LensCrafters 2010 Annual Report Download - page 18

ANNUAL REPORT 2010> 16 |
QUALITY CONTROL
The “Made in Italy” feature of Luxottica products represents the “culture of quality” that has been central to the whole
organization.
Quality has 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 consumers is without
doubt a primary, indeed indispensable, objective. At Luxottica, achieving it means continually 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-finished 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 materials used by primary suppliers are also controlled and certified.
Through ongoing verification of precision and expertise in all phases of production, Luxottica seeks to manufacture a
product of the highest 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 demonstrated 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 file legal actions against the counterfeiters.
Additionally, the Group continues to consolidate and strengthen its cooperation with customs organizations around the
world, which have helped stop, seize and destroy hundreds of thousands of counterfeit goods each year.
The Group dedicates considerable efforts to monitoring the trafficking of counterfeit goods through the internet, in order
to remove the offers for counterfeit eyewear from certain popular on-line auction platforms and shut down the websites
that violate its intellectual property rights, through the sale of counterfeit products or the unauthorized use of Luxottica
trademarks.