Atlantica - 01.11.2000, Page 76

Prescription glasses in only 15 minutes, tax- and duty-free
A couple, from Glasgow, in Scotland, Stuart Cox,
personnel manager at Weir Westgarth Company, and
Anita Cox, international sales, Scottish TV, travelled by
Icelandair from Glasgow to New York on Saturday 6
March, with a brief stopover at Keflavík international
Airport in Iceland.
During the flight they noticed an advertisement in
Atlantica magazine for the Optical Studio duty-free shop
at Keflavík Airport, which offers a full-scale optical
service featuring all the world’s best known brands.
What really caught their eye, however, was the claim that
custom-made prescription glasses could be produced in
under 15 minutes. As Mr Cox had been thinking about
buying a new pair of glasses, he decided to use the one-
and-a-half-hour transit stop at Keflavík to visit this
unusual duty-free optical shop, and check the prices and
selection. An added incentive was that his wife would be
there to help him make the choice, since it is normally
difficult for them to find time to go shopping together
during their busy working week in Glasgow.
At the Optical Studio, a professional optician advised on
suitable frames for Mr Cox, and the couple then selected
a Giorgio Armani frame with ultra thin, glare-free
prescription lenses. Within seven minutes, the comput-
erised lens-edger machine had made up the glasses,
which cost a total of USD 249 .
Mrs. Cox then asked whether multi-functional glasses
could be made up in such a short time. This also turned
out to be possible, and a few minutes later she was
sporting a new pair of Polo Ralph Lauren frames with
multi-functional lenses. The price came as a pleasant
surprise too – at only USD 312.
This duty-free optical service is one-of-a-kind: up until
now, the international traveller has been able to buy
almost anything under the sun – except custom-made
prescription glasses.
It is well worth checking out the Optical Studio for its
impressive range of brands, including glasses and sun-
glasses from Doce & Gabbana, Guess, Versace, Calvin
Klein, Donna Karan, Gucci, Air Titanium, Dior, Ray Ban,
Oakley and Elizabeth Arden.
74 A T L A N T I C A
The Icelandic shoe company X18 is preparing to shoe the world.
The stylish Icelandic shoe company recently took part in one of
the world’s largest shoe exhibitions, in Düsseldorf, Germany,
selling over 100,000 pairs of their signature-style shoes, and
nearly doubling sales from a previous exhibition in March.
X18 has also signed an exclusive deal with the American com-
pany, Diesel Footwear, to distribute a private line of shoes in
Norway, further strengthening X18’s distribution market and
world-wide appeal.
The fashionable, yet practical, X18 shoes are available in 37
countries around the world, with 1,100 stores in Britain, 90 shops
in Denmark and 70 shops in Hong Kong selling X18 brands.
But you don’t have to travel to Hong Kong to grab a pair. X18
shoes are in plentiful supply at shops throughout Iceland and at
the Duty Free Shop in Keflavík International Airport.
Thorspring Natural Spring Water is one of the purest waters in
the world. Extensive research proves that it’s free of any traces
of those pesky chemicals that pop up in most bottled water.
What’s Thorspring’s biggest asset? It’s the water. Since
Thorspring comes from Iceland, it’s clean, and there’s no bitter
aftertaste: Icelandic water is one of the freshest and cleanest in
the world, which is why consumers continually applaud the
fresh taste of Thorspring.
And Thorspring further ensures the quality of its water by
having implemented the ISO 9001 quality system. Nothing
gets passed but freshness.
What does all this mean? The cleanness and exceptional taste
of Thorspring Natural Spring Water constitutes an excellent
product – from Iceland: where the nature and water is pure.
“AMAZING OPTICAL SERVICE”NATURE’S BEVERAGE
SHOES FOR THE WORLD
TAX- AND DUTY-FREE NEWS BULLETIN
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