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Randolf Rodenstock deals with completely different things today than with glasses.
The former entrepreneur has just presented the study “Digital Leadership: Relationship Design between Sensory Poverty and Resonance” by the Roman Herzog Institute.
The 72-year-old Rodenstock heads the institute as chairman of the board.
"The shift of the management relationship into the digital space is causing uncertainty on both sides," is Rodenstock's conclusion of the study results.
At the same time, the uncertainty in his previous company is huge.
Once again, the eyewear company is facing a change of ownership.
144 years after it was founded, Josef Rodenstock's legacy threatens to become an object of speculation between financial investors and corporations from the industry.
The family's withdrawal, triggered by a business adventure in the USA and initiated by the founder's great-grandson, Randolf Rodenstock, could now be followed by the fourth change of ownership.
In 2003, the Munich-based company went to the British financial investor Permira, three years later to the investor Bridgepoint and in 2016 to the UK-based investment company Compass - which, according to WELT information, is now examining a sale of Rodenstock.
Source: WORLD infographic
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When asked directly about the sales plans, Rodenstock CEO Anders Hedegaard said he could "unfortunately not comment on the plans of our owner".
But the financial investor becomes clearer.
"Compass has hired Jefferies to review the strategic opportunities including a potential sale of the business," replied Tim Wright, partner at Compass in London.
Several interested parties are available
Jefferies is a New York investment bank.
According to WELT information, the investor wants to raise at least 1.5 billion euros for Rodenstock.
That would be 15 times the pre-tax profit from 2019.
Buying interest should come from unnamed financial investors from Great Britain and the USA.
The eyewear company VSP Vision Care from the United States is also mentioned as an interested party in negotiating circles.
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The global eyewear industry is under tremendous pressure to consolidate.
It is triggered by the merger of Essilor from Paris and Luxottica from Milan - one is the world market leader for glasses, the other for frames.
In Germany, the optician chain Apollo is one of them, and the eyewear giant has a third of all specialist shops worldwide.
Every second lens used anywhere in the world and every fourth eyeglass frame come from the company.
Only Hoya Vision from Japan still plays in this league as a glass manufacturer.
The two German manufacturers Rodenstock and Zeiss follow in place - by a long way.
Investors look at the eyewear industry with big eyes because it is shaped by hopes for the future.
After all, around 4.3 billion people around the world need glasses, but only 1.8 billion have them.
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In addition, the profits are enormous, because the production costs for the lens and the eyeglass frame are a fraction of the subsequent sales price in the optician's shop.
Standard lenses cost the glasses manufacturer only a few euros.
Consolidation is imminent
"In the coming years there will be an incredible consolidation of the eyewear market, and the drivers are the giants Essilor / Luxottica and VSP Vision Care," says an industry insider.
VSP Vision Care is a company organized as a purchasing cooperative.
It is the largest insurance company for the optics industry in the United States and acts as a wholesaler and supplier of software services for opticians.
VSP Vision Care has gained international attention through acquisitions of Marchon Eyewear, a major manufacturer of eyeglass frames.
Now the Americans obviously want to gain a foothold in Germany - in Europe's most important eyewear market.
This is exactly where Rodenstock plays a major role in the upscale price range.
In terms of value, every fourth lens in this country comes from a Rodenstock factory.
The reason for the sale is supposed to be the dissatisfaction of the current owner Compass with the development of Rodenstock.
In the spring of 2019, the financial investor appointed the Danish company Hedegaard as CEO, who previously worked as head of the Danish hearing aid manufacturer GN Hearing and in the management of several vaccine companies.
In personal conversations, the 60-year-old father of five is easy-going and sociable, but when making personnel decisions, he should be clear and determined.
Most recently, he reorganized his board of directors.
The replacement of long-time CEO Oliver Kastalio by Hedegaard two years ago was connected with an order from the investor Compass.
The new man from Copenhagen should make Rodenstock an optics manufacturer with a strong focus on medical technology.
Source: WORLD infographic
For example, new types of measuring devices for eyesight should bring the optician and his shop closer to the work of the ophthalmologist.
Other plans concern telemedicine and the use of smartphones for eye analysis.
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Instead of competing with mass manufacturers for eyeglass lenses, Rodenstock should follow the example of competitor Zeiss from Oberkochen and become a medical technology company.
Company boss Hedegaard himself is currently speaking of a successful path.
Remodeling with debt
"We have had great success with the transformation of Rodenstock and after the end of the first corona lockdown in the second half of 2020 we recorded the strongest development in the past two years", Hedegaard responded to WELT's inquiry about the situation.
However, with this restructuring the company is burdened with high debts.
For 2019, the board had named a debt of 400 million euros.
In order to get through the corona pandemic, one year later Rodenstock needed financial aid of 75 million euros from the owners.
According to the most recently available figures, Rodenstock achieved a pre-tax profit of 103 million euros on sales of 450 million euros in 2019.
Around half of the business comes from German-speaking countries.
The rest is spread across markets in Europe as well as Latin America and Asia.
Production takes place in Regen in Bavaria, Klattau in the Czech Republic and in Bangkok.
The company makes around 80 percent of its sales with glasses, the frames only account for 15 percent.
Rodenstock also produces glasses that do not have a brand name and are significantly cheaper.
Products from the traditional manufacturer can be found in optician chains such as Apollo or Pro Optik as well as in small, independent opticians' businesses.
Rodenstock puts the focus of the business precisely on these around 9,000 classic optician's shops around the corner.