Luxottica Group, S.p.A. (LUX)

Our 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.

A product mix increasingly geared to premium, high value-added products has helped restore strong customer relationships, as have efforts to portray doctors in various advertising campaigns. At the same time, a significant reduction in sales promotions helped improve the positioning of the stores and consumer perceptions, resulting in increasing profitability.

The same premise Dr. Pearle used to build the company over 45 years ago remains strong today: Pearle Vision knows eyecare and eyewear, places the customer first, is honest and respects the customer.  Pearle Vision distinguishes itself as a “Different Kind of Optical,” aiming to provide the most complete, professional optical experience available anywhere.

Sales of Luxottica products at Pearle Vision stores enjoyed strong growth, reaching nearly 86 percent of total sales in 2008. Ray-Ban, Versace, Anne Klein and Vogue were some of the stronger-selling brands.

In order to centralize services and achieve economies of scale, most in-store labs were closed, and their work was transferred to nearby LensCrafters labs or to one of our seven large central lens finishing facilities.

Pearle Vision’s franchises are increasingly turning to us as their preferred supplier, not only due to the strength of our brands and the quality of our products, but also because of Luxottica’s Franchise Advantage Program. This program, which is available to franchisees, features marketing solutions, preferential pricing and savings on selected categories of products, including lenses, lab services, contact lenses and accessories, all of which are provided with a high level of service and merchandising support.

We firmly believe that the Pearle Vision brand has significant growth opportunities in both the United States and Canada, where the brand was strengthened in 2006 and is now the only optical chain represented throughout Canada.

As of March 31, 2009, Pearle Vision operated 417 corporate-owned store locations and had 375 franchise locations throughout North America.

Our 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.

A product mix increasingly geared to premium, high value-added products has helped restore strong customer relationships, as have efforts to portray doctors in various advertising campaigns. At the same time, a significant reduction in sales promotions helped improve the positioning of the stores and consumer perceptions, resulting in increasing profitability.

Sales of Luxottica products at Pearle Vision stores enjoyed strong growth, reaching nearly 78.7 percent of total sales in 2007. Ray-Ban, Prada, Brooks Brothers and Versace were some of the stronger-selling brands.

In order to centralize services and achieve economies of scale, most in-store labs were closed, and their work was transferred to nearby LensCrafters labs or to one of our eight large central lens finishing facilities.

Pearle Vision’s franchises are increasingly turning to us as their preferred supplier, not only due to the strength of our brands and the quality of our products, but also because of Luxottica’s Franchise Advantage Program. This program, which is available to franchisees, features marketing solutions, preferential pricing and savings on selected categories of products, including lenses, lab services, contact lenses and accessories, all of which are provided with a high level of service and merchandising support.

We firmly believe that the Pearle Vision brand has significant growth opportunities in both the United States and Canada, where the brand was strengthened in 2006 and is now the only optical chain represented throughout Canada.

As of March 31, 2008, Pearle Vision operated 470 corporate store locations and had 405 franchise locations throughout North America.

Pearle Vision

Part of the Group since 2004 through the Cole National transaction, 2007 was for Pearle Vision the year of the re-launch. Its network consists of 880 stores (40 up vs. 2006), of which 477 are company owned in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and 403 are franchise stores in the US and the Caribbean.

In North America, Pearle Vision is the number two optical chain after LensCrafters. Although both brands address the mid- to high-end customer bracket, their positioning in practice is complementary. Pearle Vision focuses on the factors that made the brand a success: customers having trust in the medical expertise and quality of service.

The powerful relaunching of the Pearle Vision brand by Luxottica was centered on a return to its original values, which had made Pearle Vision a byword for generations of Americans, their “Home of Trusted Eyecare.”

After a long period of positive comparable store sales results and a significant and structurally solid return to profitability, Pearle Vision is producing the desired results. A product mix increasingly geared to premium, high value added products has helped restore strong customer relationships, as have doctor and optometrist involvement and training initiatives and advertising campaigns (including TV).

At the same time, a drastic reduction in promotions helped improve the positioning of the stores and consumers perception, resulting in improved quality and profitability.

Sales of Luxottica products enjoyed strong growth. Ray-Ban, Prada, Brooks Brothers and Versace were some of the better selling brands.

Lastly, to centralize services and achieve economies of scale, all in-store labs were closed and their work transferred to the eight large central lens finishing facilities serving all the Group’s retail business in America.

Canada is also a market with huge retail potential. Here the Group had already acquired Shoppers Optical, a 74 store chainthat, given its good positioning and favorable geographical distribution, was rebranded to Pearle Vision.

A similar operation was carried out in 2005 when Precision Optical was acquired. The total number of Pearle Vision branded stores in Canada has now reached 98.

Luxottica is increasingly becoming the preferred supplier to the Pearle Vision franchisees, not only due to the strength of its brands and the quality of its products but also because of the new and much improved services of the Franchise Advantage Program. This program features marketing solutions, and savings on selected categories of products (lenses, lab services, contact lenses, accessories), all with a high level of service and merchandising support.

2006 marked a definitive return to profitability at Pearle Vision, which was acquired by Luxottica Group through the Cole National transaction in 2004. Its network consists of 840 stores, of which 423 are company owned in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and 417 are franchise stores in the United States and the Caribbean.