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Organization

Luxottica

Italian eyewear maker and retailer founded in 1961; part of EssilorLuxottica since 2018.

20 links, 9 backed by primary records

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Also known as
Luxottica Group, Luxottica Group S.p.A.
Over time
  1. includes Ray-Ban 28 Jun 1999 –
Legal records

Decision 21-D-20

  1. 22 Jul 2021 Sanctioned by Autorité de la concurrence: limiting opticians’ freedom to set prices (2005 to 2014); fine of about €125 million 123Luxottica was fined €125,174,000 in all, almost all for the pricing; LVMH €500,000 and Chanel €130,000 for banning online sales. The authority said retaliation included delaying deliveries, withdrawing approval and blocking accounts. In English, the company’s 22 July 2021 statement called the fine highly disproportionate and without foundation and said it would appeal.
  2. 12 Dec 2024 Sanctioned by Paris Court of Appeal: appeal rejected; the 2021 decision stands 4EssilorLuxottica filed an appeal to the Court of Cassation on 13 January 2025 and says it is confident the decision is without merit. In English, the French recital says the authority put Luxottica’s weight at 45% of sunglasses by value in 2011 and 21% of prescription frames, and judged the damage to the economy certain but moderate.

Connections 20

founded by

sanctioned by

  • Autorité de la concurrence 22 Jul 2021 limiting opticians’ freedom to set prices (2005 to 2014); fine of about €125 million Primary record 123

    Luxottica was fined €125,174,000 in all, almost all for the pricing; LVMH €500,000 and Chanel €130,000 for banning online sales. The authority said retaliation included delaying deliveries, withdrawing approval and blocking accounts. In English, the company’s 22 July 2021 statement called the fine highly disproportionate and without foundation and said it would appeal.

  • Paris Court of Appeal 12 Dec 2024 appeal rejected; the 2021 decision stands Primary record 4

    EssilorLuxottica filed an appeal to the Court of Cassation on 13 January 2025 and says it is confident the decision is without merit. In English, the French recital says the authority put Luxottica’s weight at 45% of sunglasses by value in 2011 and 21% of prescription frames, and judged the damage to the economy certain but moderate.

owns a stake in

  • EyeMed 2012 Primary record 67

    As CBS reported in 2012 and as the FTC described Luxottica in 2018.

acquired

  • LensCrafters 1995 Scholarship & press 8
  • Ray-Ban 28 Jun 1999 $640M Scholarship & press 9
  • Sunglass Hut 2001 Scholarship & press 810

    The trade press at the time called the price "rumored" at $653 million in cash plus assumed debts.

  • Oakley 2007 $2.1B Scholarship & press 610
  • Barberini 2018 Primary record 1112

    The Italian authority authorised the purchase on 19 November 2018 on conditions: contracts like the one with Maui Jim open to Barberini’s customers, no minimum-purchase clauses, access to new technology, and a monitoring trustee.

involved in

part of

includes

  • Ray-Ban 28 Jun 1999 – Scholarship & press 15
  • Barberini 2018 Primary record 1112

    Authorised by the Italian competition authority on 19 November 2018, on conditions. (The Italian quote says: to authorise the notified concentration on condition that the parties fully carry out the following measures.)

located in

  • Agordo Scholarship & press 6

    Where the company started, in 1961.

Timeline 12 dates
  1. 1961 Leonardo Del Vecchio founded Luxottica
  2. 1995 Luxottica acquired LensCrafters
  3. 28 Jun 1999 Luxottica acquired Ray-Ban
  4. 28 Jun 1999 – Ray-Ban part of Luxottica
  5. 2001 Luxottica acquired Sunglass Hut
  6. 2007 Luxottica acquired Oakley
  7. 2012 Luxottica owns a stake in EyeMed
  8. 2018 Luxottica acquired Barberini
  9. 2018 Luxottica part of EssilorLuxottica
  10. 2018 Barberini part of Luxottica
  11. 22 Jul 2021 Luxottica sanctioned by Autorité de la concurrence
  12. 12 Dec 2024 Luxottica sanctioned by Paris Court of Appeal
Proof 15 sources
  1. Several eyewear brands and manufacturers fined for imposing selling prices and restrictions on online sales (press release on decision 21-D-20), Autorité de la concurrence, 23 Jul 2021. Primary record
    With regard to Luxottica, the Autorité noted that, between 2005 and 2014, it had distributed so-called "recommended" prices to its retailers and encouraged them to maintain a certain retail price point for its products.
    Luxottica 125 174 000 LVMH 500 000 Chanel 130 000
  2. Interim Financial Report 2025, EssilorLuxottica, 2025. Primary record
    the Group was sentenced to a €125 million fine by the French Competition Authority on July 22, 2021 on the account of cartel practices.
  3. EssilorLuxottica conteste la décision de l’Autorité française de la concurrence contre Luxottica, EssilorLuxottica, 22 Jul 2021. Primary record
    la Société conteste vivement la décision rendue par l’Autorité et estime que la sanction est hautement disproportionnée et sans fondement.
  4. Arrêt du 12 décembre 2024, Luxottica Group SpA and others v. Autorité de la concurrence (Cour d’appel de Paris, 21/16134), Cour d’appel de Paris, 12 Dec 2024. Primary record
    REJETTE le recours formé par les sociétés Luxottica France, Luxottica Group SpA, Luxottica Srl et Sunglass Hut Ireland Limited ;
    au poids économique de Luxottica (45 % du marché des lunettes de soleil en 2011, en valeur ; 21 % du marché des montures de lunettes de vue)
  5. Italian billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio, luxury eyewear maker for Prada and Chanel, dies at 87, The Globe and Mail (Associated Press), 27 Jun 2022. Scholarship & press
    the northeast region where Del Vecchio started his business in 1961 in an Alpine valley town
    its name reflecting a deal forged several years ago between Luxottica and French-based lensmaker Essilor
  6. Sticker shock: Why are glasses so expensive? (60 Minutes script, first aired 7 October 2012, rebroadcast 15 June 2014), CBS News, 15 Jun 2014. Scholarship & press
    Luxottica started here as a small tool shop in Agordo, a dot of a town in the Italian Alps, when frames were still made of mountain goat horns.
    Luxottica also owns the nation's second largest vision-care plan: EyeMed, covering eye exams and glasses.
    We merged with Oakley in 2007.
    Luxottica is the biggest eyewear company on earth.
  7. Statement of the Federal Trade Commission concerning the proposed acquisition of Luxottica Group S.p.A. by Essilor International (FTC File No. 171-0060), Federal Trade Commission, 1 Mar 2018. Primary record Archived copy
    It is also the second-largest managed vision care provider in the United States.
  8. Luxottica's Future is So Bright, Visual Merchandising and Store Design, 2001. Scholarship & press
    Luxottica bought LensCrafter (Cincinnati) in 1995 when it acquired U.S. Shoe Corp.
    Luxottica, of Belluno, Italy, the world's largest eyewear company, has agreed to buy Sunglass Hut, International, of Coral Gables, Fla., the world's largest specialty sunglasses retailer.
  9. B&L eyewear brands sale completed, Rochester Business Journal, 28 Jun 1999. Scholarship & press
    Bausch & Lomb Inc. and Luxottica SpA today completed Luxottica’s cash purchase of Bausch & Lomb’s sunglass business for $640 million.
    The transaction includes all of Bausch & Lomb’s lines of sunglasses, including Ray Ban, Revo, Arnette and Killer Loop brands.
  10. Onetime Rival Oakley Selling for $2.1B to Luxottica, Orange County Business Journal, 2007. Scholarship & press
    In the early 2000s, Luxottica roiled Oakley by cutting the number of the company’s sunglasses sold at Sunglass Hut just after Luxottica bought the mall chain in 2001.
    The $2.1 billion sale of Foothill Ranch’s Oakley Inc. to Luxottica Group SPA of Italy brings together two companies that started the decade at odds with each other.
  11. Italy: Regulator opens Luxottica-Barberini buy probe, Competition Policy International, 7 Oct 2018. Scholarship & press
    The Italian antitrust authority (AGCM) announced it opened a probe into Luxottica’s acquisition of top sunglasses maker Barberini.
  12. Provvedimento C12183: Luxottica Group / Barberini, Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, 19 Nov 2018. Primary record
    di autorizzare l’operazione di concentrazione comunicata, a condizione che le Parti diano piena ed effettiva esecuzione alle seguenti misure
    VISTA la comunicazione da parte di Luxottica Group S.p.A. pervenuta il 27 luglio 2018 e integrata il 2 agosto 2018, relativa all’acquisizione di Barberini S.p.A.;
    il gruppo Luxottica detiene quote in valore elevate, tanto a livello nazionale (pari al [60-65]% nel 2017, in forte aumento rispetto ai due anni precedenti), quanto a livello europeo (pari al [40-45]% nel 2017
    Anche a voler considerare, come sostenuto da Luxottica, il mercato più ampio degli occhiali da sole con le lenti in vetro e in plastica, l’analisi concorrenziale non muterebbe.
  13. Mergers: Commission clears merger between Essilor and Luxottica (IP/18/1442), European Commission, 1 Mar 2018. Primary record
    Luxottica is the largest supplier of eyewear, both worldwide and in Europe, and has well-known brands in its portfolio such as Ray-Ban and Oakley.
  14. Essilor and Delfin successfully complete the combination of Essilor and Luxottica by creating EssilorLuxottica, EssilorLuxottica. Primary record
    Essilor and Delfin successfully complete the combination of Essilor and Luxottica by creating EssilorLuxottica, a global leader in the eyecare and eyewear industry
  15. B&L eyewear brands sale completed, Rochester Business Journal, 28 Jun 1999. Scholarship & press
    The transaction includes all of Bausch & Lomb’s lines of sunglasses, including Ray Ban, Revo, Arnette and Killer Loop brands.
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