LensCrafters 2008 Annual Report Download - page 7

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 7 of the 2008 LensCrafters annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 120

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120

Shareholders,
In 2008, our Company once again posted excellent results: with record sales of Euro 5.2 billion and net
income of around Euro 400 million, Luxottica continued to be a world leader, even in times as difficult as
last year.
Credit for this goes above all to the undisputed force of our business model, based on integration
between efficient manufacturing platforms, a brand portfolio of the very first order, a highly structured and
extensive distribution system, a network of over 6,250 retail locations worldwide and, not least, the
successful integration with Oakley, which has already begun, after only one year, to yield major synergies
that demonstrate the soundness of the operation.
These are strengths that we continued to develop, even in a year as difficult as 2008, which started with
growth and ended in a slowdown. It’s worth noting, however, that we operate in an industry that’s proving
resilient: in 2008, in fact, we did not see high growth rates, but neither did we see any unexpected negative
swings. Above all, the prescription eyewear business, in which we are a world leader, did not show evident
signs of slowing down.
Over the year, Luxottica managed to react effectively and rapidly. As macro-economic conditions
changed, the Group promptly took measures designed on one hand to boost sales and on the other to
improve efficiency by adapting our cost structure to the new environment.
2008 was a challenging year but we are convinced that we made our Company even stronger and laid
the foundations for further long-term growth, and this without compromising Luxottica’s commitment to
helping the needy, for whom we launched OneSight, the global foundation that combined the Group’s
existing charity structures.
With 20 years of experience, during which nearly seven million people have been helped, OneSight is
engaged in recovering and recycling used eyewear, organizing international and local missions clinics to
distribute eyewear free of charge, and in the prevention of eye diseases and support for research. These
are priority objectives that reflect our deep sense of social responsibility and help us move closer to our
ultimate aim: people’s visual well-being and satisfaction.
April, 2009
CHAIRMAN’S
LETTER TO
SHAREHOLDERS
Chairman
5<