UK intellectual property investment group Tekcapital (TEK) has announced a retail partnership between its portfolio company Innovative Eyewear and PRIVATO Duty Free, a provider of travel luxury goods.
The partnership will see PRIVATO creating a Lucyd Eyewear retail showcase in seven airport-based locations, featuring various Lucyd styles and the company's new modular LCD retail display. The displays will act as an always-on, automated salesperson for Lucyd Eyewear. The complete roll-out is expected in Q3 2023.
Lucyd Eyewear offers a convenient and enjoyable experience for travelers, allowing users to hear music, audio content, and notifications while remaining aware of their surroundings. Additionally, the Lucyd app enables users to access AI assistance, including real-time translations and information on significant points of interest worldwide.
"We are always seeking to bring our clients the latest innovations in travel goods and luxury retail. Lucyd smart eyewear is an exciting new product and new category of sunglasses that we think our customers will love to use," said Marco Arilli, Managing Director of PRIVATO Duty Free.
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Another milestone hit for Tek’s Innovative Eyewear, which has continued to build momentum in 2023 a year in which has seen it launch the first ChatGPT-enabled smartglasses, followed swiftly by licensing its smart eyewear tech to Reebok this month.
Innovative Eyewear's success is underpinned by the growth of three markets that its smart eyewear taps into. In 2023, the eyewear market in the US is expected to reach sales of US$33.83 billion. In addition, the intelligent virtual assistant market is estimated to be worth US$ 58.2 billion by 2030, while the US wearables market hit US$5.1 billion in revenue in 2021.
Market opportunity teamed with increased visibility through its partnerships, should see continued growth for Tek’s 67%-owned Innovative Eyewear.
In 2022, Tek saw good progress across its entire portfolio, which was valued at US$54.9m at year-end. In particular MicroSalt and Guident saw momentum continue into 2023, with MicroSalt hitting major milestones such as partnering with a large US retailer, with its products to be stocked in 800 stores by Q4 2023. Guident has also been gaining further traction, recently scoring a new patent related to autonomous driving, and receiving a grant with Novelsat to develop satellite-based remote monitoring system for autonomous vehicles.
We see Tekcapital as significantly undervalued at the moment. Tekcapital's NAV per share was adjusted to US$0.38 (31p) at the end of FY22 while its current share price is 13.5p. There is significant potential for growth therefore, with MicroSalt's upcoming IPO a possible value inflection point for the company.
The overall trend for Tekcapital's portfolio is up, with steady increases in valuation each year since initial investment in 2018. From a technical standpoint, some consolidation was expected at this point, and the wide discount to NAV offers an attractive entry point.
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