EssilorLuxottica’s Strategy: Beyond Eyewear into Smart Glasses and Medical Tech
This article from The Business of Fashion details EssilorLuxottica’s aspiring strategy under Chairman Francesco Milleri to expand beyond its dominance in traditional eyewear into the burgeoning markets of wearables, specifically smart glasses, and medical technology. Here’s a breakdown of the key takeaways:
Key Points:
* Expansion into smart Glasses: EssilorLuxottica is heavily investing in smart glasses, notably through a notable partnership with Meta. Thay’ve already launched Nuance Audio glasses with hearing assistance and the Meta Ray-Ban Display.
* Strategic Partnership with meta: Meta has invested $3.5 billion in EssilorLuxottica (taking a 3% equity stake) and the collaboration is projected to generate considerable revenue - perhaps exceeding €6 billion by 2030.
* Leveraging Vertical Integration: The company is capitalizing on its vertically integrated structure (manufacturing, labs, retail outlets like Sunglass Hut, and licensing deals with brands like Prada and Armani) to develop, produce, and distribute these new products.
* Succession & Growth: Milleri took over from the late Leonardo Del Vecchio in 2022 and has overseen a doubling of the company’s market value to over €125 billion.
* Beyond Smart Glasses: The strategy extends to other innovative products like myopia-correcting lenses and medical technology for use in clinical settings.
* Market Potential: Analysts predict significant growth in the smart glasses market, from 3 million units annually to 60 million by 2035.
* Competition: The company faces increasing competition from Chinese and US companies in the smart glasses space.
* Apple’s Shift: Apple’s recent decision to refocus resources from its vision Pro headset towards smart glasses progress signals growing industry belief in the potential of this technology.
* Meta Ray-ban Display: The latest iteration,priced at $799,features a screen in the lens for displaying messages,calls,directions,and AI-powered results.
In essence, EssilorLuxottica is positioning itself as a leader in the future of vision and wearable technology, building on its existing strengths to capitalize on the growing demand for smart glasses and related innovations.
