LensCrafters 2010 Annual Report Download - page 28

ANNUAL REPORT 2010> 26 |
RETAIL DISTRIBUTION
With a strong portfolio of retail brands, Luxottica is well positioned to reach different segments of the market. The retail
portfolio offers a variety of differentiation points for consumers, including the latest in designer and high-performance sun
frames, advanced lens options, advanced eye care, everyday value and high-quality vision care health benefits.
As of December 31, 2010, Luxottica’s retail business consisted of 6,350 stores.
OPTICAL RETAIL
Luxottica’s optical retail operations are anchored by leading brands such as LensCrafters and Pearle Vision in North
America, and OPSM, Laubman & Pank and Budget Eyewear, which are active throughout Australia and New Zealand. The
Group also has a retail presence in China, where it operates in the premium eyewear market with LensCrafters. Due to the
fragmented nature of the European retail market, the Company does not operate optical retail stores in Europe outside
of the United Kingdom, where it operates a network of more than 70 David Clulow stores, which sell both prescription and
sun products. As of December 31, 2010, Luxottica’s optical retail business consisted of approximately 3,670 retail locations
globally.
LensCrafters
As of December 31, 2010, the Group operated a retail network of 1,155 LensCrafters stores, of which 964 are in North
America and the other 191 stores are in China and Hong Kong. LensCrafters is currently the largest optical retailer in North
America in terms of sales.
LensCrafters stores offer a wide selection of prescription frames and sunglasses, mostly made by Luxottica, but also a
wide range of lenses and optical products made by other suppliers. Points of sale are normally in high-traffic commercial
malls and shopping centers and have an on-site optometrist (sometimes a Luxottica employee) so that customers can
have immediate eye examinations. Most LensCrafters stores in North America also include a lens finishing laboratory,
which improves the customer service level. During the last few years, Luxottica has invested in the premium aspects of
the LensCrafters brand, adding additional elements such as an exclusive new store concept currently being implemented
in store renovations across North America, associate training, advertising and marketing, which together represent the
premium brand and future direction of LensCrafters. In 2006, Luxottica began to expand the LensCrafters brand in China
by rebranding most of its stores there, which were acquired through the acquisition of three retail chains.
Pearle Vision
Acquired by Luxottica in 2004, Pearle Vision is one of the largest optical retail chains in North America. Although
LensCrafters and Pearle Vision address the mid- to high-end customer bracket, their positioning is complementary. Pearle
Vision focuses on the factors that made the brand a success: customers’ trust in the doctor’s experience and the quality
of service they receive. Pearle Vision stores are mostly located in strip malls instead of the conventional malls where most
LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut stores are located.
The successful relaunching of the Pearle Vision brand in 2004 and 2005 was centered on a return to its original values,
which had made Pearle Vision the “Home of Trusted Eyecare” for generations of Americans.
As of December 31, 2010, Pearle Vision operated 370 corporate stores and had 356 franchise locations throughout North
America.