A marriage that works. Nearly five years after the merger between French leader in eyewear lenses Essilor and Italian leader in frame design Luxottica, the new entity has proven its worth. EssilorLuxottica, the European eyewear giant, now has the ninth largest capitalization in the CAC 40, at €78 billion.
An outcome far from certain as the merger experienced ups and downs before closing in October 2018. A guest on Good Morning Business on BFM Business this Friday, EssilorLuxottica’s deputy chief executive assures you that dissension is truly a thing of the past.
A mission that sums up like this: meet the needs of “seeing well” and “well-being”. “EssilorLuxottica is a company driven by the need for good vision with a fashion dimension,” says Paul du Saillant.
The lenses, the frame… and the technology
EssilorLuxottica now works with almost 150 brands, including some “iconic” ones in frame design. The multinational has just signed a 10-year licensing agreement with luxury designer Jimmy Choo. But the group also has a taste for “good vision know-how”, underlines the deputy general manager of EssilorLuxottica, citing work on glass with brands such as Varilux, Crizal or Transitions.
From now on, EssilorLuxottica adds a third string to its bow, to follow the evolution of time. “Today, glasses are in the process of embarking on electronics. Through Ray-Ban’s partnership with the American giant Meta, EssilorLuxottica has already commercialized the “Stories” smart glasses in 2021.
Developing the glasses of the future
“This is the beginning of the journey of on-board electronics in glasses. We intend to create new functionalities regularly,” explains the deputy general manager of EssilorLuxottica, who now ensures that he is working on the miniaturization of functionalities and needs related to digital and the metaverse. .
A challenge that EssilorLuxottica’s 190,000 employees working in hundreds of factories and laboratories around the world are trying to meet. A know-how that attracts the technological giants that are launching into connected vision glasses and helmets, starting with Apple, which has just announced its “Apple Vision Pro”. As a key player in eyewear, “obviously these players come into contact with us,” says Paul du Saillant.
But EssilorLuxottica does not forget its main mission, glasses for the greatest number. “The issue to take into account is that this market is little addressed in the world. [Il] 110 to 120 billion ago [de chiffre d’affaires]. It should generate between 200 and 300 billion”, estimates the Deputy Managing Director. In fact, today three billion humans are not equipped with glasses while suffering from visual acuity problems.
Source: BFM TV
