Cole Vision Corporation history

They created a holding company, CNC Holding Corporation, a nd kept the firm private until 1994.

In 1995, the optical division expanded into BJ's Wholesale club, opened its first location in the Target retail chain, and contributed over $300 million to Cole Natl's total sales of $500 million.

In 1996, CNC made a decisive move to strengthen its Cole Vision unit when it acquired Pearle Inc.

In 1997, the company purchased Flint, Michigan-based American Vision Centers, which also operated the franchises NuVision Optical and EyesFirst Vision Center.

As a further indicator of its success, Cole Natl donated $10 million in 1999 to the to establish the Cole Eye Institute, which opened its 130,000 square foot facility at Euclid Ave and E. 105 St to offer clinical care, research, and education into the nature of eye diseases.

The reborn firm’s “first” annual report enumerated several corporate goals, including debt reduction, increased earnings growth, and (re) doubling sales to over $1 billion by 2001.

Recently, in the wake of the nationwide Enron accounting scandal in 2002, Cole Natl fired the Arthur Anderson accounting firm and announced that it would be restating the previous five years' earnings in order to more accurately track revenues for the sale of eyeglass warranties.

Later that year, Cole Natl reported a $12 million loss during the first half of 2003 and company executives were considering an unsolicited bid to buyout the firm.

Once an optical retailer with nearly 3,000 outlets in the United Stat es, Canada, and the Caribbean, Cole National Corporation was acquired by Italy's Luxottica S.p.A. in 2004.