LensCrafters 2004 Annual Report Download - page 6

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ANNUAL REPORT 2004
CHAIRMAN’S LETTER
TO SHAREHOLDERS
To our shareholders,
2004 was an extremely significant and positive year for our Group.
Results for both the retail and wholesale divisions resumed a pattern of growth more consistent with our
potential, even in the face of continued weakness of the U.S. Dollar against the Euro. The performance of our retail
chains in North America and Asia Pacific, especially in terms of profitability, was above that of the rest of their
respective markets. Our wholesale division further strengthened its competitive position in key eyewear markets
worldwide, confirming the strength of a portfolio with important brands, both house and license, including the most
recognized sun brand in the world, Ray-Ban.
In 2004 we made important advances in consolidating and strengthening our leadership in the industry.
Among these, certainly the most significant was the appointment of Andrea Guerra as our new CEO. In fact, his
appointment responded to two specific needs of our Group: on the one hand, our sustained growth required and
will continue to require an increasingly stronger and dynamic management structure; on the other hand, it allowed
us to make another key step forward in aligning our Company with the highest standards in Corporate
Governance. I will now be able to dedicate myself completely to my role of Chairman of the Board of Directors,
while management of the Group’s day-to-day operations is entrusted in full to the new CEO Mr. Guerra.
Chief among the more important events of the fiscal year was the acquisition of Cole National, the second
largest optical retail chain in North America, which joins LensCrafters, the largest chain in the sector in the region,
in our portfolio of leading retail brands. Two outstanding fashion houses, Donna Karan and Dolce & Gabbana, also
chose to partner with us in producing and distributing their eyewear lines. Lastly, we renewed our existing
partnerships with Bulgari and Chanel, allowing us to further extend the average duration of the main licensing
agreements of our brand portfolio.
We expect that 2005 will be a key year for the evolution of the Group and our global leadership in the eyewear
sector. The integration of Cole National provides various opportunities for consolidating our presence in the most
important eyewear market worldwide, significantly strengthening our positioning with North American consumers.
The integration is expected to have a considerable impact on our growth in 2005 and beyond. For this reason our
management team immediately began working towards the integration of Cole National and its affiliated
businesses, bringing about positive results which have already been visible in our performance for the first months
of 2005.
In Asia Pacific, we recently reached 100% control of OPSM Group and we started to further consolidate our
retail business in the region. At the same time, we will continue to study new markets, China in particular.
As for wholesale, 2005 brings about two important new developments within our brand portfolio: in January we
presented the first Luxottica Group collection for Donna Karan, which was extremely well received by the market;
and we are also working on the launch, in the fourth quarter of this year, of the Dolce & Gabbana lines, for which
we have the highest expectations for the years ahead.
May 2005
Chairman
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