of Hardy Capital, previously founded the pioneering brand in omnichannel eyecare, Coastal.com. Coastal.com, owner of Clearly.ca and Lensway.se, grew steadily to over $1 billion in aggregate eyewear sales across 120 countries and was listed on the NASDAQ before being acquired by Essilor in 2014 for $450 million. Mr. Hardy is joined by Sabrina Liak, who was previously with Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, and Joseph Thompson, who was previously with Amazon and Procter & Gamble.

“More than 70 per cent of North American adults have corrective vision needs, yet the eyecare industry continues to be plagued by high costs, low convenience, and inconsistent customer service,” said Mr. Hardy. “Arshil Abdulla, Fayaz Abdulla, and Sean Mitha are leaders in North America in technology, automation, and customer service in the category. We’re thrilled to be partnering with them to build a new platform for customers.”

Arshil Abdulla, founder and CEO of LD Vision Group, remarked, “We are excited to take this next step in the company’s journey. We believe the optical market is preparing for a shift that will reshape the industry and partnering with the Hardy Capital team prepares us for this large and growing secular opportunity.”

Hardy Capital expects to announce broader expansion plans into the eyewear industry in the months ahead. The purchase of LD Vision Group marks the second investment in the eyecare category by the Hardy Capital team. In 2018, the team made a seed-stage investment in millennial hypergrowth brand, Privé Revaux.

Canaccord Genuity Petsky Prunier, with a team led by John Fang, served as the exclusive financial advisor to LD Vision Group in this transaction.