ANNUAL REPORT 2004 - Luxottica Group

STRATEGY
LensCrafters – Further emphasis will be placed on
style and a fashion-oriented shopping environment,
where consumers can find premium products, fashion
advice and the highest level of service.
Pearle Vision – The historic brand name in American
optical retail, perceived by consumers as the brand of
“trusted eyecare”, providing eye exams of the highest
standards as well as top quality eyewear. Luxottica
Group will further reinforce this exceptional level in
optical care and the relationship of trust with the
consumer. Within Pearle Vision Franchising (part of the
Pearle Vision chain), Luxottica Group will be able to
avail itself of a network of stores in franchising,
perfecting over time together with the franchisee a
franchising model that combines the experience and
expertise of the historic brand name in American
optical retail, with Luxottica Group’s know-how and
quality products and services.
Sunglass Hut – Luxottica Group will continue down the
same positive path followed over the last several years,
increasing the percentage of fashion frames sold in
stores, which carry higher margins and appeal to the
female consumer with the more frequent purchase
cycle. The brand’s positioning will also be supported
through a careful positioning of its store base.
License brands (Sears Optical, Target Optical, BJ’s
Optical) – Luxottica Group recently entered this sector,
which sells primarily private labels lines, immediately
becoming its most important operator. This segment
shows significant growth potential in terms of quality,
but even more so in terms of volumes that, thanks to
its distribution and manufacturing structure, Luxottica
Group is perfectly positioned to realize.
Optical Labs – Combining its broader presence in the
market with additional capacity for handling finishing
work, Luxottica Group can increase the amount of
higher margin lens treatments and other available to
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consumers at its stores; at the same time, this is
expected to reduce the time and cost of finishing work
provided by third parties.
Managed Vision Care - EyeMed – With the integration
of Cole National Managed Vision Care, EyeMed is now
the second largest managed vision care operator in
the U.S. Its ability to service the market has increased
both from a geographic standpoint as well as in terms
of product offerings, making the services offered by
EyeMed Vision Care even more appealing for the
corporations that provide vision care benefits to their
employees. This is expected to also increase the
number of consumers using vision benefits at stores
operated by Luxottica Group and by thousands of
independent operators members of its panel.
ASIA PACIFIC
Since its acquisition in 2003, the Group’s priority has
been to optimize OPSM Group’s structure. Today, the
goal is to bring the operating profitability of Luxottica
Group’s local retail operations to the same level as that
of its other retail operations, by 2006. In Asia Pacific,
Luxottica Group has three objectives for its local retail
division:
- to consolidate its presence in the markets where the
Group already operates (Australia, New Zealand,
Hong Kong), to further improve its coverage of the
market and overall profitability;
- to continue to monitor other regional markets to be
able to quickly take advantage of potential growth
opportunities, especially, with respect to the
Chinese market, Hong Kong, where OPSM Group is
present with over 70 stores; in fact, in addition to
offering great opportunities in itself, Hong Kong
represents an excellent vantage point for
observation onto mainland China;
- to maximize the synergies between Sunglass Hut
Australasia and the optical chains acquired with
OPSM Group.