LensCrafters 2012 Annual Report Download - page 48

46 ANNUAL REVIEW 2012
Customers of the wholesale business are mostly retailers of mid to premium-priced eyewear,
such as independent opticians, optical retail chains, specialty sun retailers, department
stores and duty-free shops. The Group is currently seeking to further penetrate emerging
markets and further exploit new channels of distribution, such as department stores, travel
retail and e-commerce. Certain brands, including Oakley, also are distributed to sporting
goods stores and specialty sports stores, including bike, surf, snow, skate, golf and motor
sports stores.
In addition to offering to wholesale customers some of the most popular brands, with
a broad array of models tailored to the needs of each market, Luxottica also seeks to
provide them with pre- and post-sale services to enhance their business. These services
are designed to provide customers with the best products and in a time frame and manner
that best serve the Group’s customers’ needs.
Luxottica maintains close contact with its distributors in order to monitor sales and the
quality of the points of sale that display its products.
In 2002, Luxottica introduced within the wholesale division the STARS program (Superior
Turn Automatic Replenishment System), originally under the name “Retail Service”,
to provide third-party customers with an enhanced partnership service that leverages
Luxottica’s knowledge of local markets and brands to deliver fresh, high-turnover products
and maintain optimal inventory levels at each point of sale. This business unit directly
manages product selection activities, production and assortment planning and automatic
replenishment of Luxottica’s products in the store on behalf of the third party customer,
utilizing ad hoc systems, tools and state-of-the-art planning techniques.
By the end of 2012, STARS served a total of approximately 3,000 stores in the major
European markets, Latin America and emerging markets.
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 eyecare, everyday value and high-quality vision care health
benefits. As of December 31, 2012, Luxottica’s retail business consisted of
Luxottica’s retail stores sell not only prescription frames and sunglasses that the Group
manufactures but also a wide range of prescription frames, lenses and other ophthalmic
products manufactured by other companies. In 2012, net sales comprising Luxottica’s own
brand names and licensed brands represented approximately 87.1% of the total net sales
of frames by the retail division.
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6,417 stores and 543 franchised
or licensed locations.