Atol is a cooperative of opticians created in 1970. Its board of directors is elected by the general assembly of nearly 620 associates during an annual convention. The cooperative now has around 800 points of sale and Atol A launched a new Atol Audition brand at the end of 2021, complementary to optical points of sale.
In 2018, as part of its transformation and innovation plan, Atol incubates Abeye, the Med-Tech startup, which joined La French Care in 2023. The latter aims to develop smart glasses with services that meet to specific visual needs to improve everyone’s sight. After Atol Zen, a frame equipped with a fall detector and connected to a remote assistance system, Abeye is developing Lexilens, smart electronic glasses designed to make it easier for people with dyslexia to read. Resulting from fundamental research carried out at the University Hospital of Rennes on the eye-brain-dyslexia links, this revolutionary frame incorporates electronic lenses that filter mirror images and thus compensate for reading disorders.
In Lexilens glasses, marketed since 2021, everything is French, from research and development to manufacturing. And it is not a hazard. Since 2005, Atol has repatriated most of its eyewear production from China. A true pioneer of relocation, the cooperative bet on made in France products long before it became topical. Objective: to support French manufacturers to offer the best possible quality of glasses, while respecting environmental requirements.
Since the creation of its first white label collections with interchangeable temples in the 2010s, Atol launched Oneo in 2022, a line of eco-responsible glasses, made in Ain and Jura. Oneo’s promise: frames weighing less than 10 grams that will not have traveled more than 1,800 kilometers from their place of production, made of bio-sourced materials, all at an affordable price. Another recent innovation: Atol offers an exclusive range of latest-generation glasses with all Anaxio options, manufactured by the Novacel company in Château-Thierry in Aisne and labeled “Origine France Garantie”; high-performance, scratch-resistant and easy-care lenses.
Atol has made it its mission to bring “good seeing”, essential to the well-being of the whole family. Its equipment offer is intended to be as complete as possible to meet the needs of each client, whatever their correction or pathology. By providing advice and guidance without encroaching on the prerogatives of the ophthalmologist and by participating in the local network, the cooperative’s opticians contribute daily to improving the visual health of the population. To find out more, do not hesitate to visit the Atol stand during the MIF Expo Paris (Salon du Made in France), from November 9 to 12, 2023.
