LensCrafters 2009 Annual Report Download - page 18

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> 16 | ANNUAL REPORT 2009
QUALITY
The "Made in Italy" feature of Luxottica products represents the "culture of quality" that has been
central to the whole organization.
Only recently has quality taken on a wider meaning, becoming global quality and assuming a highly
strategic role. It is the underlying principle applied in every process involved in creating eyewear and is
the drive behind the continual improvement of products and processes. The objective is to develop the
people, from product experts to system experts. The focus on quality has thus become a system in itself,
and the system covers the entire organization: quality is applied to product development, procurement,
distribution network, analysis of processes and uniform and measurable performance management in
the plants.
In a market as competitive and global as eyewear, the satisfaction of wholesale clients and retail consum-
ers is without doubt a primary, indeed indispensable, objective. At Luxottica, achieving it means continu-
ally improving quality in every phase of the production process (and also distribution) and has been the
reason for undertaking the full vertical integration of every phase of production.
Most of the manufacturing equipment used is specially designed and adapted for the manufacturing
processes. This helps respond more quickly to customer demand and adhere to strict quality-control
standards.
Quality and process control teams regularly inspect semi-fi nished products during the various phases of
production, verifying the feasibility of prototypes in the design phase, controlling standards across the
spectrum of products in the production phase, and subsequently checking for resistance to wear and
tear and reviewing optical properties in relation to type of use. The manufacturing processes and materi-
als used by primary suppliers are also controlled and certifi ed. Through ongoing verifi cation of precision
and expertise in all phases of production, Luxottica seeks to manufacture a product of the highest level
of quality.
ANTI-COUNTERFEITING POLICY
Intellectual property is one of Luxottica’s most important assets, protected through the registration and
enforcement of its trademarks and patents around the world.
The Group's commitment to maintaining and strengthening its anti-counterfeiting program is demon-
strated through the strength of its anti-counterfeiting and brand protection team, which leverages the
strengths of its global organizations. This allows the Group to implement a global anti-counterfeiting
program to combat the widespread phenomenon of counterfeit goods, sending a strong message to the
infringers that the Company will exercise its rights against both the retailers of counterfeit eyewear, such
as street vendors, and those that supply these sellers. Through a strong investigative network, especially in
China, the Company has been able to identify key sources of counterfeit goods, to organize raids on their
premises in cooperation with local law enforcement and fi le legal actions against the counterfeiters.
Additionally, the Group continues to consolidate and strengthen its cooperation with customs organiza-
tions around the world, which have helped stop, seize and destroy hundreds of thousands of counterfeit
goods each year.