LensCrafters 2011 Annual Report Download - page 44

44 ANNUAL REVIEW 2011
With a strong portfolio of retail brands, Luxottica is well positioned to reach different seg-
ments of the market. The retail portfolio offers a variety of differentiation points for con-
sumers, 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, 2011,
Luxottica’s฀retail฀business฀
฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀consisted฀of฀7,042฀stores.
Luxottica’s optical retail operations are anchored by leading brands such as LensCrafters
and Pearle Vision in North America, and OPSM and Laubman & Pank 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 and in Latin America
with GMO. 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 80 David Clulow stores, selling both prescription and sun
products. As of December 31, 2011, Luxottica’s optical retail business consisted of 4,080
retail locations globally. Most of the frames sold in Group’s optical retail chains are manu-
factured by Luxottica.
LENSCRAFTERS
As of December 31, 2011, the Group operated a retail network of 1,204 LensCrafters stores,
of which 983 are in North America and the other 221 stores are in China and Hong Kong.
LensCrafters is currently the largest optical retailer in North America in terms of sales.
LensCrafters was founded in 1983 on a simple idea: provide customers with a pair of qual-
ity glasses in about an hour. That idea was revolutionary then and remains so today. Instead
of sending eyewear to a centralized production facility, most stores in North America have
fully-equipped, in-store laboratories to produce quality glasses in about one hour, which
represents a key feature of LensCrafters’ customer service model.
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 cent-
ers and have an on-site optometrist (sometimes a Luxottica employee) so that customers
can have immediate eye examinations. 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. Over the last couple of years,
LensCrafters further invested in technology to improve the customer experience by in-
cluding the AccuFit measurement system, anti-reflective capability at in-store labs and
futher developing the “one hour service” concept.
RETAIL
OPTICAL RETAIL