LensCrafters 2005 Annual Report Download - page 28

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and top quality service. Within this context, in 2005 LensCrafters launched a sales leadership model,
involving staff training in consulting and selling skills. Results from this program were extremely positive,
with 82.5% of customers rating service received from very good to excellent.
Regarding products sold, house, license and private label brands accounted for approximately 70% of
total sales. Ray-Ban, Adrienne Vittadini, Brooks Brothers and Vogue were among the best selling
prescription and sun brands.
As for lenses, which are at the core of LensCrafters’ experience and expertise, sales of anti-glare
products reached 30% of total sales, up 55% from 2004. The year also saw the exclusive launching of
FeatherWates®Complete Lenses, with ScotchgardTM Protector, an innovative product resistant to water,
dirt and dust and that doesn’t require frequent cleaning.
LensCrafters in-store labs are a great strength, allowing to offer state-of-the-art services and lens types
and fast service. This strength has been enhanced by the additional services available from the central
labs acquired with Cole National. This why Luxottica Group intends to maintain its involvement in
research and employ the best technologies available, so that LensCrafters will continue to be perceived
as a store with a reputation for state-of-the-art technology as well as high quality products and services.
At the same time, the Group’s own strength in lab services allows it to form increasingly stronger, cost
competitive ties when it decides to work with third-party laboratories in the U.S. market.
On the marketing front, LensCrafters launched a new logo, for the first time in 20 years. It is highly
stylized as part of an overall strategy to further raise the profile of the brand, whose identity is based more
and more on the alliance between style and high level customer service. This theme was highlighted in
the new TV and magazine advertising campaign “Happiness.”
Pearle Vision
With the acquisition in October 2004 of Cole National, of which Pearle Vision was a part, the Group took
a decisive step in consolidating its ability to serve the premium optical market in the United States, now
covered by the Pearle Vision and LensCrafters brands in a complementary fashion. Pearle Vision has
operated in the U.S. market for over 40 years: its stores represent the brand of preference for consumers
who take care of their vision with high quality eyewear. Pearle Vision stores were the first, in 1961, to marry
eyecare with a vast selection of elegant and refined frames. Today, Pearle Vision is the most recognized
optical brand in the United States and synonymous with a trustworthy optometrist and personalized
service. The brand operates 837 stores, of which 375 company-owned in the United States, Canada
and Puerto Rico and 462 in franchising, in the United States and the Caribbean.
Pearle Vision returned to profit in 2005. The decision to drastically reduce promotional discounts to raise
its positioning with consumers and boost profitability proved successful and initiated a positive trend in
sales and operating results. Pearle Vision’s prospects for future growth are now supported by a new and
more efficient costs structure, in which the centralization of lab services enables it to concentrate on
customer service. Sales of Luxottica Group products, in particular, enjoyed strong growth, having
reached approximately 45% at year-end. Ray-Ban, Prada, Adrienne Vittadini, Brooks Brothers and
Versace are some of the best selling brands.
In 2005, marketing, merchandising and staff training were all focused on the “Trusted Eyecare” program
to sharpen the perception of Pearle Vision as a brand that fosters strong relationships of trust between
consumers and optometrists. This was the thrust of Pearle Vision’s first national TV campaign in years,
which focused on the relationship between the skilled and trustworthy optometrist found on site at Pearle
Vision locations and the client-patient.