Persol Roadster Edition the capsule collection dedicated ... - Luxottica

Persol Roadster Edition
the capsule collection dedicated to
the legendary Roadster racecar
“A racing car whose hood is adorned with great pipes, like serpents of explosive breath -
a roaring car that seems to ride on grapeshot is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace”
(Manifesto of Futurism, Le Figaro, 20 February 1909)
Traditionally synonymous class and the highest Italian quality, Persol pays tribute to the world of racing with the unique
Persol Roadster Edition.
The Persol Roadster Edition is dedicated to four-wheel heroes, to the masters behind the wheel whose legendary efforts
opened endless horizons and showed the world what it means to drive with style. It is a tribute to the earliest drivers, to
real gentlemen and epic races that in the early 1900s kept the eyes of the world glued to difficult and impervious racetracks
where the finish line was often a mirage.
Passion, emotion and tradition are values shared by both Persol, created in 1917 in Turin, and Roadster, the legendary
sports car model that dominated the racing world and appeared on the roads in the first part of the 1900s.
Intuition, genius, innovation and quality were the fundamental principles in those pioneering years, when heroes of the
time, like the Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio – whose attraction to car racing and to the strong flavor of excitement,
and whose admiration of the Mille Miglia race was well-known – and the Argentine racecar driver, Juan Manuel Fangio,
who was famous for his high-octane victories, were not only the symbol, but also the testimonials of the era.
Duels between knights on four-wheels, Roadster cars of the early 1900s were able to reach a curve speed of 100 km/hr
and 160 km/hr on a straight track. The first races were held along the narrow and winding roads of the Madonie (Sicily,
Italy), Parco della Favorita (Sicily, Italy), the countryside of Le Mans (France) to name a few. In these ground-breaking
years, courage and fearlessness often determined who won these extreme races in which high speed, sharp turns, genius
maneuvers were commonplace and heightened the appeal of the racing world, so obviously the drivers became legends in
their own right.
The Persol Roadster Edition features two sunglass models, each one available in five different color combinations.
A collection strongly inspired by the Roadster design for Persol, which is historically linked to the world of design thanks
to its long tradition in Italian engineering since 1917. Since its inception, Persol has always been synonymous with artistic
expression, the result of a special production process created entirely in Italy and made up of manual ability, culture,
passion and dedication. It takes a good thirty days and between thirty-five and thirty-seven manual steps to create a pair
of Persol glasses and each model undergoes careful and meticulous quality control. This long and incredibly painstaking
creation process for each piece has become the inspiration for the Persol Roadster project.
The Persol Roadster Edition will be sold starting from February 2011 by the best opticians worldwide.
A one-of-a-kind edition for true aficionados and collectors able to appreciate the brand’s essence and quality.

About Persol:
www.persol.com
Luxottica Group S.p.A.
Luxottica Group is a leader in premium fashion, luxury and sports eyewear, with over 6,350 optical and sun retail stores in North America, Asia-Pacific,
China, South Africa and Europe and a strong and well balanced brand portfolio. Luxottica’s key house brands include Ray-Ban, the best known
sun eyewear brand in the world, Oakley, Vogue, Persol, Oliver Peoples, Arnette and REVO, while license brands include Bvlgari, Burberry, Chanel,
Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tiffany and Versace. In addition to a global wholesale network
covering 130 countries, the Group manages leading retail brands such as LensCrafters, Pearle Vision and ILORI in North America, OPSM and
Laubman & Pank in Australasia, LensCrafters in Greater China and Sunglass Hut globally. The Group’s products are designed and manufactured in
six Italy-based manufacturing plants and two wholly-owned plants in China as well as in one US-based plant for the production of sport sunglasses.
In 2010, Luxottica Group posted consolidated net sales of €5.8 billion. Additional information on the Group is available at www.luxottica.com.
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Such statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those which are anticipated.
Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the ability to manage the effect of the poor current global economic conditions on our
business, the ability to successfully acquire new businesses and integrate their operations, the ability to predict future economic conditions and changes
in consumer preferences, the ability to successfully introduce and market new products, the ability to maintain an efficient distribution network, the
ability to achieve and manage growth, the ability to negotiate and maintain favorable license arrangements, the availability of correction alternatives
to prescription eyeglasses, fluctuations in exchange rates, changes in local conditions, the ability to protect intellectual property, the ability to maintain
relations with those hosting our stores, computer system problems, inventory-related risks, credit and insurance risks, changes to tax regimes, as well
as other political, economic and technological factors and other risks and uncertainties described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update them.